Hair Loss Causes

2009-11-12T09:29:00.000-08:00

Hair Loss Causes
What causes hair loss in a human body? Firstly lets talk about the basics of the hair itself. The normal hair cycle of our hair growth can last for 2 to 6 years. In each month, per hair can grow about 1 centimeter during this hair cycle. About 90 percent of the hair on your scalp is growing at continuously. Leaving 10 percent of the hair on your scalp to be in a resting phase. Usually it takes about 2 to 3 months for the resting hair falls out and new hair starts to grow in its place. Some hair loss is normal each day as this is a part of the hair growth cycle. But when there is excessive hair loss in some people, (hair loss is faster than the hair growth itself). they experiences what they call “hair loss“. Hair loss of this type can affect anyone, be it men, women or children.

What are Hair Loss Causes?What are the causes of hair loss? There any several causes for excessive hair loss. It can be due to illness or major surgery that you may suddenly lose lot of hair. This kind of hair loss is due to the stress of the illness and it is only temporary. Below, we will discuss on few causes of hair loss.

Hormonal Changes causes Hair Loss
Hormonal changes in the body can cause hair loss. For example, if your thyroid gland is not balanced (overactive or underactive), your hair may fall out. This hair loss usually can be helped by treatment thyroid disease. Hair loss can also happen when the male or female hormones, (androgens and estrogens), are out of balance. Correcting the hormone imbalance may stop your hair loss. Another example of hair loss due to hormones imbalance is pregnancy. Many women will experience hair loss about 3 months after they’ve had a baby. During pregnancy, high levels of certain hormones cause the body to keep hair that would normally fall out. When the hormones return to pre-pregnancy levels, that hair falls out and the normal cycle of growth and loss starts again.

Medication causes Hair LossMedication can also cause hair loss. Medication such as chemotherapy which is used to treat cancer can caused massive hair loss. This type of hair loss improves when you stop taking the medicine. Medicines that can cause hair loss include blood thinners (also called anticoagulants), medicines used for gout, medicines used in chemotherapy to treat cancer, vitamin A (if too much is taken), birth control pills and antidepressants.

Infectin causes Hair LossScalp fungal infection can cause hair loss. In some cases of children scalp, fungal infections of the scalp can cause hair loss. However this kind of infection is easily treated with antifungal medicines.

Finally, hair loss can be due to a part of an underlying disease like lupus or diabetes. Therefore hair loss may be an early sign of a disease. It is important to find the cause so that it can be treated before the underlying disease becomes a disaster.