Hair loss

In the United States about half of all the men and women actually experience some type of hair loss. In fact hair loss is so common among people that most of the time it is considered normal rather than a disease. In actuality about 30% of people suffer from hair loss by the time they are 30 years old, while 50% of people suffer from hair loss by the time they are 50 years old.

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to hair loss is that hair loss varies widely with race. In fact white men and women are more likely to suffer from some type of hair loss than other races. Japanese men rarely develop baldness and on average when they do they develop it about 10 years later. And blacks are actually 4 times less likely to have abnormal hair loss than whites. But hair loss also affects women differently than it does men. With women although they do develop hair loss as frequently as men do because of the hormonal differences between them women don't lose as much hair volume. But not only that women are able to hide their hair loss better than men because of the different hairstyles that women have to choose from, not to mention the fact that they have a different pattern of balding then men do.

One of the most important things that you need to know about hair loss is that although it can be rather embarrassing it has few medical complications. But there are several serious medical conditions that can cause hair loss to occur. When it comes to hair loss there are four main types of hair loss: androgenic alopecia, traumatic alopecia, drug-induced alopecia, alopecia areata. Here is a closer look at the forms of hair loss:

1. Androgenic alopecia - this one is actually the most common type of hair loss. It is also referred to as male pattern baldness. This type of hair loss is natural hair loss
   
2. Traumatic alopecia - this form of hair loss comes from the hair being torn out of the head. In most of these cases it comes from hair pulling or an injury that causes the hair to be ripped from the scalp.
   
3. Drug-induced alopecia - this type of hair loss can only be caused from medications and it is only certain medications that cause this type of hair loss. There are actually several medications available that cause hair loss, including allopurinol and warfarin.
   
4. Alopecia areata - this type of hair loss is not a total hair loss but instead it is considered patchy hair loss because only small sections or sometimes large sections of hair are missing. But the best part about this type of hair loss is that most of the time it is reversible.

Now that you know about the different types of hair loss and some of the things that can cause the different types of hair loss we are going to take a closer look at the other common causes of hair loss and some of the least common causes of hair loss.

• Poor nutrition
  
• Stress, a good example of this is the stress that you experience through a major illness
  
• Chemicals
  
• Poor blood flow
  
• Infections like syphilis
  
• Skin diseases including lupus
  
• Cancers
  
• Hormone problems - many women after pregnancy lose a lot of hair because of hormones
  
• Kidney and liver failure

Here are the more common symptoms that you will find in conjunction with hair loss:

• Many people actually first start to notice their hair loss when they are looking at themselves in the mirror.
  
• You might also notice many hairs on your pillow in the morning or even in your hairbrush or comb after combing your hair
  
• Women and some men can notice a decrease in the size of their ponytail

Now that you know about the types of hair loss and what causes the various types of hair loss you are going to need to know about the different ways to treat hair loss. In fact when it comes to treating hair loss it is going to vary depending on what type of hair loss you are suffering from. If you are suffering from hair loss due to a recent illness the best way to treat that type of hair loss is to treat the illness itself. The reason for this is that once you are over the illness your hair loss will correct itself. The biggest difference in treatments is if you are suffering from only hair loss. And how you are going to treat hair loss is going to depend on how bad the actual hair loss is.

When you are deciding on the type of treatment you are going to use for your hair loss the main thing that you want to think about is how much your hair loss actually bothers you. The different treatments that you can choose from include grooming techniques, wigs and hairpieces, medications and surgery. When it comes to styling this will work for mild cases and all you have to do is style your hair to cover the areas with the most hair loss. But if you have a lot of hair loss most likely styling is not going to work so what you need to consider is using wigs and hairpieces to cover or hide the areas that are affected by hair loss. The best thing is that with both methods you can also combine them with the use of medications or even surgery if you are not satisfied with the results of styling or the hairpiece alone.

You can also treat hair loss at home, but the problem is that treating hair loss at home is not very effective and at times it can be rather difficult. The one thing that you can do at home to treat hair loss is to decrease the amount of pulling and tugging of the hair. This will help to prevent loose hair from falling out, but the biggest drawback to this is that it will only work for a short period of time. This method is by no means a permanent solution to the hair loss problem. In fact most people who suffer from hair loss are going to need to see their doctor in order to determine if there is a medical problem that is causing their hair loss and if a medical problem is causing the hair loss the doctor will provide the appropriate treatment for the medical condition.

When it comes to hair loss and medical attention it is often difficult to determine when you should seek medical attention because how do you know if it is just male pattern baldness or if it is something more severe. Here are some signs and symptoms that you should watch for that would indicate the need to seek medical attention:

1. Losing large amounts of hair every day and you are not feeling well at the same time you are losing hair. But also keep in mind that hair loss can also occur without other signs of illness.
   
2. If you want to prevent balding and are experiencing hair loss you want to see a doctor to prevent it from going further
   
3. If you have any of the following symptoms that occur at the same time as hair loss you might have a serious medical condition and you need to see a doctor right away:
   

• Confusion
  
•  Poor appetite
  
• Constipation
  
• Diarrhea
  
• Trouble breathing
  
• Weight loss
  
• Vomiting
  
• Fever
  
• Pain
  
• Skin problems

When you are seeking medical attention for your hair loss the way that the doctors are going to diagnose your hair loss is by looking at hair amount and hair distribution. Doctors will also use charts with pictures of hair loss to classify the amount and type of hair loss. And for the most part extra tests are not needed, but more tests can be done if the doctors are uncertain of the diagnosis. Here is a look at the types of tests that doctors might use:

• Pull test - they look for different thickness and length which is used to confirm the most common type of hair loss which is androgenic alopecia.
  
• X-rays and blood tests - these are used if the hair loss is severe and if other signs of illness are present
  
• Skin tests - this is when you have skin problems that are leading to hair loss. What happens is the doctors will take a sample of skin and hair from the affected area and look at it under a microscope. What they are looking for is skin irritation or even infection that they can treat to stop the hair loss.

If the doctors feel that you need treatment to deal with your hair loss there are a few different things that they can give you. If you are a male you can take a pill called Finasteride once a day. What this does is blocks the effects of testosterone on hair growth, which testosterone is found in higher amounts in men. But if you are a female you can use something called Minoxidil which is a medication that is rubbed directly onto your scalp. What this medication does is it enlarges hairs and makes them grow for a longer period. But the best part is that minoxidil can be used in both men and women. Keep in mind that it works best for balding at the top and back of the head rather than the front of the scalp.