Dr Kiran Shares Common Skin & Hair Issues Faced Post COVID-19 & Their Treatment
With every passing day, we are learning new things about COVID-19. If you recall, back in April 2020, US Dermatologist Sandra Lee aka Dr Pimple Popper on Instagram, mentioned in a digital interview that a handful of patients who were COVID-19 positive experienced skin rash as a symptom.
According to Dr Sandra Lee, there are two types of common skin rashes COVID-19 patients experience - chilblains and livedoid. Chilblains are painful purple bumps on the toes and fingers, and livedoid are net-like coloured patterns commonly found on the arms, thighs and trunk of the body. Although The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed skin rashes as a COVID-19 symptom on their official website, there is less information about them.
There is no mention of the type and nature of these skin rashes on WHO's website. However, for those who have experienced them often describe these skin rashes to be painful, dry and rough. In fact, in Dr Kiran Lohia's recent Q & A sesh on the 'Gram, a few of her followers were vocal about their COVID-19 skincare and haircare issues. They spoke about a change in skin texture and experiencing extreme hair fall.
How To Take Care of Your Skin Post COVID-19 ft. Dr Kiran Lohia
According to Dr Kiran Lohia, five things happen to your skin post coronavirus and here's how you can treat them.
- Rashes on the flexural areas - on the inner arms, butt, groin, inner thighs, tummy and hips. Dr Kiran advises moisturising these areas twice a day with cocoa butter. If that does not help, then your skin doctor may have to prescribe a topical steroid.
- You can get chilblains - As mentioned by Dr Sandra Lee above, chilblains cause the toes and fingers to turn blueish. Dr Kiran recommends keeping the hands and feet warm using gloves, socks and warm compresses.
- Extremely dry skin - Dr Kiran advises to keep shower time short and cleanse the body with a gentle body wash like Sebamed cleansing oil or FCL oat silk soap-free body wash. After taking a bath, apply a good moisturiser like Bioderma Atoderm Baume or cocoa butter. To seal in moisture, follow it up with coconut or sesame body oil.
- Skin gets tanned - Dr Kiran says that this can take up to 3 months to resolve on its own. Exfoliate the skin with Cscape cleanser a few times a week, moisturise regularly, avoid stepping out in the sun, wear heavy amounts of sunblock on the face and the body, apply Vitamin C and aha serums.
- Acne due to face masks - To treat bigger red papules, Dr Kiran advises to first ice them for a little while. Then, apply Cureac lotion and apply Vaseline jelly on top of it once a day. For nodules or cysts, place a warm compress over the pimple, apply Cureac lotion and Vaseline jelly on top of it once a day. For quick results, one may have to reach out to a skincare professional.
How To Take Care of Your Hair Post COVID-19 ?
According to Dr Kiran, the body goes through trauma when fighting against COVID-19. Consuming strong doses of medication can take a toll on the hair by making it rough, frizzy and brittle. Eat healthily and consume iron supplements, collagen supplements cyclical supplements like Trichospire twice a day. Make it a point to condition the hair before and after shampooing. Try hair masks for hair fall that have hydrating ingredients in them such as aloe vera, yoghurt, honey, avocado and egg. Keep these hair masks on for an hour and later, wash them off with lukewarm water.
If you still have more queries, feel free to take a second opinion from your skin specialist.
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