What Causes Hair Loss and How Can Hair Loss be Prevented?

Who says that only adults need to worry about hair loss? At present, even teens and young adults are already being affected by hair loss. Hair loss can serve as a warning sign especially for the young ones because it may indicate malnutrition and other diseases. So if you’re losing an abnormal amount of hair every day, you ought to visit a doctor so that the root cause is identified. This article trys to answer the question "what causes hair loss?" and looks at possible ways to help tackle this common condition.

For chemotherapy patients or those that take certain medications because of their illness, hair loss may be one of its effects. Not only that, frequent hair styling can also cause hair loss. So whatever the reason is, you have to identify it right away so that the proper treatment can be determined.

Appearance matters a lot especially in today’s times. For young adults and teens, act on your hair loss problem immediately because once the problem is corrected, your hair will again grow normally. For the older adults, it may take some time before you can re-grow your hair or the worst is that your hair may never grow again.

Aside from causes of hair loss already mentioned above, there are still other known causes. One is alopecia areata and it affects about 1.7% of the entire population. It is considered as one of the autoimmune diseases and it is characterized by round small bald patches on your scalp. After some time, the condition progresses and you end up with full hair loss. This condition starts during childhood. If you’re quite lucky, you can expect your hair to grow back between six months to two years.

Trichotillomania can also cause hair loss and this is due to the constant pulling of the hair. This condition is a psychological disorder so the person should seek immediate medical attention. Oftentimes, therapy is needed until such time that the individual stops pulling his or her hair.

Poor nutrition is able to contribute to further hair loss. By eating unhealthy choices of food, your body will not get the necessary nutrients it needs to make your hair and scalp healthy. People who have bulimia and anorexia are prone to hair loss because hair growth is not sustained. You don’t have to eat plenty of foods all at once but just eat the healthy ones and in the right amounts as well.

Another is male pattern baldness. This is genetically inherited and the effects are seen more visibly among men. The condition is also called androgenetic alopecia. Several factors cause this condition like genetics, androgen, and hormones.

So what can the doctor do to help you with your hair loss problem? The doctor will take some hair samples and check on your scalp. He or she will also run some checks if you have medical conditions or illnesses.

If hair loss is due to medications, the doctor can prescribe drug substitutes. Diabetes and thyroid diseases can also cause hair loss so once these health conditions are identified, the doctor can prescribe medications to treat the disorders so that further hair loss can be prevented. Corticosteroids may be used to treat alopecia areata. Malnourished individuals are advised to seek the help of a nutrition expert or dietician. The most popular drug used to treat hair loss is minoxidil because it can expedite hair re-growth and prevent hair loss.

Hair loss can’t be cured but it can be treated. Talk to your doctor now so that you can better understand your condition.