Why Am I Shedding Hundreds of Hairs a Day?
By Dr. Richard Mizuguchi Oct 20th 2010 4:45PMDid you know that during the normal course of a day you will lose between 50 and 100 hairs? This is nothing to be concerned about -- it's just nature's way of replacing old hair with new hair. Other mammals have growing and shedding seasons, but human beings consistently grow and shed hair on a daily basis throughout life. But what happens when you lose more hair than is typical? What if you're shedding 200 or 300 hairs daily? What if you even see your hair coming out in clumps?
You may be suffering from what is called telogen effluvium. Those who suffer from this condition sometimes stop washing, combing or brushing their hair, because that's when they notice the most hair loss. But the hair that is destined to shed as a result of telogen effluvium will shed whether or not you wash or brush your hair.
To understand telogen effluvium, you must understand some basic hair biology. The average scalp has 100,000 hairs. About 90 percent of these hairs are in what is called the growing, or anagen, phase. The other 10 percent are in the resting phase, which we call the telogen phase. Typically, once a hair stops growing, it remains dormant and will fall out approximately two to four months later. Why does it fall out? Because the resting hair is pushed out of the hair follicle in the scalp by the new hair, which is in the growing phase.
Telogen effluvium occurs when this balance gets out of whack. For example, one may have 70 percent of their hair in the growing phase and 30 percent in the dormant phase. When the balance between the growing-phase hairs and the dormant-phase hairs falls out of sync, a patient may see a mass of hair falling from their head and grow alarmed.
Why does this condition occur? There are many common causes. Women often suffer telogen effluvium after childbirth. This is the body's normal reaction to what happens during pregnancy, when the equilibrium between the anagen and telogen hair actually is in reverse from telogen effluvium -- i.e., more hair tends to remain in the anagen phase. Most women who are pregnant say that their hair has the most volume ever. After childbirth, more hair tends to fall out. This is the body's normal reaction to recalibrating the equilibrium of growing-phase and dormant-phase hair. When a woman's hair starts to fall out after childbirth, there is usually nothing to be alarmed about.
Other causes include illnesses that cause high fever; major injuries and surgeries; diets, such as crash diets or some of the more popular fad diets that cause a significant amount of weight loss within a short period of time; hormonal changes, which may result from stopping or starting birth control; thyroid disease; certain medications (especially beta blockers, anticoagulants, retinoids including excess vitamin A and carbamazepines); new medications; and immunizations, like an annual flu shot. Other common causes include chronic illnesses like cancer, lupus, renal failure and liver disease. Telogen effluvium may also be the result of severe psychological stress.
The good news: Recovery generally occurs spontaneously within six months to a year. Still, it's important to find the underlying cause and correct it earlier rather than later. Once the cause has been identified, your doctor can determine options for treatment. These options vary depending on the cause of the condition. If the condition is caused by pregnancy, a patient will typically have a full recovery. •
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
I'll do more later. I gotta go for now. -Blessings~Missygirl*
You may be suffering from what is called telogen effluvium. Those who suffer from this condition sometimes stop washing, combing or brushing their hair, because that's when they notice the most hair loss. But the hair that is destined to shed as a result of telogen effluvium will shed whether or not you wash or brush your hair.
To understand telogen effluvium, you must understand some basic hair biology. The average scalp has 100,000 hairs. About 90 percent of these hairs are in what is called the growing, or anagen, phase. The other 10 percent are in the resting phase, which we call the telogen phase. Typically, once a hair stops growing, it remains dormant and will fall out approximately two to four months later. Why does it fall out? Because the resting hair is pushed out of the hair follicle in the scalp by the new hair, which is in the growing phase.
Telogen effluvium occurs when this balance gets out of whack. For example, one may have 70 percent of their hair in the growing phase and 30 percent in the dormant phase. When the balance between the growing-phase hairs and the dormant-phase hairs falls out of sync, a patient may see a mass of hair falling from their head and grow alarmed.
Why does this condition occur? There are many common causes. Women often suffer telogen effluvium after childbirth. This is the body's normal reaction to what happens during pregnancy, when the equilibrium between the anagen and telogen hair actually is in reverse from telogen effluvium -- i.e., more hair tends to remain in the anagen phase. Most women who are pregnant say that their hair has the most volume ever. After childbirth, more hair tends to fall out. This is the body's normal reaction to recalibrating the equilibrium of growing-phase and dormant-phase hair. When a woman's hair starts to fall out after childbirth, there is usually nothing to be alarmed about.
Other causes include illnesses that cause high fever; major injuries and surgeries; diets, such as crash diets or some of the more popular fad diets that cause a significant amount of weight loss within a short period of time; hormonal changes, which may result from stopping or starting birth control; thyroid disease; certain medications (especially beta blockers, anticoagulants, retinoids including excess vitamin A and carbamazepines); new medications; and immunizations, like an annual flu shot. Other common causes include chronic illnesses like cancer, lupus, renal failure and liver disease. Telogen effluvium may also be the result of severe psychological stress.
The good news: Recovery generally occurs spontaneously within six months to a year. Still, it's important to find the underlying cause and correct it earlier rather than later. Once the cause has been identified, your doctor can determine options for treatment. These options vary depending on the cause of the condition. If the condition is caused by pregnancy, a patient will typically have a full recovery. •
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
I'll do more later. I gotta go for now. -Blessings~Missygirl*
