Hair loss: Types, Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention & Home remedies
What is thinning hair?
The majority of healthy people shed up to 100 hair strands each day. New strands replace the ones you shed as part of the growth cycle of your hair. The condition is referred to as alopecia (hair loss) when you begin to shed more hair and only a few or none of it grows back. Hair loss comes in a variety of forms and can affect adults of any gender as well as children. You may lose hair from your body as well as your head.
Categories of hair loss:
Aerating Alopecia:
An autoimmune condition is alopecia areata in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissues, such as hair follicles. This prevents new hair from growing and causes hair to fall out. Hair loss can occur suddenly and without warning due to this condition, which can affect both adults and children.
The Effluvium Telogen:
A type of hair loss known as telogen effluvium occurs when a large number of follicles on the scalp enter the resting phase of the hair growth cycle known as telogen but do not begin the next growth phase. As a result, there is no new hair growth and hair falls out all over the scalp. Although you may lose 300 to 500 hairs per day and your hair may appear thin, especially at the crown and temples, telogen effluvium rarely results in complete baldness.
Alopecia androgenetica:
The most prevalent form of hair loss, androgenetic alopecia, affects over 50 million men and 30 million women in the United States. Androgenetic alopecia, also known as “male pattern hair loss” or “female pattern hair loss,” is a genetic condition that can be treated with medication or surgery.
Effluvium of Anagen:
Rapid hair loss as a result of medical treatment, such as chemotherapy, is anagen effluvium. These powerful and quick-acting drugs kill cancer cells but may also stop the production of hair follicles in the scalp and other parts of the body. Most of the time, hair grows back on its own after chemotherapy is over. Dermatologists can prescribe medication to speed up hair growth.
Tinesis recti:
The fungal infection of the scalp known as tinea capitis, or scalp ringworm, is a common cause of hair loss in children. This condition causes hair to fall out in clumps, sometimes in a circular pattern, resulting in bald spots that may grow over time. The affected areas frequently appear red or scaly, and itching may occur on the scalp.
Symptoms of alopecia are listed:
Patchy hair loss is the most common symptom of alopecia aerate. Hair begins to fall out in patches the size of quarters, mostly from the scalp. However, the beard and eyelashes are among the places where hair grows. It is possible for hair loss to begin suddenly, within a few days or within a few weeks.
Hair can re-grow if the follicle inflammation subsides because the follicles are not destroyed. People who only experience a few patches of hair loss frequently recover completely and without treatment. About 30% of people who get alopecia aerate find that their condition gets worse or becomes a constant cycle of losing hair and growing it back.
Half of patients recover from alopecia in one year, but many will go through multiple episodes. Alopecia totalis or alopecia universalis will occur in about 10% of people. Other clinical symptoms include:
- Exclamation mark hairs: These are a few short hairs that grow in or around the edges of bald spots and become narrower at the bottom.
- Cadaver hairs: These are the places where hairs break off before reaching the surface of the skin.
- White hair: This type of hair may grow in areas with hair loss.
Causes of hair loss:
It’s an autoimmune disorder. This indicates that it arises when your immune system mistakenly attacks your body’s healthy cells. Your immune system attacks your hair follicles, which are the structures from which hairs grow, in alopecia aerate. Hair loss occurs when the follicles shrink and stop growing hair. This condition’s exact cause is unknown to researchers. However, the following factors may raise your risk of developing alopecia areata:
- Genetics: You may be more likely to develop alopecia areata if a close relative does.
- Certain medical conditions: Alopecia areata can be more likely in people with Down syndrome, thyroid disease, and vitiligo.
- Vitamin and mineral deficiencies: A lack of zinc, iron, biotin, vitamin D, vitamin B3, and amino acids may cause alopecia aerate. Additionally, individuals receiving treatment with the cancer drug nivolumab may develop a condition known as nivolumab-induced alopecia aerate. Hair loss is a sign that the medication is working in these situations.
Probing for hair loss:
Prior to making a determination, your PCP will probably give you an actual test and get some information about your eating regimen, your hair care schedule, and your clinical and family ancestry. You might also have to take tests like these:
- A blood test: This may assist in identifying medical conditions that can lead to hair loss. The pull test Your doctor gently removes a few dozen hairs to determine how many are present. This assists in determining the shedding stage.
- Hair biopsy: To examine the hair roots under a microscope, your doctor scrapes samples from the skin or a few hairs from the scalp.
- Microscopy with light: When trimming hairs at their bases, your doctor uses a special instrument to examine them. The use of microscopy aids in the identification of potential hair shaft disorders.
Options for treatment:
There are effective treatments for some types of hair loss. You might be able to stop or at least slow down your hair loss. Without treatment, some conditions, like alopecia areata, which causes patchy hair loss, may cause hair to regrow within a year. The medications on this list are related to or used to treat this condition.
- streptomycin
- Obliterant
- Alopecia
- oblique
A quick look at our categories for preventing hair loss:
- Adjustments to your diet
- Additional considerations
- New ways to treat your hair
- Medical procedures
- Prescription and over-the-counter medications
Handy remedies for thinning hair:
Studies supporting natural alopecia treatments are even harder to come by given the scarcity of conventional treatments. Onion or garlic juice, cooled green tea, almond oil, rosemary oil, honey, or coconut milk are some of the remedies that have been suggested for scalp inflammation. Despite the fact that none of these are likely to harm, research does not support their efficacy. Although there is little, if any, evidence to support these treatments, some people turn to alternative ones like acupuncture and aromatherapy.