'My right eyelashes all fell out...': Selma Blair shares latest side effect of MS
Selma Blair is opening up about the side effects of living with multiple sclerosis.
In a recent Instagram post, the “Legally Blonde” star revealed to her followers that most of her eyelashes have fallen out due to her illness.
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“My right eyelashes all fell out except three corner ones,” Blair wrote. “Happened in [the] end of August. Haven’t regrown! Two just started falling out in left eye so there goes my profile posing.”
A post shared by Selma Blair (@selmablair) on Apr 8, 2019 at 9:10pm PDT
The 46-year-old actress has been open about living with the chronic illness, with side effects such as impaired mobility and strained speech, known as spasmodic dysphonia.
Since revealing her illness in October 2018, Blair has done her best to stay in good spirits, and is hopeful that she’ll regain 90 per cent of her abilities once her MS flare up subsides.
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“I guess [my] immune system figured it has bigger kid to spank,” she wrote. “Or it’s a weird coincidence. Or meds.”
According to experts, hair loss is a common side effect of MS treatment, and not the disease itself.
A post shared by Selma Blair (@selmablair) on Feb 22, 2019 at 12:19pm PST
“A number of medications can help slow the progression of disease but some are quite potent,” explained Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD, a neurologist and neuroscientist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. during an interview with Women’s Health. “Some are even chemotherapy drugs and can cause things like hair loss.”
While hair loss may be an unfortunate result of treatment, Kesari says patients should weigh their options before opting for a medication change.
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“If hair loss is related to a drug and the drug is actually helping the MS, you want to consider that,” he explained.
Blair is choosing to focus on the support from those around her, including celebrity pals Busy Philipps, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Beals.
“I’m going to bed,” Blair told her followers. “With a lack of eyelashes but an abundance of love and beautiful flowers.”
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