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What Is The Cause And Treatment For Hair Loss?
Question: Hi,
I'm a 29 year old female.
I have been suffering from hair loss since a few years along with loss weight.
I used to have very thick and long hair and now I have very thin hair, just about covering my scalp.
I have been diagnosed with PCOS around the time I started losing weight and hair but it's under control now. However, the hair loss is worrying me.
For the past couple of years I tried I've been physically fit (I even run half-marathons).
Could you please suggest any medications to rejuvenate my hair growth.
I'm a 29 year old female.
I have been suffering from hair loss since a few years along with loss weight.
I used to have very thick and long hair and now I have very thin hair, just about covering my scalp.
I have been diagnosed with PCOS around the time I started losing weight and hair but it's under control now. However, the hair loss is worrying me.
For the past couple of years I tried I've been physically fit (I even run half-marathons).
Could you please suggest any medications to rejuvenate my hair growth.
Brief Answer:
Kindly send details of the condition.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thanks for posting your query to the forum.
I can understand your concern for hair loss. It is really distressing sometimes to get anything unusual in young people like you.
In view to help you best I request you to kindly provide certain important points :
- Since exactly how long you have this condition of hair fall.
- Is it diffuse all over or on a particular portion if scalp.
- How many hair falls every day. Do you see them on your pillow, sheets and in bathroom.
- Any history of illness or long term stress in last 1 to 2 years.
- Your daily schedule and diet regime.
- Your marital status and if married then feeding baby or planning for pregnancy.
Any other specific point which you consider important in your view to tell me.
Hope to hear soon from your side.
With regards,
Dr Sanjay Kanodia
MD-DERMATOLOGY
Kindly send details of the condition.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome and thanks for posting your query to the forum.
I can understand your concern for hair loss. It is really distressing sometimes to get anything unusual in young people like you.
In view to help you best I request you to kindly provide certain important points :
- Since exactly how long you have this condition of hair fall.
- Is it diffuse all over or on a particular portion if scalp.
- How many hair falls every day. Do you see them on your pillow, sheets and in bathroom.
- Any history of illness or long term stress in last 1 to 2 years.
- Your daily schedule and diet regime.
- Your marital status and if married then feeding baby or planning for pregnancy.
Any other specific point which you consider important in your view to tell me.
Hope to hear soon from your side.
With regards,
Dr Sanjay Kanodia
MD-DERMATOLOGY
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Since exactly how long you have this condition of hair fall: I started losing hair since about 7 years, with varying degrees of severity. This was a time I lost about 15-20kgs of weight in aout 2-3 months and was also detected with PCOS. During this time I used to lose hair in lots. Later after medication (mostly on Glycomet -500mg twice a day) for about 5-6 years, my weight is much more regulated and PCOS is under control. During the past few years, the hair fall has been steady, though not in lots but a hairs a day - I used to braid my hair and now it's not thick enough to braid it.However, I'm not bald at any part. I sport a small pony tail. But the reason I worry is cause the hair fall is still persistent.
- Is it diffuse all over or on a particular portion if scalp: I'm losing hair all over but it's much more prominent on the scalp.
- How many hair falls every day. Do you see them on your pillow, sheets and in bathroom. - Yes, i do see them on my pillow, sheets, bathroom and in general, all around me. They just fall off!
- Any history of illness or long term stress in last 1 to 2 years: Apart from the PCOS nothing major. Although my hemoglobin is just short of the minimum requirement. I've been advised to have hemoglobin tablets but I've not had it consistently. My limbs tend to go numb within 15-20 min of same posture and also my feet tend to cramp often - on walking/climbing stairs/running.
- Your daily schedule and diet regime: I wake up between 6-6:30, have breakfast latest by 9:00, mostly idly or poha. I have lunch anywhere between 1-2:30pm - mostly home cooked roti sabji (i'm a vegetarian). I work in a management consultant firm and hence I tend to have working hours so I usually have my dinner at office itself ( before 8:00pm ) - usually consists of packed food from canteen - again roti subji. In between I drink either coffee/tea without sugar for about 3 times/day.
