Baldness – Explanation, Prevention and Treatment

What is hair loss?

Hair loss may commence as a few strands of hair in the sink and later on might progress to withdrawing hair line and bare scalp. In general, people shed 10 to 100 hairs per day. But with 100,000 hairs in the scalp, that amount of baldness won’t be obvious. Gradual thinning is part of aging, on the other hand hair loss may lead to baldness when the rate of shedding exceeds the rate of re-growth, when new hair is thinner than the hair shed or when hair comes out in patches.

Baldness or hair loss can be ancestral, caused by a number of medications or an underlying medical problems. Any person-men, women, children – can develop hair loss. Other causes of alopecia include bad diet, hormonal changes, hair treatments, scalp infection, or trichotillomania (hair-pulling disorder).

Alopecia is the health term for hair loss. The most common type of alopecia is pattern baldness or androgenic alopecia. It affects 1/3 of men and women and is classically incurable just like the circatricial (scarring) alopecia. Circatrial alopecia on the other hand, is a rare condition that happens when hair follicles are damaged and inflammed. It predisposes the person to suffer from permanent hair loss. Other types of alopecia includes alopecia areata (small, round. Smooth patches), telogen effluvium (triggered by pressure or illness), traction alopecia (cause by regularly wear of hairstyle, pobytails, braids or tight rollers) and anagen effluvium (growing hair affected by chemotherapeutic drugs).

How to avoid baldness?

If one notices sudden hair loss, or more than usual hair loss when combing or washing hair, consult a doctor. Sudden hair loss can signal underlying medical condition that may possibly require medical attention.

A complete medical history, family history and physical examination will be done to help the diagnosis. The pattern, rate of baldness, the appearance of adjacent hairs, and accompanying symptoms are considered. Some test may well be done before treatment, such as Pull test, skin scrapings, punch biopsy and screening tests for related diseases.

Sorry to say, baldness whether permanent or temporary cannot be cured. More or less, there are hair loss creams and treatments available to promote hair growth.

Medications

Like any other medications, the treatment modalities for hair loss depends on the cause, extent and the patient’s response. The following are different types of medication that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration:

1. Minoxidil (Rogaine) – an over-the-counter medication accepted to treat androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata. It is a liquid or froth that can be rub into your scalp twice every day to grow hair and to prevent further loss.

2. Finasteride (Propecia) – a medication pill to be taken every day. It works by preventing the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone which is accountable for the shrinking of hair follicles. Like minoxidil, its benefits stops once discontinued. It is only endorsed for men.

3. Corticosteroids – injection of corticosteroids to scalp to deal with alopecia areata. Pills may be prescribed for acute hair loss.

4. Anthralin (Dritho-scalp) – obtainable as either cream or ointment, to encourage growth of hair for cases such as alopecia.

Operation

1. Hair transplant – techniques such as pinch grafts, minigrafts, micrografts, slit or strip grafts are obtainable to treat androgenic alopecia. A dermatologist or cosmetic surgeons take tiny plugs of skin, each containing one to a few hairs, from the back of the scalp. The plugs are then entrenched into the bald sections.

2. Scalp reduction – the skin of the scalp is stretched enough for some of it to be surgically removed. The space now is blocked with hair-covered scalp.

These measures are expensive and treacherous. If one would like to consider this mode of treatment, go to board-accredited dermatologists, plastic surgeons or cosmetic surgeons.

Wigs and Hair Pieces

These days there are several types of wigs and hairpieces accessible.. Quality, real-looking hairpieces and wigs are available in the market.

Certainly, there are so many things one can do in order to avoid and treat baldness. It is important to be clever and consult first with your doctor before making any health related decisions.

Find the latest and most effective hair loss treatment for women for men. Follow the links to uncover profollica review written by trusted online medical reviewers today.

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February 25th, 2011 in Baldness | tags: , , , , , ,