Hair lossor changes to hair can cause severe emotional distress. Hair plays a vital role in appearance and self-esteem, so suddenly losing hair can be devastating. If you have unexplained hair changes, your first instinct might be to ask for advice from your hairstylist. But you may need a doctor to get to the bottom of the issue.
Many health conditions can lead tohair loss. It's often an expected side effect if you're in treatment forcancer. Other conditions are harder to diagnose, and your doctor may need to do many tests to understand the relationship between your hair and your health.
Health issues that cause hair loss
头发改变或hair lossare side effects of some conditions. If you have unexplained hair changes, your doctor may test you for underlying causes, including:
- Lupus
- Psoriasisflare-ups on thescalp
- Thyroid disorders
- Malnutrition or rapidweight loss
- Syphilis
- Sex-hormone imbalances such aspolycystic ovarian syndrome(PCOS)
If you have any of those conditions, your doctor will recommend treatment for the underlying health problem. Once you have other symptoms under control, your hair may start to return to normal. It can take many months for the hair to return to typical volume and texture after an illness.
Medication effects
Many medications can affect your hair other than chemotherapydrugs. You might noticethinning hairor hair changes if you takelithiumto manage mood disorders.Beta-blockersforhigh blood pressureand blood thinners likewarfarinorheparincan both causehair loss. Medications to control the symptoms ofParkinson'sdisease can also lead to hair changes.
Hair usually starts to grow back several months after finishingcancertreatment, though your new growth may be different than it was before. Hair may be curlier or straighter, it might change texture, and the color could be different.
If a medicine you take has caused your hair loss, you may be able to get your hair back to normal if you stop the medication. Speak with your doctor before stopping any prescription. You could have serious health problems if you abruptly stop a medication.
Scalp infections
Injury and infection of the skin of your scalp can affect hair.Fungal infectionslikeringwormortinea capitisdamage the scalp and weaken the hair shafts. Hair can break off near the scalp or fall out at the roots.Tinea capitiscan cause dry, flaky patches on the scalp. If you haveringworm, you might notice dry patches with red rings around them.
Once you treat the underlying infection, the skin on your head will start to heal. Hair will usually begin growing back once the skin is healthy again. In some cases, scarring can affect whether hair grows back normally.
SLIDESHOW
Your Hair and Scalp Can Say a Lot About Your HealthSee SlideshowAlopecia
Alopeciais an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. If you lose hair in small, round patches, it's known asalopecia areata. If you lose all the hair on your head, it's called alopecia totalis. It isn't clear what causes alopecia. Alopecia can also cause you to lose hair from your eyebrows, eyelashes, or other body hair. People with other autoimmune diseases are at higher risk of developing it.
Hair can grow back after alopecia, but it doesn't always return. Some treatments such as steroid injections or drugs for autoimmune conditions can stimulate new hair growth.
Telogen effluvium
This type of hair loss happens several months after a serious physical stressor, such as a major illness, surgery, or an infection. This reaction is very common afterchildbirth. Covid-19 infections can also lead totelogen effluvium.
In these cases, hair loss happens because the physicalstressof illness or the hormone changes frompregnancychange the hair's usual cycle of growth, resting, and shedding phases. Humans typically shed 50-100 strands of hair per day. In atelogen effluviumepisode, the shedding phase accelerates, and more hair than usual falls out.
The hair typically begins to grow back right after the shedding phase ends. You may notice a lot of short hairs emerging between longer hairs. This is a normal part of the regrowth process.
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Male or female pattern baldness
Age and heredity can lead to thinning hair.Male pattern baldnessusually causes a receding hairline or a bald patch on the top of the head.Female pattern baldnessleads to thinning on the top of the scalp.
If you notice thinning hair due to age, you can treat it with medications to slow hair loss. Some medicines will help regrow hair, or you can have surgery to implant new follicles on your scalp.
QUESTION
It is normal to lose 100-150 hairs per day.See AnswerHealth SolutionsFrom Our Sponsors
Harvard Health Publishing: "Hair Loss."
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