I tend to have some form of physical activity daily - atleast a walk or run for 20 min.
- Your marital status and if married then feeding baby or planning for pregnancy: not married.
Any other specific point which you consider important in your view to tell me
I have alcohol, mostly beer over the weekends - not sure if this is relevant though.
Do leet me know if you need any other info.
- Is it diffuse all over or on a particular portion if scalp: I'm losing hair all over but it's much more prominent on the scalp.
- How many hair falls every day. Do you see them on your pillow, sheets and in bathroom. - Yes, i do see them on my pillow, sheets, bathroom and in general, all around me. They just fall off!
- Any history of illness or long term stress in last 1 to 2 years: Apart from the PCOS nothing major. Although my hemoglobin is just short of the minimum requirement. I've been advised to have hemoglobin tablets but I've not had it consistently. My limbs tend to go numb within 15-20 min of same posture and also my feet tend to cramp often - on walking/climbing stairs/running.
- Your daily schedule and diet regime: I wake up between 6-6:30, have breakfast latest by 9:00, mostly idly or poha. I have lunch anywhere between 1-2:30pm - mostly home cooked roti sabji (i'm a vegetarian). I work in a management consultant firm and hence I tend to have working hours so I usually have my dinner at office itself ( before 8:00pm ) - usually consists of packed food from canteen - again roti subji. In between I drink either coffee/tea without sugar for about 3 times/day.
I tend to have some form of physical activity daily - atleast a walk or run for 20 min.
- Your marital status and if married then feeding baby or planning for pregnancy: not married.
Any other specific point which you consider important in your view to tell me
I have alcohol, mostly beer over the weekends - not sure if this is relevant though.
Do leet me know if you need any other info.
Brief Answer:
Telogen effluvium: Diet + Medications
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome again to the forum and thanks for posting important details so that I can now guide you best regarding your present condition.
After reading your query with diligence I can make out that you are suffering from the problem of "Telogen effluvium".
To tell you simply let me explain you some medical facts regarding this type of hair fall. We have a hair cycle divided into three parts:
1. Growing phase (Anagen): more than 85 -90 % of hair are in this phase
2. Senescence phase(Catagen): around less than 10 % of hair are in this phase and is the phase before falling.
3. Falling phase (Telogen ): a very few percentage of hair. We have almost 1 lac hair on our scalp and amongst them few percent of hair are in falling phase and then another 0.1% (around 50-100) of hair can fall everyday.
In certain conditions such as long term illness systemic complaints or any stress, some more of the hair may come in falling phase. These extra of the hair which comes in senescence are actually visible as falling hair.
The reason for the acute turning of growing hair to telogen hair is due to the complete changes in body after any of these.
In your case I can make out that there are three factors:
- One factor is PCOS, the other is weight loss and third is deficiency state.
I suggest you to go for tests of Serum Vitamin D3 and B12 level. In my view it would be on lower side because of your job profile and diet.
Now regarding the part of treatment: For the betterment kindly follow the suggestions below:
1. Eat at least 3-4 different fruits saplings per day. Every fruit is good but you can make a combination of sour with sweet fruits such as oranges, papaya and other of seasonal fruits.
2. Pulses are good source of proteins. So everyday have a small bowel full of mixed pulses. Add green leafy vegetables additionally in the pulses which contain lot of iron and vitamins in it.
3. Sprouts are the best source of fibers, minerals especially iron, vitamins and proteins too. so add it at-least alternate day if you cannot make in every-day's part of meal.
4. Overnight soaked and peeled almonds will give you good vitamin E which is good for the hair growth. 5. Milk and milk products should be included in every-day's schedule.
6.Do light exercises, reduce your stress as all these have bit impact on skin so also on scalp skin.
