Baldness, the Real Facts about Its Causes and Treatments
Baldness is a sudden loss of hair in certain areas, particularly loss of hair on the scalp in men. A condition commonly referred to as alopecia.
Partial or complete loss of hair on the scalp is very common among men. This is more or less to be expected in the male, but it is very distressing when it occurs in the female.
Premature baldness runs in some families.
Although this condition seldom occurs in older women, complete baldness in females is fortunately very rare.
Although baldness most often is a natural part of the aging process for many men, hair loss can be psychologically distressing for most men.
The sudden or unexpected hair loss can sometimes indicate an underlying serious health condition that may need medical investigation.
Temporary baldness may occur following a serious prolonged illness or a major surgery. The hair usually returns after the patient has fully recovered from the illness.
Baldness may sometimes follow extreme nervous shock. This may clear up in a few weeks, although sometimes it will recur.
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Possible Causes of Baldness in Men
The Three major causes can be categorized into three namely:
- Genetics
- Aging
- Hormonal
Baldness in males happens as hormone levels change over the course of a man’s life as he advances in age.
Hormonal changes and medical conditions. A variety of conditions can cause permanent or temporary hair loss.
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These include hormonal and medical conditions due:
- The side effect of certain drugs
- Radiation therapy to the head
- Childbirth
- Pregnancy
- stressful event
- excessive use of hair treatment cream
- Severe chronic illness, such as diabetes or lupus
- Malnutrition
- Use of anticoagulants, or blood thinners
- Deficiency in iron
- Excessive use of certain vitamins e.g vitamin A.
- Menopause
- Thyroid problems.
- Excess use of certain medications and supplements
The most common cause of hair loss is a hereditary condition that happens with aging.
Hair loss can be attributed to the side effect of certain drugs, such as those used for cancer, arthritis, depression, heart problems, gout, and high blood pressure treatment. The hair refuses to grow back normally.
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Treatment
To be honest there is no satisfactory treatment for most forms of baldness. Any irritation of the scalp should be cleared up e.g dandruff. And this may help the hair to grow back again immediately.
One must learn to leave comfortably with one’s changing appearance. A lot of men have resulted to changing their hairstyles barbing skin cut, wearing caps 24/7 hours. All these are temporary measures the truth is facing reality by avoiding low self-esteem.
Although certain medications may help in treating male pattern baldness these includes:
- Minoxidil (Rogaine): by applying directly to the scalp to stimulate the hair follicles.
- Finasteride (Propecia, Proscar), a pill that interferes with the production of a highly active form of testosterone that is linked to baldness. It helps in slowing down hair loss. It’s a better option than minoxidil, Hair loss returns when you stop using this medicine.
- Dutasteride is similar to finasteride but may be more effective.