hair loss

Hair loss: Prevention and Treatment 

Your scalp may get affected by hair loss. This may also affect your entire body. It may be temporary or permanent. It may be due to hormonal changes, heredity, medical conditions, or aging. Anyone may lose hair on their head. Yet it is widespread in men. Typically baldness refers to too massive a loss of hair from the scalp. A few people prefer to let their hair loss run its course unhidden and untreated. Still, others select one of the treatments available for preventing any more hair loss or restoring growth. Before you pursue treatment for hair fall, discuss with your doctor the cause of hair fall and options for treatment.

How is it diagnosed?

Before making a diagnosis, your doctor will conduct a physical examination. He will ask about your diet, hair care regimen, family, and medical history. You may have blood tests, pull tests, scalp biopsy, and light microscopy.

Treatment 

Effective treatments for a few types of hair fall are available. You may be capable of reversing hair fall or at least slowing it. Conditions like patchy hair fall may let hair regrow without treatment within one year. Treatments for loss of hair may include surgery or medications.

Medication

If any underlying disease causes hair fall treatment will be essential. If any specific medication causes hair loss, your doctor will advise you to pause using it for months. Drugs are available for treating pattern baldness. The most common options are:

• Minoxidil: Non-prescription medication minoxidil is available in liquid, shampoo, and foam forms. To make it most effective, use the product on your scalp skin. Women must use it once daily, and men must use it twice daily. A lot of people prefer applying the foam when their hair is wet. Products including minoxidil aid many people regrow their hair. It will slow the hair loss rate or both. It will take at least six months for the treatment to stop further loss of hair and start regrowth of hair. It will take some more months to tell if the treatment is working. If it helps, you will require continuing to use the medicine indefinitely to retain the benefits. Some possible side effects are scalp irritation, unwanted growth of hair on the adjacent skin of hands and face, etc.

• Finasteride: It is a prescription medication for men. Take it every day as a pill. Many men who take this medication experience a slowing loss of hair. Some may show new growth of hair. It will take some months to tell if it is working for you. You will require keeping it to retain benefits. The medication may not be working well for men aged more than 60 years. Rare side effects are reduced sex drive or sexual function and an increased prostate cancer risk. Women who may become pregnant must avoid touching crushed or broken pills.

• Other medications: Other oral medications are oral dutasteride (Avodart) and spironolactone (Aldactone and Carospir)

Lifestyles and home remedies

You may wish to try many hair care methods. It will help you find one that makes you feel much better regarding your appearance. Use styling products that will add volume, select a hairstyle that will make a widening part less visible, and color your hair. Make use of wigs or hair extensions, or shave your head. Fix a meeting with a hairstylist for different ideas. Such approaches can be used to address the temporary or permanent loss of hair. If your hair loss is because of a medical condition, the price of a wig may be covered by insurance.