Hair Loss And Medical Treatments
Male-Type(Androgenic Alopecia) Hair Loss
Androgenic Alopecia is the most commonly seen type of hair loss in the world, both in men and
women.
Androgenic Alopecia is also named as baldness or male-type, male pattern hair loss. It
turns out that male-type hair loss has always constituted a problem for the mankind as it can be
traced back to the ancient times as the ancient documents suggest.
Androgenic Alopecia is the type of hair loss which does not leave any characteristic scars and
show any characteristic symptoms in women and men with genetic tendencies. It is seen more in
the Caucasian race and in men, and the frequency and speed of the loss increases with age. AA
(Androgenic Alopecia) that starts at early ages progresses slower. The genetic factors,
androgens, and age all influence the development of AA. Especially in male patients, if hair loss
is seen in the family history means that the probability of AA is high for the 1st degree male
relatives.
The growth phase of the hair (anagenic phase) shortens with the effect of the
androgens stimulating the follicles in people prone to hair loss (sensitive to the effect of the DHT
in androgen hormones) and the hair is lost at early ages. The changes seen in men and women
are the same.
The severity and density of hair loss increases with age and the rate of occurrencein men over 70 years of age is about 80%.
In the treatment of AA, a balanced and sufficient diet is recommended; drug treatment and topical medications can be given as the regular absorption of them by the scalp can be helpful.
You can consult our specialized doctors for the most suitable treatment, either medical or
surgical treatments, for your hair loss type.
Click here for frequently asked questions on hair loss.
Female-Type Hair Loss
Male-type hair loss is seen in women due to hormonal activities. Although rare when compared to men, this type of loss is similar to male-type hair loss.
In addition to this, hair loss can be seen in women dues to reasons such as unbalanced and insufficient diet, stress, some chronic or acute diseases (iron deficiency, thyroid diseases, chronic kidney failure, connective tissue diseases such as SLE…etc), drug use (anti-thyroid pills,anti-convulsant, some anti-depressants and some blood pressure pills …etc) and birth.
In such
cases, weakening, thinning is seen in the whole scalp, being different from the male-type
baldness.
A balanced diet, hormonal treatments, if required, medical agents and other treatments can be helpful.
You can consult our specialized doctors in order to learn the most appropriate
method for you.
You can read our post about hair transplantation in women here.
Telogen Effluvium
This type of hair loss occurs following some stress cases. Sudden and severe stress causes
increase in the number of hair strands lost.
The source of stress resulting in hair loss can be due
to giving birth, terminating pregnancy, pre-menopause period, starting or ending the use of birth control pills, diet pills, some emotional problems etc.
These events shorten the time in the
relaxation phase of the hair and a large of hair strands are lost following this phase.
It is seen in 2 different types as Acute and Chronic Telogen Effluvium. In Acute type,
improvement is seen during a period less than 6 months and this period is longer than 6 months
in chronic type.
While improvement is observed in hair loss during the months of July and
October, this rate decreases in winter months.
Alopecia Areata
Alopecia Areata, also known as spot baldness, is seen in young and middle-aged adults in both
genders. In many cases, it heals by itself; which means it is temporary and does not require any
special treatment.
Click here for frequently asked questions on Mesotherapy
Although the cause of this disease is not currently known, genetics and environmental factors
and autoimmunity are held responsible.
The patients usually have hair loss in one or more
circular areas in the size of a coin, with a diameter about 2.5cm and sometimes total hair loss which is called
Alopecia Totalis, is observed. Recently, it has been considered that the factors of
psychological cause are influential in development of the disease.
The healing of the disease varies as based on the size of adhesion area. The steroids, mesotherapy and psychological support are recommended for the treatment of the disease.
Hair loss is the condition of decrease in the number of hair strands on the scalp, weakening and
thinning of hair because of known or unknown conditions.
Losing 30 to 100 hair strands per day is normal and this number change from person to person.
During the growing period of hair, new hair replaces shredded hair. If new hair does not grow,hair loss will start and hair sparsity will be seen.
You can consult with a doctor if you have
salient hair sparsity.
We can check by ourselves if we have got active and extreme hair loss. If we can see many hair
strands on our clothes, on our pillow (when we wake up) or while having a bath, it means that
our hair loss is actively continuing.
Besides causing dissatisfaction about one’s looks, hair loss might indicate an underlying disease.
Especially hair loss in women can be the signs of some hormonal and skin diseases.
Click here for frequently asked questions on hair loss.
Hair loss can cause loss of self-confidence as one might feel less able physically, and less able
to express oneself correctly.
There are different treatments for hair loss. Before choosing the treatment method, the main
reason of hair loss must be determined.
Causes of hair loss:
- The main cause of hair loss is the condition called masculine hair loss which can be seen in women too. In this kind of hair loss, only the sides and the nape of the scalp remain with hair and hair loss can be seen in the forehead, the vertex, and the medium lines. The main reasons ofmasculine hair loss genetical predisposition and hormones.
- Accidents, physical or psychological trauma, or certain illnesses can cause serious physical stress and hair loss can be seen in these periods. Hair lost in this period can be replaced after the cause of stress is over.
- Losing a relative, a severely stressful event or accident also can speed up hair loss.
- Sudden weight loss and strict/crash diets can cause hair loss because the body does not get the required vitamins and proteins.
- Some medicines and pills can also cause hair loss. Especially blood thinners, tension pills, cholesterol pills, birth control pills, and some hormonal pills can cause hair loss.
- Washing hair frequently and with excessive shampoo and conditioners can cause to hair loss too as the hair does not get enough air.
- The use of hair shaping tools that overheat and the scalp not breathing, not getting enough air
causes thinning and hair loss. - Not washing hair after using hair gel, sprays, and such, and using such products frequently causes hair loss.
The causes of hair loss listed above often start in one’s 20s and 30s and mostly ends during
their 40s.
There are some treatment methods to stop or slow down hair loss. Certain medications, vitamin and biotin supplements can be recommended for hair loss.
Hair transplantation is recommended for those whose hair loss is easily observed by others, is visible.