Hair Loss Explained
>> Friday, 28 November 2008
Hair loss or baldness is a condition in which hair does not grow on the scalp after hair fall. The most common form of baldness is the development of a hair thinning condition called androgenic alopecia or male baldness which occurs in adult males.
The nature of hair loss or baldness can vary greatly. These are the types of hair loss
1. Androgenic alopecia: Loss of hair in men is called as androgenic alopecia.
2. Alopecia areata: Here hair loss occurs in some portions of the head.
3. Alopecia totalis: In this the hair loss occurs over the entire scalp to an extreme limit.
4. Alopecia universalis: This involves the loss of all hair from the entire body.
The other less common kinds of baldness are:
1) Traction alopecia: This type of hair loss is mostly observed in people with ponytails who pull their hair with excessive force while combing. Wearing a hat for more than 8 hours also causes hair loss. The scalp should breathe at least 7 hours in a day.
2) Telogen effluvioum: Hair loss some times occurs due to causes like major surgery, poisoning, child birth, chemotherapy severe stress etc and such condition is known as telogen effluvium.
3) Mycotic Infections: Mycotic infections can cause massive hair loss.
4) Alopecia areata: This type hair loss is known as spot baldness and is caused due to autoimmune disorder.
Prevention Methods
A variety of treatment is available for hair loss. However, even today the treatment for alopecia has a limited success rate. Prevention is better than cure is very much applicable to hair loss. It is much easier to prevent the falling out of healthy hair than re-growing new ones. Regular exercise can help keep androgen levels low naturally and reduce falling of hair. Stress reduction can stop hair loss. A balanced and nutritious diet reduces the falling of hair to a great extent.
