I have scalp psoriasis and consequent thinning patches. Would using Rogaine aggravate the psoriasis?
Rogaine (minoxidil) can cause skin irritation and may aggravate your psoriasis. You might try it and see. The worst case is that you make the psoriasis worse for a few days. Many people with psoriasis have to experiment on how to manage the disease. It behaves differently in different people.
Several years I had hair loss patch the size of Half dollar and my two end finger nails were lines and pecked. I was diagonosed as having alopecia areata. Treatment w/ cortisone shots did not help. in last year or so I developed more of these loss of hair and sometimes it itches. I had biopsy done and the results “the findings are suggestive of (but not diagonostic for) collagen vascular disease such as lupus erythemaous. The blood test shows that I’m negative for Lupus. What is the outlook in terms of medication, regrowth and outlook? Is there any thing to grow hair? will a transplant work?
Sometime blood tests for SLE (Systemic Lupus Erythematosus) are not completely accurate. I recommended that you visit a rheumatologist to further your evaluation process. SLE is one of the many causes for hair loss. Hair can regrow if your cause is due to SLE or any reversible disease that arrests and then subsides. Some people will have lost their hair permanently, even if the disease goes away. Hair transplantation will not work if you have an active disease causing the hair loss, but if the disease is known and is not active, then a hair transplant will work, that is, unless it gets reactivated. Again, it is best to see a rheumatologist and a perhaps even a good dermatologist who focuses upon such problems.
My 17 years old daughter was diagnosed with inactive tuberculosis about 8 months ago and has been taking INH. However, about 18 months ago she started losing her hair. Could this be caused by the tuberculosis alone?
I have written on this medication with tuberculosis before (see Tuberculosis Drug and Hair Loss). The disease itself is a wasting disorder which is known to produce hair loss, as with other wasting disorders. The same recommendations I made before apply: good diet and appropriate vitamin therapy. A full work-up for female hair loss is in order here as there are many diseases that cause hair loss in women (see Female Hair Loss category). Read these pages carefully and seek out a good doctor to follow through with a thorough examination of your daughter. Also, you might want her to see a hair specialist who will study her for female genetic hair loss and assess the miniaturization of her hair to see if the pattern is typical of female genetic hair loss.
I keep reading that stress is not a factor in Alopecia Universalis but my daughter who just turned 20 began losing her hair a year ago, a few months after her sister died in a car accident and now is totally bald, lost most body hair and eyebrows. We all know it is from the shock and trauma…why doesn’t the medical profession accept that and what is the prognoisis now that it has happened?
I can not comment on what you were told, but I know that such genetic conditions, which may occur normally in those with the impacted genes, can be accelerated by stress. You are correct, in a sense, that stress can precipitate what genetically would have come with time.
Iam a 40 year old male that has only suffered from Psoriasis for the last 4 months. Previously I have very thick hair, but already my hair is thining down the front centre of my scalp. What causes this is hair loss? is it the thick crusts of skin or the red lesions ?
What course of action would you advise for me as this is now starting to really affect my day to day life ? Are there partucular shampoos or remedies you would suggest above others ?
Many thanks in anticipation
Psoriasis can cause hair loss due to stress, scratching and picking it, and from normal genetic process that run in parallel to it. The best person to treat your psoriasis is your dermatologist. I recommend that you learn more about Psoriasis at the National Psoriasis Foundation site. Also, please review previous blog entries regarding this.