Drinking beer once a week is not contributory to hair probelm.
If I were your dermatologist then would have suggested you tablet containing Acetylcysteine, Calcium Pantothenate, Selenium, Zinc, Biotin, Copper as active ingredients. You can take these vitamins in the form of biotin, calicium pantothenate and other vitamin B complexes which are available at your local place.
Other than this an iron supplementation in diet and in tablet form is also helpful. reduce your weight as it is also contributory factor in hair fall and general well being.
Additionally I would have preferred to suggest you application of lotion containing Acetyl Tetra peptide- 3, Biochanin A (Q-sera lotion) daily for twice.
It requires 3- 6 months to see the effect of the treatment so be in follow up of good dermatologist. Do follow a good diet.
I hope these information will help you. If you have any further query I will be happy to help.
"With best health wishes"
regards,
Dr Sanjay Kumar Kanodia
MD- Dermatology & Sexually transmitted diseases
Telogen effluvium: Diet + Medications
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome again to the forum and thanks for posting important details so that I can now guide you best regarding your present condition.
After reading your query with diligence I can make out that you are suffering from the problem of "Telogen effluvium".
To tell you simply let me explain you some medical facts regarding this type of hair fall. We have a hair cycle divided into three parts:
1. Growing phase (Anagen): more than 85 -90 % of hair are in this phase
2. Senescence phase(Catagen): around less than 10 % of hair are in this phase and is the phase before falling.
3. Falling phase (Telogen ): a very few percentage of hair. We have almost 1 lac hair on our scalp and amongst them few percent of hair are in falling phase and then another 0.1% (around 50-100) of hair can fall everyday.
In certain conditions such as long term illness systemic complaints or any stress, some more of the hair may come in falling phase. These extra of the hair which comes in senescence are actually visible as falling hair.
The reason for the acute turning of growing hair to telogen hair is due to the complete changes in body after any of these.
In your case I can make out that there are three factors:
- One factor is PCOS, the other is weight loss and third is deficiency state.
I suggest you to go for tests of Serum Vitamin D3 and B12 level. In my view it would be on lower side because of your job profile and diet.
Now regarding the part of treatment: For the betterment kindly follow the suggestions below:
1. Eat at least 3-4 different fruits saplings per day. Every fruit is good but you can make a combination of sour with sweet fruits such as oranges, papaya and other of seasonal fruits.
2. Pulses are good source of proteins. So everyday have a small bowel full of mixed pulses. Add green leafy vegetables additionally in the pulses which contain lot of iron and vitamins in it.
3. Sprouts are the best source of fibers, minerals especially iron, vitamins and proteins too. so add it at-least alternate day if you cannot make in every-day's part of meal.
4. Overnight soaked and peeled almonds will give you good vitamin E which is good for the hair growth. 5. Milk and milk products should be included in every-day's schedule.
6.Do light exercises, reduce your stress as all these have bit impact on skin so also on scalp skin.
Drinking beer once a week is not contributory to hair probelm.
If I were your dermatologist then would have suggested you tablet containing Acetylcysteine, Calcium Pantothenate, Selenium, Zinc, Biotin, Copper as active ingredients. You can take these vitamins in the form of biotin, calicium pantothenate and other vitamin B complexes which are available at your local place.
Other than this an iron supplementation in diet and in tablet form is also helpful. reduce your weight as it is also contributory factor in hair fall and general well being.
Additionally I would have preferred to suggest you application of lotion containing Acetyl Tetra peptide- 3, Biochanin A (Q-sera lotion) daily for twice.
It requires 3- 6 months to see the effect of the treatment so be in follow up of good dermatologist. Do follow a good diet.
I hope these information will help you. If you have any further query I will be happy to help.
"With best health wishes"
regards,
Dr Sanjay Kumar Kanodia
MD- Dermatology & Sexually transmitted diseases
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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