What is Causing your Hair to Fall Out?
It is a known fact that men are more likely to lose their hair due to male pattern baldness than women. But women are also plagued with hair thinning and hair loss. There are various reasons for this problems ranging from a simple one like vitamin deficiency to a more complicated one like an underlying health problem.
Both male and female hair loss can be treated in several cases depending on the cause. Excessive hair loss results in baldness. To get rid of baldness, hair transplantation is the only solution and have promising result. India being a medical tourism destination, provides best in class facility for hair transplant in Pune, Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
Discussed here are some of the reasons due to which there is less hair visible on your head.
Physical Stress
Physical trauma of any kind like severe illness, surgery or an accident can lead to temporary hair loss. It could trigger a type of hair loss called telogen effluvium. The life cycle of hair growth gets disrupted due to a stressful event causing more hair to fall out. This hair loss is visible after 3 to 6 months after trauma.
Solution – The positive news is that this hair fall is temporary and it will grow back once the body recovers
Emotional Stress
Hair loss due to emotional stress is less likely than physical stress. It takes place in case of severe emotional trauma such as death of a loved one, divorce or caring for aged parent. Emotional stress actually does not bring about hair loss but aggravates the existing problem.
Solution – Hair loss will eventually subside and you must take concrete steps to fight anxiety and stress like trying yoga, meditation, exercise or going for therapy or counseling.
Lupus
Lupus is an autoimmune disease which can also cause hair loss. This condition causes the immune cells to attack the hair follicles by mistake. This type of hair loss causes scarring which means the hair will not grow back.
Solution – If the hair loss is minimal then you can change your hairstyle to conceal the damage. Short hair which is stronger than long hair may hide the bald patches in a better way.
Severe Weight Loss
Rapid weight loss is a type of physical trauma which can lead to hair thinning. This happens because weight loss in fact is stressing your body or you are not eating a balanced meal which can result in mineral or vitamin deficiencies. This could also be a sign of eating disorder like bulimia or anorexia.
Solution – Rapid weight loss shocks the system and causes hair loss for some months before the problem gets rectified.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome
Polycystic ovary syndrome occurs due to the imbalance in the male and female sex hormones. Surplus of androgens can cause weight gain, infertility, ovarian cysts, greater risk of diabetes, changes in menstrual period and also hair thinning. Excess of male hormones may also cause women to experience increase in facial and body hair.
Solution – By correcting the hormonal imbalance you can reverse some of the changes. Treatments for this problem include exercise, diet and also addressing diabetes and infertility risk.
Trichotillomania
Trichotillomania an impulse control disorder which causes people to pull out their hair compulsively. The person constantly plays and pulls at their hair which results in stripping the head of its natural protection that is the hair. This disorder mostly begins before 17 years of age and is around four times more prevalent in women than in men.
Solution – Antidepressants may be useful and behavioral modification therapy is also helpful in treating trichotillomania.
Anabolic Steroids
Use of anabolic steroids, the same steroid which is misused by some athletes to bulk up their muscles could cause hair loss. It affects the body in the same way as polycystic ovary disease as the mechanism is the same.
Solution – The situation may improve after discontinuing the drugs.
Aging
It is common for women in their 50s and 60s to experience hair loss and hair thinning. Even experts are not sure why this happens.
Solution – This condition cannot be treated so it leaves women to try cosmetic approaches such as wigs, scarves or new hairstyles to cover the thinning spot.