| POTENTIAL CAUSES OF HAIR LOSS IN MEN AND
WOMEN
Hair Growth: Your hair is made
of Keratin (KER-uh-tin), the same protein that makes up your
nails and the outer layer of your skin. The part you see and
style is called the hair shaft. It is actually dead tissue
made by your hair follicles - tiny bulb-like structures
beneath your scalp's surface. Follicles produce hair during a
growth phase called the anagen phase, which lasts from 2-6
years. Each hair, at its own pre-programmed stage, goes into a
rest phase called catagen, which lasts about 3 months. Then
the follicle sheds its hair and replaces it with a new one
during the telogen phase.
Because of the anagen, catagen and telogen cycle, daily
hair loss is a natural biological occurrence. Normal hair loss
is about 50-125 strands per day. Loss of more than 125 hairs
per day is considered excessive. A normal head of hair
consists of approximately 80,000 - 120,000 hairs. Red heads:
80,000. Brunettes and Black hair: 100,000. Blondes: 120,000.
Many factors can disrupt this hair growth cycle. The result
can be that your hair falls out prematurely or it is not
replaced.
Hereditary Hair Loss: This is
the most common cause of hair loss where the hair is
genetically programmed to gradually fall out. The condition is
also known as Male or Female Pattern Hair loss and its
technical term is: Androgenetic Alopecia. For women, hair loss
usually occurs at menopause, although it may start at any age
and can first become apparent by the age of 25-30.
Hereditary hair loss occurs when an enzyme starts to
convert the hormone testosterone on the scalp to
dihydrotestosterone, or DHT. The replacement hairs become
progressively finer and shorter. They become almost
transparent. Where male pattern baldness usually affects the
hairline, women generally experience an overall thinning
across the entire scalp. Unfortunately, this type of hair loss
is permanent, however the process can be slowed down with the
use of DHT blockers, both taken internally and applied
topically.
Hormonal Changes: Hormones can
also play a part in men's and women's hair loss, (particularly
women's hair loss). When an unusually large hormonal change
occurs, women may experience some noticeable thinning.
Hormonal imbalances can occur during and after pregnancy,
menopause or discontinuation of birth control pills. Hair loss
caused by fluctuating hormones is usually not permanent and
generally hair will grow back within approximately 6-12
months. However, in some people, this fluctuation in hormones
can lead to permanent hair loss.
To learn more about hormonal hair loss, I highly recommend
reading Dr. David Brownstein's book,The Miracle Of
Natural Hormones (Third Edition).
David Brownstein, M.D. is a family
physician that utilizes the best of conventional and
alternative therapies. He is the Medical Director for the
Center for Holistic Medicine in West Bloomfield, Michigan. He
is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State
University School of Medicine. Dr. Brownstein is board
certified by the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is
a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the
American College for the Advancement in Medicine. Dr.
Brownstein has lectured internationally about his success with
using natural hormones. He has also authored, Overcoming
Thyroid Disorders, Overcoming Arthritis
and his most recent book, Iodine: Why You Need It, Why
You Can't Live Without It.
Please visit Dr. Brownstein's website at: http://www.drbrownstein.com/.
Thyroid Related Hair
Loss: Thyroid disorders are very often associated
with hair loss. There are millions of people living with
hypothyroidism and suffering from many symptoms, including
hair loss, that have been unsuccessfully diagnosed and
treated. While hereditary hair loss is a gradual process,
those with thyroid disorders often experience a more sudden
onset of hair loss. They may notice large amounts of hair
falling out in the shower or sink accompanied by changes in
the hair's texture, making it dry, coarse and easily tangled.
Another symptom of hypothyroidism is loss of hair on the outer
edge of the eyebrows. I have noticed this condition affecting
many of my clients and refer them to one of the thyroid
specialists I work with for proper evaluation and diagnosis.
For additional information and resources on thyroid disorders,
I highly recommend the following: Kenneth R. Blanchard, M.D., Ph.D., is an
endocrinologist certified by the American Board of Internal
Medicine and the American Board of Endocrinology and
Metabolism. He studied as an undergraduate at MIT, received a
Ph.D. in Chemistry from Princeton University, and completed
his medical studies at Cornell University Medical College. Dr.
Blanchard completed his residency at NewYork-Memorial Hospital
in New York City and his Fellowship in Endocrinology at Boston
VA Hospital. His private practice in Newton-Wellesley,
Massachusetts, consumes most of his time, although he
addresses many types of groups on the topic of hypothyroidism
and is considered an authority on the subject. His reputation
for successful treatment of hypothyroidism draws an
international patient base. He participates in health
symposiums for lay audiences and for professionals and has
appeared on local television health programs. He developed his
unique, successful approach to hypothyroidism based on
twenty-five years of observations, cautious empirical
treatment, and mounting clinical evidence.
Dr. Blanchard is the author of, What Your Doctor May
Not Tell You About Hypothyroidism - A Simple Plan For
Extraordinary Results. In his book he shares his
revolutionary, research-based approach to the diagnosis and
treatment of this common yet regularly overlooked disease. A
must read for patients and physicians alike!
To learn more about Dr. Blanchard or to purchase his book,
please visit: http://www.kblanchardmd.com/.
Mary J. Shomon, a thyroid patient herself, writes
and manages several professional patient-oriented Web sites on
thyroid disease and serves as editor-in-chief of the popular
patient-focused monthly newsletter, "Sticking Out Our Necks".
