There are numerous reasons for hair loss. Nevertheless, most hair loss cases are just due to a few reasons. Hence, understanding the cause of hair loss does not pose many challenges to experts. It is also vital to understand that hair loss prevention and treatment is challenging but possible.
With the right kind of treatment, one can also expect hair regrowth. However, seeking early treatment is the key. In some conditions, if a person does not seek timely medical treatment, hair roots are lost forever, and a hair transplant remains the only option.
So, if you have been experiencing hair loss, seek medical attention instantly. Moreover, in some cases, it may be due to systemic diseases and nutritional deficiencies.
Normal hair growth and hair loss
There are three stages of hair growth:
- Anagen or growing stage: when hair grow and increases 1-2 cm in length a month, and this phase is quite long-lasting. This phase may last for 3-5 years.
- Catagen for the intermediate stage: it is one of the shorter stages lasting for just about 10 days. During this period, hair prepare for the next stage.
- Telogen or resting stage– during this period, there is no growth of hair, and they remain in this inactive stage for 3-4 months, and after that, they start falling gradually.
Here it is vital to understand that duration of each stage is determined by many factors like genetics, ageing, nutritional status, health status, and more. Generally, losing about 100 hairs a day is absolutely normal.
Below are some of the common causes of hair fall:
Androgenic alopecia or male pattern baldness
It is the most common cause of irreversible baldness. In addition, it is a genetic disorder leading to higher sensitivity of the scalp to androgens like DHT. Thus, it is more challenging to treat.
Fortunately, hair loss is slow and gradual in this most common condition. Significant hair loss generally occurs during the period of several months or even years. As a result, this condition is more likely to affect males older than 30 years of age, though, in some, it may start much earlier.
Most men can benefit significantly from the early treatment of the condition. One can expect an evidence-based treatment like topical drugs, and more in our Hisential clinics.
Generally, in this kind of issue, doctors focus on increasing blood flow to hair roots and, more importantly, reducing the damaging effect of androgens. In more severe cases, they might prescribe other oral drugs.
Further, in some cases, it can help regrow hairs using special devices like low-level light therapy. Such kind of therapy has no side effects and may help considerably in many cases.
Here is a word of caution. Without consulting a doctor, one should never take any medications for treating androgenic alopecia. Sometimes, these medications may have severe side effects; thus, a person needs to be monitored during treatment.
Other causes of hair loss
All men need to know that many types of hair loss are readily and effectively treated. Just take an example of ringworm of the scalp (tinea capitis). Tinea capitis is a kind of fungal infection. In this condition, one may experience hair loss in patches. However, with the right kind of treatment, one may start seeing the results within days. Other common medical diseases that can cause hair loss includes Thyroid disease and Alopecia Areata.
Similarly, some men may experience hair loss due to nutritional deficiencies like low protein intake, vitamin B12 deficiency, biotin deficiency, low serum iron and zinc levels, and more.
