Discover the reasons behind experiencing a sudden increase in hair loss and how it can be treated.
Having Massive Bundles of Hair Fall out Every day?
For both men and women, the one element that defines beauty and is the foundation of self-confidence is hair. Having thick, silky, curly, long/short, practically any style and type of hair are very important to us humans. Even though the perspective of beauty is changing with time, hair remains a key aspect. So imagine waking up one day and finding tons of hair on your bed.
Hair fall has become the biggest issue, especially since we got hit by a pandemic. Just like our body, our hair has needs. A lack of vitamin D (which we naturally get from the sun) can lead to hair fall. As we got stuck in-home quarantine for a very long time, this could be a reason why you are facing rapid hair fall.
However, there are various explanations as to why you might have such an unexpected rate of hair fall when you have healthy hair and do take regular care of it. We often take our hair for granted and focus solely on our body, trying to stay fit and healthy. However, this negligence may cause one to become bald.
What is the True Cause of this Hair Loss?
When we talk about hair loss, we immediately think about balding or shedding excessive hair. A condition like this is more often identified as Alopecia. This can be caused due to several reasons.
One could have a genetic condition (which means it has been passed to us by our ancestors), it could be due to an autoimmune disease, or it could be induced by changed environmental conditions. Let us indulge in a deeper understanding of Alopecia and its treatment.
The Different Types of Alopecia and their Causes
The first and most common type of hair loss that we should know about is Alopecia areata. This type of hair loss can occur in any part of the body, and you might start observing sporadic hair loss, and it can even show on your scalp. This happens when your immune system starts attacking the hair follicles.
Though most people recover from this within a year, it may come back at any moment later.
Androgenic Alopecia
This type of Alopecia only affects the scalp and is more commonly called male or female pattern baldness. Androgenic Alopecia is a genetic condition and usually starts at the age of 20 to 40. It is usually shown in men.
If one acquires this genetic disease, the hair follicles will become smaller and produce less hair as time progresses.
Telogen Effluvium
If you have gone through any accidents or injuries, or any other predisposed health conditions and need to take medicine regularly, you may face this hair condition. This can also be induced due to hormonal imbalance or poor nutrition.
In Telogen effluvium, the hair becomes thin, and you start seeing unusual amounts of hair loss. Anagen effluvium can also result from chemotherapy or radiation poisoning.
Traumatic Alopecia
If you love going to the parlor and getting chemical treatments such as rebounding done to your hair or have braids that are chemically treated, the process might cause hair loss. Another cause of Traumatic Alopecia is Trichotillomania which is a behavior disorder that causes one to pull out their hair.
Other Signs and Symptoms of Alopecia
If you are experiencing Alopecia, you should pay attention to these signs and symptoms which include redness and swelling on the scalp, excessive flakes or scales, notching or pitting of fingernails and toenails, burning and itching on the scalp and hair that breaks easily.
How to Diagnose Alopecia?
If you suspect that you may have a hair loss disorder, first contact your health care expert. Do not try to self-diagnose and get yourself wrongfully treated. Your health care provider will probably perform some tests.
Pull Test
To perform this test you have to go 24 hours without taking a shower. Your health care provider will then gently pull your hair. If 6 hair breaks out of 60 hair, you will be sent for further tests.
Punch Biopsy
Two samples of scalp tissue will be taken and sent for further tests. This focuses mainly on the scalp.
Trichogramma
In this test, the hair will be examined under a microscope to view the different stages of hair growth. This will give the physician an idea about your hair loss.
Blood Tests
If you are diagnosed with Alopecia, you will have to undergo a certain blood test to verify the cause of Alopecia.
How can Alopecia be Treated?
Treatment for Alopecia usually depends on the type of hair loss you are experiencing. In most cases, this will get better without any treatments.
However, if your hair loss is caused due to the intake of any medicines, talk to your doctor and ask them to change the medication into a different variant that does not cause hair loss. If the problem gets worse you can be prescribed certain medications.
These medicines usually include hair growth mediators (promotes hair growth and should only be used until the new hair starts growing in the affected area), antifungal shampoos, hormone regulators, steroids, and so on.
Don’t Stress or Your Hair Will be Less. Now that you know, Your Hair will Grow
Now that you figured out what the core of this problem is, you can easily get your hair treated and have those long luscious hair that you dreamed of. For men, no more baldness.
With knowledge comes great power. So with the knowledge of Alopecia, you can now get yourself correctly diagnosed and treated.
It’s time to bring back that self-confidence with great hair!
