Hair Loss After Sedation Following Car Accident

Im a 21 year old male and recently had a serious car accident managing to get a double fracture of the pelvis amongst other less serious injuries.

Initially doctors thought I had neck injuries so i had a neck brace fitted and was on me for only three days. Apparently i was vigorously thrashing about in the bed between the times i was sedated and a 6 inch across patch of my hair fell out.

It has been 4 weeks now since the hair fell out, no other hair loss has occured i am just worried as to whether the hair will grow back, bits of stubble have appeared round the edges of the gap but not much at all in the middle. I am grateful for any response.

This condition is called pressure alopecia. Pressure alopecia is typically seen after a long period of immobilization that patient’s head stays in a fix position. It is more common in Intensive Care Units patients after long periods of sedation and after surgical procedures that require a patient’s head to lay in a certain position for a long time. This patchy baldness is usually transient and hair should grow back in a few months (3-6 months). Many Intensive Care Units use various mechanical systems (special rotating air mattresses) to keep pressure off of various parts of the body that had, in past years, produced ulcers and skin problems. Pressure baldness is no different and it could be prevented by a periodical change of the position of the patient’s head during surgery or when sedated. The key is not to allow long term pressure to any part of the body for extended periods of time.