Hair is made up of protein, the same material that is found in fingernails and toenails. Everyone, regardless of age, should eat an adequate amount of protein to maintain normal hair growth. Protein is found in meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, dried beans, grains and nuts.
Description of Hair Loss
Each hair grows in cycles – it grows, rests, and then falls out. At any time, about 90% of a person’s scalp hair is growing, a phase that lasts between two and six years. 10% of the scalp hair is in a resting phase that lasts between two and three months. At the end of its resting stage, the hair goes through a shedding phase.
Shedding 50 to 100 hairs a day is considered normal. These hairs are replaced they grow back in the same follicle on the head. This amount of hair loss is totally normal and no cause for worry. The medical term for hair is Alopecia, ie losing hair more than normal.
Hair loss can be due to many different causes, but about 50 percent of the population experience it by the time they reach 50. People who notice their hair shedding in large amounts after combing or brushing, or whose hair becomes thinner of falls out should consult a dermatologist.
Q. What Causes Hair Loss?
A. A number of causes might be identified. These include:
Q. What are the types of Hair Loss?
A. These are many types of hair loss also called Alopecia.
Androgenic alopecia is from of hair loss. It is a genetically predisposed condition that can effect both men and women. Men with this condition can begin suffering hair loss as early as their teens or early 20s, while most women don’t experience noticeable thinning until their 40s or later.
In men, the condition is also called
Male pattern baldness. It’s characterized by a receding hairline and gradual disappearance of hair from the crown. In women, androgenic alopecia is referred to as female pattern baldness. Women with the condition experience a general thinning over the entire scale, with the most extensive hair loss at the crown.
Patchy hair loss in children and young adults, often sudden in onset, is known as alopecia areata. This condition may result in complete baldness, but about 90% of cases the hair returns, usually within a few years. With alopecia universalis, all body hair loss seen.
Tearing out one’s own hair, a psychological disorder known as trichotillomanis, is seen most frequently in children.
Telogen effuvium is hair thinning over the scalp or other parts of the body that occurs because of changes in the growth cycle of hair. A large number of hairs enter the resting phase at the same time, causing shedding and subsequent thinning.
Q. What is the Treatment of Hair Loss?
A. Hair loss caused by a temporary situation such as medication, stress or insufficient iron, the hair loss can be treated by removing the cause. Hair loss due to infection may require oral antibiotics or antifungals. For all of the causes, early treatment works the best.
Q. Is there a relationship between diet and hair loss?
A. Yes, Nutritional deficiencies can contribute to increased hair shedding by weakening hair shafts that cause breakage to the hair and slow regrowth. Hair problem that are caused by nutritional deficiencies can be corrected by a proper diet. Principal nutrients that are involved include vitamin A, certain B vitamins, Biotin, Vitamin C, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Protein, and Water.
By Dr. Neharikaa
Description of Hair Loss
Each hair grows in cycles – it grows, rests, and then falls out. At any time, about 90% of a person’s scalp hair is growing, a phase that lasts between two and six years. 10% of the scalp hair is in a resting phase that lasts between two and three months. At the end of its resting stage, the hair goes through a shedding phase.
Shedding 50 to 100 hairs a day is considered normal. These hairs are replaced they grow back in the same follicle on the head. This amount of hair loss is totally normal and no cause for worry. The medical term for hair is Alopecia, ie losing hair more than normal.
Hair loss can be due to many different causes, but about 50 percent of the population experience it by the time they reach 50. People who notice their hair shedding in large amounts after combing or brushing, or whose hair becomes thinner of falls out should consult a dermatologist.
Q. What Causes Hair Loss?
A. A number of causes might be identified. These include:
- Children – When a woman is pregnant, her hair continues to grow. The usual 50 to 100 hair per day are not shed. However, after she delivers her baby, many hairs enter the resting stage of the hair cycle at once. Within two to three months after delivery, these hairs may all fall out together and be seen as large amounts of hair coming out in their brushes and combs.
- High fever, severe infection, major surgery, significant life stressor. From four weeks to three months after a person has a high fever, severe infection, major surgery, or significant life stressor such as death in the family, he or she may be shocked to see a lot of hair falling out. This condition usually corrects itself but may require treatment.
- Thyroid disease- Both an overactive and under active thyroid can cause hair loss. The hair loss associated with thyroid disease can be reversed with proper treatment.
- Inadequate protein in diet-.Some vegetarian, people who go on crash diets that exclude protein, and those with severely abnormal eating habits, may develop protein malnutrition. When this happen by shifting growing hairs into the resting phase. Massive hair shedding can occur two to three months later. Hair can then be pulled out by the roots. This condition can be reversed by eating the proper amount of protein.
- Medication – Prescription drugs can cause temporary hair shedding in a small percentage of people. Examples of such drugs are blood thinners, some drugs used to treat gout and arthritis, acne, or psoriasis, and some medications for heart problems.
- Cancer treatment drugs – Most drugs used in chemotherapy will cause hair cells to stop dividing. Hair shafts become thin and break off as they exit the scalp. This can occur one to three weeks after beginning chemotherapy. The patient may lose all of his hair, but this will usually re-grow after treatment ends.
- Birth control pills – Women who loss their hair when taking birth control pills usually have an inherited tendency towards hair thinning.
- Low serum iron – Iron deficiency sometimes produces hair loss. Low iron can be detected by laboratory tests and corrected with iron pills.
- Infections – Ringworm, or tinea capitis, is a common fungal infection in children. Patches of hair may be lost and replaced with pink scaly skin.
Q. What are the types of Hair Loss?
A. These are many types of hair loss also called Alopecia.
Androgenic alopecia is from of hair loss. It is a genetically predisposed condition that can effect both men and women. Men with this condition can begin suffering hair loss as early as their teens or early 20s, while most women don’t experience noticeable thinning until their 40s or later.
In men, the condition is also called
Male pattern baldness. It’s characterized by a receding hairline and gradual disappearance of hair from the crown. In women, androgenic alopecia is referred to as female pattern baldness. Women with the condition experience a general thinning over the entire scale, with the most extensive hair loss at the crown.
Patchy hair loss in children and young adults, often sudden in onset, is known as alopecia areata. This condition may result in complete baldness, but about 90% of cases the hair returns, usually within a few years. With alopecia universalis, all body hair loss seen.
Tearing out one’s own hair, a psychological disorder known as trichotillomanis, is seen most frequently in children.
Telogen effuvium is hair thinning over the scalp or other parts of the body that occurs because of changes in the growth cycle of hair. A large number of hairs enter the resting phase at the same time, causing shedding and subsequent thinning.
Q. What is the Treatment of Hair Loss?
A. Hair loss caused by a temporary situation such as medication, stress or insufficient iron, the hair loss can be treated by removing the cause. Hair loss due to infection may require oral antibiotics or antifungals. For all of the causes, early treatment works the best.
Q. Is there a relationship between diet and hair loss?
A. Yes, Nutritional deficiencies can contribute to increased hair shedding by weakening hair shafts that cause breakage to the hair and slow regrowth. Hair problem that are caused by nutritional deficiencies can be corrected by a proper diet. Principal nutrients that are involved include vitamin A, certain B vitamins, Biotin, Vitamin C, Copper, Iron, Zinc, Protein, and Water.
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