All you wanted to know about your type of hair loss!

Have your tresses been a cause of concern lately? Worry no more! Here's everything you wanted to know about different types hair loss, their diagnosis and treatment.

Hair loss, also known as Alopecia, is seen to be prevalent in the last decade and is continuing to rise at an alarming rate. While it is normal to lose around 50-100 hair in a day, even those, if not regained, can be a cause of concern.

Typically, hair loss can be classified into focal or diffuse alopecia. Focal Alopecia involves loss of hair in a particular area and can be either a scarring type or non-scarring type.

Diffuse alopecia involves loss of hair from all over the scalp and is not usually in patches. It involves thinning of the hair due to root thinning and damage of hair follicles.

Focal Alopecia

Focal alopecia involves loss of hair in patches mainly from the scalp, but can also involve the eyebrows, beard, moustache and body hair. Focal alopecia can be further classified as scarring or non-scarring alopecia.

Alopecia Areata (Non-Scarring Alopecia)

Alopecia Areata is a patchy hair loss, which involves mainly the hair on the scalp. It occurs due to auto-immunity in the body, leading to inflammation of the hair roots eventually causing the hair to fall off. It is usually sudden in onset, and at times is self-limiting, though it usually relapses.  

It can be triggered as a result of other auto-immune disorders like hypothyroidism, diabetes and anemia or could be because of stress, trauma or  Vitamin D deficiency. Left untreated it leads to Alopecia Totalis- Complete baldness on scalp, eventually resulting in Alopecia Universalis - Falling of hair  from other parts of the body.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of Alopecia areata is usually done by clinical evaluation of the patch. The hair strands can be tested using a video microscope which helps evaluate the condition of the roots and the hair in and around the patchy area of loss. A complete history taking also help diagnose the condition, as the underlying disorders if any can be probed into. Investigative tests may include checking for anemia, diabetes, or hypothyroidism, Vitamin D deficiency as they are the common reasons for patches to develop.

Why homeopathy is an ideal treatment for alopecia areata?

While conventional treatments involve corticosteroid injections and topical steroidal treatments that do come with heavy side-effects and relapses on stoppage of treatment, homoeopathy is known to effectively grow the hair back in even the most severe cases of alopecia areata. Homoeopathy acts at the immunity level thereby going into the root cause and brings about a safe and permanent cure.

Cicatricial Alopecia ( Scarring Alopecia )

Cicatricial Alopecia or scarring alopecia is patchy hair loss accompanied by scarring. It is usually caused due to few disorders that replace hair tissue with scar tissue causing permanent hair loss.    

The hair loss is usually gradual and sometimes goes unnoticed till a large patch develops, as the scarring occurs underneath the skin and the visible signs are  pain, burning and redness.

Diagnosis

It can be diagnosed clinically by a hair pull test determining the growth and strength of hair around the patch. A hair biopsy also helps confirm cicatricial alopecia.

Homeopathy treatment

As the hair loss is usually permanent, little can be achieved with treatment.  However, treatments can definitely help in controlling the progression of the  disease and reducing the inflammatory symptoms present in the individual.

  As opposed to anti-inflammatory medications and corticosteroids, homoeopathic medications help effectively control the progression of the patch by getting to the root cause of the problem, while simultaneously taking care of the inflammatory symptoms of pain, redness or burning that may be present.

Diffuse Alopecia:

Diffuse alopecia involves generalized hair loss from all over the scalp and can be caused due to a variety of reasons like hormonal imbalances, post viral or fungal infections, pregnancy, excessive pressure on the hair roots or psychological disturbances. Some of the major types are discussed here. 

Telogen Effluvium:

Telogen Effluvium is a form of diffuse alopecia or hair loss which is temporary in  nature. It mainly involves excessive shedding of hair and is usually reversible and  the hair often grow back.           

Acute Telogen Effluvium is excessive hair loss that occurs suddenly after any stress, trauma or post viral or bacterial infections.

Telogen effluvium when experienced for more than 6 months is considered to be  chronic.

It is more commonly seen in women than men and is characterized by an increase in amount of hair that a person sheds.

It can start as a result of stress, hormonal imbalances post-partum and pre or post-menopausal, as a result of crash dieting, poor nutrition, certain specific drug use, underlying medical conditions like hypothyroid, diabetes or post surgeries. 

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of hair fall in Telogen Effluvium is done by Hair pull test, where the amount of hair shed is checked. A hair wash test can also be done, where the person is asked to monitor the hair shed during every wash.

Video microscope analysis helps differentiate Telogen Effluvium from other hair  disorders, by checking for the hair thickness and caliber

Blood workup help rule out underlying disorders like hypothyroid or iron deficiency.

Homeopathic treatment

While there are no specific treatments for Telogen Effluvium, along with dietary and lifestyle changes, homoeopathic medications can help treat the underlying causes if any, like hormonal imbalances, thyroid disorders, iron deficiencies, low immunity.

Homoeopathic medications also help in effective stress reduction of patients, thereby bringing a significant reduction in hair loss.

Pattern Hair loss :

Pattern hair loss or Androgenic Alopecia is prevalent in among 80% of people suffering from hair loss. It is more seen in men than women and occurs due to genes and male hormones. This type of hair loss is characterized by thinning of  hairs in the crown along with receding hairlines in male pattern baldness, and  thinning from the parting, crown and the hairlines in female pattern baldness.

It occurs due to shrinking of hair follicles over time resulting in thinner, shorter hair, and eventually leading to no new hair growth from the follicles.   

While it is mainly genetic in nature, stress, underlying disorders like  hypothyroidism, iron deficiency, can also trigger the same.

Diagnosizs

Diagnosis of Androgenic Alopecia is done by the clinical presentation or the pattern of the hair loss. A hair pull test also helps evaluate the areas affected.                         

A video microscope or trichoscopy analysis helps in determining the ratio of the  terminal (thick) to vellous (thin) hair that helps indicate the extent of follicular damage in the area of thinning.  

A blood work up where ever indicated clinically helps rule out the underlying  disorders if any, responsible for the pattern hair loss.

Homeopathic treatment

Although pattern hair loss is irreversible and has no treatments, the progression of  the disease can be controlled and improvement in density and volume can be  achieved with treatments.

As against the conventional therapy for hair fall control like hormonal tablets, medications to improve blood circulation or multivitamin tablets that have long  term side effects, homoeopathic medications help in reducing the hair loss, stabilizing the condition and postponing the progression of disease effectively.

Homoeopathic medications when supplemented with additional external non-invasive therapies like gro hair therapies or Stem cell therapies, help improve the volume and density of hair.

For cases of advance andro genic alopecia, hair transplant surgeries help in regrowth, but they need to be supported by medical therapies for maintenance of  hair post-surgery.

In cases where person does not want any kind of medications whatsoever,   temporary treatments like wigs or hair fiber can be used.

Along with homeopathic medications, lifestyle management in terms of proper  diet, hair care and stress management also play an important role in effective management of pattern baldness.

Do you think any of the above may be a reason for the pool of hair around you?    

  Then may be its time you leave it to the expert!