Diagnosis For Sudden Hair Loss

By Owen Jones


Alopecia is the medical term for excessive hair loss, but there are quite a number of varieties as there are quite a few causes of hair loss. Most individuals think that alopecia refers to a virus, but in truth it merely means baldness. Therefore, typical male pattern baldness can be called pattern alopecia or androgenic alopecia.

Excessive hair loss is defined as over 100 hairs falling out each day and can be caused by heredity, sickness, disease, poor nutrition, pregnancy, poor immune system, bad hairdressing, medication, iron deficiency, scalp disease, chemotherapy, lupus and venereal disease.

So, if you begin losing an abnormal amount of hair suddenly, it is a sign that you ought to visit the medical doctor for a few check ups. The visit to a GP might involve a lengthy questionnaire. Presumably, your medical doctor has a record of your medical history, but he or she may want to know of your lifestyle and your ancestry as well.

If you are paying the medical doctor by the hour, or your time is limited, you can save time spent at the surgery by jotting down some notes. These notes might be a record of the food that you have eaten in the previous week or two in order to provide a snapshot of your normal diet; a list of the medicines you take and a little concerning your lifestyle, such as working hours, socializing hours, drinking habits etc.

Stress may also become a factor, so be willing to talk about your family life and your career or lack of one. Be prepared to answer any questions honestly or there is no use going in the first place.

The physician will examine the condition of your hair and your scalp and will almost certainly pull your hair to see how easily it comes out. This is usually carried out on 50-60 hairs at a time and it called the pull test. If the hair comes out too easily, it might be an indication of drug abuse.

The pluck test is meant to pull hairs out by the roots in order to inspect them. Inspection of the roots under a microscope will reveal which stage of development the hair is in. In essence, hairs have three stages of growth and the stage can be worked out by the root.

If the reason for the hair loss cannot be found by these methods, the doctor might like to take samples of the upper layer of skin and possibly even a sample of deeper skin, which can be obtained with a small tool there and then in the GP's surgery.

As a last resort, the GP may want to take a sample of your blood, but it is unusual to have carried out all the above tests without coming to a conclusion concerning the reason for your rapid hair loss.




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