She is the author of several books, including the successful,
Living Well With Hypothyroidism. Please visit:
http://www.thyroid-info.com/ to receive her
free monthly news report. You'll find thyroid news and
information, personal thyroid stories and more. The site has
hundreds of comprehensive, up-to-date links to the Web's best
resources on hypothyroidism, thyroid disease and health
information.
Please visit: http://thyroid.about.com/ to view her
Thyroid Disease Web Site. This site provides dozens of feature
articles related to all facets of thyroid disease and in depth
annotated links to hundreds of the Web's best thyroid disease
sites.
Stress: Stress can trigger hair
loss whether people are predestined to lose hair or not. When
stress causes hair loss in men and women who do not have
hereditary hair loss, the effects are usually not permanent.
But for those who do have hereditary hair loss, stress can
actually speed up the process. The stress must be quite severe
before it leads to hair loss. Examples of severe stress are:
loss of a loved one, divorce, strenuous sports training,
severe illness or drastic weight loss.
Autoimmune Diseases: The word
"auto" is the Greek word for self. The immune system is a
complicated network of cells and cell components (called
molecules) that normally work to defend the body and eliminate
infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and other invading
microbes. If a person has an autoimmune disease, the immune
system mistakenly attacks self, targeting the cells, tissues,
and organs of a person's own body.There are many different
autoimmune diseases, and they can each affect the body in
different ways. Very often, hairloss is associated with
autoimmune diseases. To learn more about autoimmune diseases,
please visit The American Autoimmune Related Disease
Association at: http://www.aarda.org/
Alopecia: Alopecia is a common
disease that results in the loss of hair on the scalp and
elsewhere. Alopecia occurs in males and females of all ages,
but onset most often occurs in childhood. There are three
types of Alopecia: Alopecia Areata, Alopecia Totalis and
Alopecia Universalis. Alopecia Areata is the most common and
is described as hair loss in one or more small, round, smooth
patches on the scalp. Alopecia Totalis involves hair loss over
the entire scalp and Alopecia Universalis indicates hair loss
on the entire body. The affected hair follicles become very
small, drastically slowing down production. No matter how
widespread the hair loss, the hair follicles remain alive and
are ready to resume normal hair production whenever they
receive the appropriate signal. In all cases, hair growth may
occur even without treatment and even after many years.
For more information about Alopecia please visit: http://www.naaf.org/.
Scarring Alopecia: Scarring
Alopecia occurs when scar tissue replaces destroyed normal
tissue on the scalp and can be caused by any number of things
such as burns, infectious agents or diseases such as
Scleroderma, Lupus Erythematosus, etc. Because normal tissue
is replaced and the hair cannot grow through scar tissue,
Scarring Alopecia is permanent.
Traction Alopecia: Traction
Alopecia is where the hair may temporarily or permanently stop
growing in certain areas on the head. Traction Alopecia is
usually caused by continuous and excessive stress on
particular hairs. For instance, if you continuously style your
hair in a ponytail, braid, bun or in cornrows, the hairs with
the most tension may gradually stop growing, resulting in hair
loss. If this type of traction and hair loss continues for an
excessive period of time, then the hair loss may be permanent.
Generally, however, a change in hairstyle that reduces the
traction on the hair follicle is all that is required in order
to reverse the process. This is especially common in
African-American females (women of color), who wear tight
braiding or cornrow styles.
Trichotillomania: Another
version of Traction Alopecia is Trichotillomania which is
often referred to as "Hair Pulling Disorder", an impulse
control disorder, when a person compulsively pulls out strands
of hair in distinct patches on the scalp. Some individuals
also pull out hairs from the eyebrows and eyelashes as well.
Trichotillomania is often caused by an undue amount of
anxiety, stress and depression. It most commonly occurs among
young children, adolescents and women. It generally affects
twice as many females as males. Treatment often involves
behavioral therapy or psychiatric help where an antidepressant
is prescribed.
Tinea Capitis: Tinea Capitis is
another name for Ringworm, which appears on the scalp. Tinea
Capitis is highly contagious and may spread throughout an
entire family, school or kindergarten. It can also be passed
from animals to humans as well as between people. The main
symptoms or signs of Tinea Capitis are scaling and redness in
a round or uneven area of stubbled hair loss. This is where
the tinea is digesting the keratin of the hair. These patches
of hair loss slowly expand as the tinea spreads. The most
commonly used treatment for Ringworm is an anti-fungal agent,
which is taken once a day for a period of between 4 and 12
weeks.
Chemotherapy Drugs and Radiation
Treatments: Chemotherapy drugs designed to poison
cancer cells also poison the hair follicles and will often
result in total hair loss. Hair loss from chemotherapy
treatments will start approximately 2-3 weeks after the first
dose, but won't result in total hair loss until 1-2 months
have elapsed. Hair loss is reversible and will grow back in
about 3-4 months after the last chemotherapy dose. Hair on the
head is most commonly affected. The scalp may become very
tender and hair that is still growing may become dull and dry.
Many men and women have experienced their hair has grown back
thicker and perhaps a different color (usually darker) and
curly. Eventually the hair will return to its original
thickness and shade.
Other Contributing Factors of Hair
Loss: Other contributing factors that promote hair
loss include: poor circulation, acute illness, surgery, sudden
weight loss, high fever, iron deficiency, diabetes,
nutritional deficiencies, high doses of vitamin A and a
variety of medications.
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