HAIR LOSS AND MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS

Alopecia is the medical term used for baldness or absence of hair.  Hair loss is caused by several factors, including a hereditary predisposition to the condition, inadequate nutrition, certain medications and medical treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy, illnesses like cancer and lupus, drastic hormonal changes during pregnancy, and harmful hair treatments. 

All of us naturally shed off hair in order for new and healthier ones to grow.  However, if you are losing more than the average amount of hair daily, if you’re hair is falling off in clumps, if you have an irritated and flaky scalp, or if you are losing hair in almost all parts of your body, you should see a doctor right away.  A doctor will be fully equipped to diagnose your hair loss condition and its causes, and advise you on the proper medical treatments that will work best for you.

To effectively diagnose your hair loss condition, your doctor will have to inquire about your medical and family history.  Your doctor will have to know if you underwent any recent medical treatments or about any medications you have taken or are still taking in order to find out if any of these factors is causing your hair loss.  He will also need to know about your family history to determine whether or not you are genetically predisposed to developing pattern baldness. 

Aside from your medications, it will also be very helpful to make a list of all the foods that you regularly eat.  Improper nutrition may also be the root cause of your hair loss and your doctor will be able to establish if an inadequate diet is the culprit.  He will also inquire about your hair care habits and your current emotional and physiological conditions.  Too much hair products and treatments can cause your hair to fall off; stress-related hair loss is also possible.

Your doctor will also perform a physical examination of your hair and scalp.  The doctor will be looking for signs and symptoms of scalp infection, like redness, scaling, or flaking.  He will also perform the “pull test” on your hair.  This means that he will literally have to pull out some of your hair strands to find out how strong or weak your hair follicles are.  The overall physical condition of your scalp and hair will help the doctor make a proper medical diagnosis of your hair loss condition.

Other tests that your doctor may have to perform include the following:
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• Skin  sample.  Your doctor will need to get skin samples from your scalp especially if there are flakes or scrapings present in order to examine them for infection.
• The punch biopsy.  This procedure involves using a tool to remove a small section from the deeper layers of your skin.  This is considered as a last option in diagnosis when all the other tests have not given any conclusive results.  People who suffer from alopecia areata or scarring alopecia are very likely candidates for this test. 
• Blood tests.  Blood tests are usually not a screening tool for hair loss, but some doctors may need to examine your blood in order to eliminate certain medical conditions, like autoimmune diseases, as the cause of your hair loss.

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DISCLAIMER: All information is intended for your general knowledge only and is not a guarantee of any success. This information has been previously researched but you should do your own research to expand your knowledge. This should not be consider as medical advice.