Alyssa Milano shares what COVID-19 did to her hair and lungs

Alyssa Milano is among the Hollywood celebrities who survived COVID-19. In August 6, 2020, the Charmed actress revealed details about her ordeal with the dreaded disease in an Instagram post.

Alyssa Milano during her battle with COVID-19 / Source: milano_alyssa (IG)

Part of her IG caption said: “This was me on April 2nd after being sick for 2 weeks. I had never been this kind of sick. Everything hurt[s]. Loss of smell. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't keep food in me. I lost 9 pounds in 2 weeks. I was confused. Low grade fever. And the headaches were horrible. I basically had every Covid symptom.”

Fortunately, by the end of March, Alyssa's two COVID-19 tests came back negative and she then began her road to recovery.

However, it was a long, tough journey for Alyssa. She even calls herself a “long hauler.”

The actress also shared on IG some of the effects that COVID-19 had on her body and warned everyone to stay safe and vigilant.

“After living the last 4 months with lingering symptoms like, vertigo, stomach abnormalities, irregular periods, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, zero short term memory, and general malaise, I went and got an antibody test from a blood draw (not the finger prick) from a lab. I am POSITIVE for covid antibodies. I had Covid19.

“I just want you to be aware that our testing system is flawed and we don't know the real numbers. I also want you to know, this illness is not a hoax. I thought I was dying. It felt like I was dying. I will be donating my plasma with hopes that I might save a life. Please take care of yourselves. Please wash your hands and wear a mask and social distance. I don't want anyone to feel the way I felt. Be well. I love you all (well, maybe not the trolls. Just the kind people.)️”

In one IG video she posted in August, Alyssa even showed how much hair she loses whenever she combs her hair after each bath.

Alyssa Milano shows that COVID-19 causes hair loss in some people / Source: milano_alyssa (IG)

Now, in January 2021, Alyssa revealed what COVID-19 has done to her lungs by sharing an image of what a healthy heart and lungs look like versus lungs of a person who's had long-term COVID-9 and that of someone who died from the disease.

She captioned it: “Here are some before/after pictures of what your lungs and heart look like from covid thanks to the innovative work being done by @drwilliamli and @survivorcorps.

“The image on the left are healthy lungs. You can see all the colorful blood vessels. The center pic is actually *my* lungs. As a long hauler, I have less blood vessels than pre-covid. We don't know if they will come back. The right are lungs of someone who passed away from covid.

Alyssa Milano shows an image of what COVID-29 can do to a person's lungs. Source: milano_alyssa (IG)

Alyssa also shared a before and after photo showing the effects of COVID-19 on the blood vessels in the heart.

She said in the caption, “In simple terms, the splintering of the blood vessels in the right picture is what makes oxygenation so difficult.

“We are still in the middle of this pandemic. And until Biden takes office and puts forth a National program to get it under control and get everyone vaccinated, please do your best not to get this illness or transmit this illness.”

What COVID-19 can do to a person's heart / Source: milano_alyssa (IG)

Alyssa's experience is consistent with the long-term effects of COVID-19 listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They are as follows:

Most common reported long-term symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Cough
• Joint pain
• Chest pain

Other reported long-term symptoms include:

• Difficulty with thinking and concentration (sometimes referred to as “brain fog”)
• Depression
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Intermittent fever
• Fast-beating or pounding heart (also known as heart palpitations)

More serious long-term complications:

• Inflammation of the heart muscle
• Lung function abnormalities
• Acute kidney injury
• Rash, hair loss
• Smell and taste problems, sleep issues, difficulty with concentration, memory problems
• Depression, anxiety, changes in mood

Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston also battled COVID-19 back in July 2020. During his interview with TV host Ellen DeGeneres in early December, he revealed that even months after recovering from COVID, his taste of smell and taste haven't fully returned.

Unfortunately, even Ellen herself caught COVID-19 just right before the holiday season and had to stop doing her talk show while recovering.

On January 13, Ellen was finally able to return to her show and also briefly shared her COVID-19 story.

She said the only symptom she had was a persisting back pain.

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You might also want to read about the experience of celebrities who had COVID-19 but remained asymptomatic.