Hair Loss Problem – A Universal Dilemma

Not only adults, as even kids can suffer from the problems of hair loss or hair fall. However, baldness infers to excessive loss of hair from a person’s scalp. A few folks prefer to suffer from the condition despite of treatments available for the same, whereas a few tend to hide it with hair wig, hats, etc.

However, prior to taking up any kind of treatment, it is advisable to discuss with your physician about the exact cause of hair loss.

Signs

Hair fall problem may uproot in several distinct ways depending on the causative factor. It might occur gradually or suddenly affecting the scalp of a person. A few hair loss types are short-term, whereas a few are permanent or long term.

Symptoms of signs of hair fall or loss might entail:

• Gradual Hair Thinning On The Top Of A Person’s Head: This is the most prevalent hair loss type affecting both women as well as men all over. In men, hair starts receding from forehead in the form of a line resembling the alphabet ‘M’. On the other hand, women usually retain a line of hair at their forehead but suffer from widening of a part in their hair.

• Patchy Or Round Bald Spots: Certain individuals suffer from flat bald spots about 2+ centimeters. This affects only the scalp area, but it might at times occur in eyebrows or beards too. In a few cases, the skin of a person might turn scratchy or painful experience before the hair eventually falls.

• Sudden Hair Loss: An emotional or physical trauma or shock might cause loosening of hair in a person. The person might experience a bit of hair fall when washing or combing his/her hair. This hair loss type generally triggers the overall thinning of hair and formation of bold patches.

• Complete Hair Loss: A few medical treatments such as chemotherapy or medical conditions might cause complete loss hair. Usually, the hair regrows post the conclusion of treatment.

When Should I See A Doctor?       

Rush to your doctor or physician if you witness patchy or sudden loss of hair during usual washing or combing. Thinning of hair is also an indication for you to check with your doctor. In addition, sudden loss of hair might be a sign of some underlying clinical condition and thus, you may require undergoing medical treatment.

Causes

Most of the folks tend to shed around 50-100 hairs daily. Nevertheless, with around 100,000 hairs in our scalp, this negligible shedding of hair is no big deal. Nevertheless, as a person ages, his/her tends to turn thin gradually. Other causes include medications, medical conditions or disorders and hormonal factors.

•    Hormonal Factors: One of the common factors that cause hair loss is a genetic condition known as female pattern baldness or male pattern baldness. In genetically susceptible folks, a few sex hormones cause a specific hair loss pattern i.e. permanent. Mostly experienced among men, this specific hair loss type shoots during puberty. Hormonal imbalances and changes might also lead to short-term hair loss. This might occur during pregnancy, stoppage of birth control pills, childbirth or during the beginning of menopause.

•    Medical Conditions:

Various medical conditions too can trigger hair loss including:

• Thyroid Issues: Thyroid gland regulates the levels of hormones in our body. In case the gland fails to function properly, then it might hair loss.

• Alopecia Areata: This condition occurs when your body’s immunity attacks the hair follicles that further cause formation of round patches and loss of hair.

• Scalp Infections: Infections like ringworm might damage the skin of scalp as well as your hair causing hair loss. However, after treating the infections, the hair might regrow.

• Other Skin Problems: Disorders that lead to scarring like lichen planus or other lupus types might even result in permanent loss of hair at the affected area.

•    Medications

A few medications used to treat the following conditions or diseases may also cause hair loss:

• High blood pressure problems

• Cardiovascular problems

• Depression and anxiety

• Arthritis

• Cancer

Other Causes

A few other causes of hair loss or hair fall include:

• Emotional or physical trauma: Several individuals tend to experience hair-thinning problems after facing some kind of emotional or physical trauma/crunch. Examples are death of a near one, high fever and excess or sudden weight loss.

• Hair pulling disease: This psychological condition causes the patients to pull their hair be it from eyebrows, scalp or any other body area. Pulling of hair from scalp area leaves bald spots or formation or patches on a person’s head.

• Some hairstyles: In a few cases, hair fall might even cause due to some hairstyles. For instance, people with a particular hairstyle that needs them to tie or pull their hair such as cornrow or pigtail style might cause hair fall.

Risk factors   

• Poor diet and nutrition: Hair might turn thin if you skip or fail to follow a healthy and proper diet that is rich in protein and iron. Therefore, include non-fatty dairy foods, red meat and iron rich foods in your diet. Hair loss due to an improper diet might also cause crash dieting and other eating disorders.

• Hair treatments: Incorrect or excessive use of hair color products, permanent hair waving and straighteners might make the hair weak and prone to fall.

• Family history: The risk of hair loss goes up if any of your relative or family members have suffered from hair loss in the past. Genetic factor also influences the age during which you might start losing hair as well as its extent and speed of the loss.

Conclusion

Complete physical test and knowledge of family history as well as your medical history will help to diagnose the exact cause. Doctors consider the rate and pattern of hair loss, accompanying signs for making apt diagnosis.