Hair Loss FAQs

I seem to be losing so much hair lately. What could be causing this?

Abrupt, excessive hair loss (which is different from gradual genetic hair thinning) on any part of the body is usually attributed to any of the following causes:

• Physical Illness: Including fungal infection (more common in children), severe infections, chronic illness, crash diets with inadequate protein, anemia and/or other nutritional deficiencies, under- or over-active thyroid, major surgery, traumatic illness, and some cancer treatments.
• Severe Emotional Stress: Including telogen effluvium (when hair follicles are pushed prematurely into the resting state, usually the result of a shock or stressful event), alopecia areata (generally thought of as an organ-specific autoimmune disease that is nevertheless associated with multiple etiologies), and female pattern hair loss (although like with men, genetics and hormones play a deciding role, increasingly stressful lives are likely to contribute to this type of hair loss). In many cases, there can be a two or three month delay after the stressful event before the onset of the hair loss.
• Hormones: Again, there can be a three month delay following a hormonal status change, such as from childbirth, oral contraceptives, menopause or peri-menopause, and hormone supplementation.
• Oral Medications: Include anti-clotting drugs, beta blockers, calcium channel blockers, antidepressants, NSAIDS (such as ibuprofen), excessive vitamin A intake, and others.
• External Trauma: Usually any existing abnormalities in the hair shaft formation is made worse by over manipulation of the hair. Chemical processes (e.g., harsh salon hair dyes) in particular, damage the whole hair shaft and can cause abrupt hair loss. A condition called trichotillomania (an impulse control disorder that compels sufferers to pull out their own hair) affects people of all ages and nearly 2.5 million people in the US alone. In some cases the hair loss may be permanent especially if the condition affects the eyebrows or eyelashes.

There are no standardized tests to measure hair loss, although losing about 100 hairs a day from the scalp is considered normal. Just about everyone’s hair thins with age. Like men, hair loss also increases with age in women, especially after menopause.

 

 

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