Page 54 - (DK) Home Doctor: Providing practical advice on home treatments

52 COMMON CONDITIONS: SKIN, HAIR, AND NAIL PROBLEMS

Hair thinning and hair loss

Temporary hair loss often occurs after an illness or period of stress, or because of a skin infection such
as ringworm. Chemical hair treatments, and hairstyles and hats that pull on the hair, can contribute to the
problem. Some drugs and long-term illnesses cause hair loss, and women may lose hair temporarily after
childbirth. Permanent hair loss is usually hereditary and can begin to affect men as early as in their
twenties. Women who inherit the trait develop thin hair later in life but do not usually become bald.

See also Ringworm, p.48.

See your doctor first
NATURAL REMEDIES
Make an appointment to see your doctor if:
● You have been losing hair rapidly or in Protein and iron Protein is essential for
building and repairing tissues in the body, including
patches in recent weeks
● You think your hair loss may be due to hair. Make sure about one sixth of your total calorie
intake is made up of foods such as meat, fish, cheese,
a medication or an illness and nuts. Iron also helps maintain healthy hair, so
● You are pulling your hair out
eat plenty of iron-rich foods such as grains, beans,
fish, poultry, meat, and leafy green vegetables.
What you can do yourself
There is little you can do to prevent hereditary DRUG REMEDIES
hair loss, but treatments may reverse some of its
effects. For temporary hair loss, try the following Minoxidil preparations (see p.186)
to slow hair thinning and encourage regrowth. can slow down or prevent hereditary hair loss in
a proportion of men and women. The treatment is
● Fad diets and crash diets may contribute to hair
applied twice daily and needs to be used continually,
loss. Make sure you include plenty of protein and since its effect starts to wear off as soon as it is
iron in your diet (see NATURAL REMEDIES, right). stopped. You may have to wait for up to a year
before you notice any improvement. Ask your
● Avoid using hair dyes and treatments to perm or
pharmacist for advice.
straighten your hair. They contain chemicals that may
make hair brittle and liable to break at the roots. Using minoxidil
Apply the lotion to areas of hair
● Don’t wear your hair in a style that pulls on your loss using an applicator
scalp, or wear a cap or hat continuously unless you and spread it with
have to wear headgear for your work. your fingertips.
● Let your hair dry naturally if possible, rather
than using a hair dryer. Don’t pull on your hair with
a brush or comb when it is wet.
● If your hair is thinning, a good haircut can make
a difference. Short, blunt cuts can make hair appear
thicker. Some men prefer to cut their hair very short,
or shave it off, to disguise a receding hairline.
● If you are in the early stages of hereditary hair
loss, you can try a preparation containing minoxidil
that may restore hair (see DRUG REMEDIES, right).