hi dr. rassman! i came across your website and i found it to be very helpful. im a 14 year old girl and about a month ago i was made aware of a bald patch at the crown of my head about the size of a 10p.a few days ago,i noticed that it had grown to about 2inches by half an inch. this is the only patch that i am aware of. im only 14 and i am sooo soo depressed about it and am constantly crying about my hairloss. ive been to see several doctors and i know there is no cure accounted for. today i went to a chinese health practice and went for a consultation with a chinese doctor, i was asked many questions about my diet and health and then acupuncture was suggested to me. i was very shocked and scared but went ahead with the acupuncture session there and then. and i was given a selection of herbal remedies to help with the alopecia also. what i would like to know is, how effective is acupuncture for the treatment of alopecia as i am extremely confused and scared as whether or not go ahead with regular acupunture. i am absolutely terrified of needles and i know i will be crying the whole way through, but if there is that possibility of my hair growing back again, i would definitly go ahead with the treatment. please please give me any advice you can im very scared that i will lose more hair and im confused as to what to do about it! please help im desperate
Acupunture should not help hair loss. Patches of hair loss are often caused by alopecia areata and this should be one of the diagnoses to consider. It sounds like you need a competent medical doctor to examine your case. It is impossible for me to make the diagnosis without seeing you, but if you send me digital photos to the address on the Contact page, I might be able to make a suggestion in the differential diagnosis.
Dear Dr. Rassman,
My daughter is 26 and has scalp psoraisis since the age of 15. The worrying thing is that the hair-line parting her hair in the centre is wide about 1/2 inch and clearly bald. The rest of her hair area seems normal. I gather from your feedback that psoraisis does’nt cause balding. What can she do to reverse her bald hair-line? Svensson was consulted and they have their usual hair commercial treatment. Will they be able to do something to adress her problem, albeit costly. I am 53 and bald, and the wife also 53 is losing hair along female hair loss pattern. Is there a connection of our problem with my daughter’s hair problem? Really appreciate your feedback.
Although psoriasis does not cause balding directly, balding from genetic causes can be occuring. With both your wife and daughter having hair loss, you might assume that hair loss is in the female family line. I suspect that other women also have similar problems. First, take a look at the Female Hair Loss category of this blog.
Please send me pictures to the email address on the Contact page and I would be happy to give you my opinion. It is very difficult to diagnose women over the internet, but the pattern of hair loss you are defining for your daughter is a pattern I have seen from time to time in genetic hair loss. Your daughter may be following your wife’s pattern of genetic balding. Check with your wife about her earliest symptoms of hair loss.
hi, i am 17 years old and have been experiencing hair loss for the last 2 years. it is general thinning all over, especially on the sides, and have been told its due to Male pattern baldness (even though parents and grandparents still have full head of hair). i am willing to accept it as i understand these things happen, but i have also lately noticed, that my pubic hair has been thinning reasonably at same rate as hair loss on head. is there possibly any connection? and if there is, any cures? i would also like to add that i have Coeliac Disease, and have constantly recorded low iron levels, though over the last year i have take iron supplements. i would be really delighted to hear that it could be something else other than male pattern baldness
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease. All forms of coeliac disease involve IgA antibodies and intolerance to the gliadin fraction of gluten found in wheat. Thus, your hair loss could be due to coeliac disease as your antibodies can attack the hair follicle, leading to generalized hair loss on your scalp and body. Taking a multivitamin may help with hair loss, because people with coeliac disease tend to lack certain minerals and vitamins due to intestinal mal-absorption (which can cause hair loss by missing dietary elements critical to hair growth). However, ultimately, you may need an immune suppression medication to control the antibody produced in your body from attacking your hair. More in depth evaluation of your hair may be a good place to start before considering any treatment. Clearly, the doctor who is in charge of your coeliac problem should be ‘in-charge’ of your medications for any such suppressive immunological treatment.
I’m only 18 years of age and have started to lose a lot of hair within the last 6 months. I’ve never really had a high hairline or anything. I’ve always had thick bushy hair at the front. I don’t think it can be androgenetic because everybody in my whole entire family, whether it be my parents parents or just my parents, all of them have a full head of hair. My brothers all have a full head of hair too and no sign of receding.
I was reading on the internet about hair loss and how it can be linked with cancer. I have found a lump and I was wondering if this could be anything to do with it. I have seen the doctor and he’s also bald (doesnt give me much hope) and had a blood test. It’s really depressing to find clumps of hair faling out each day and not growing back. If there are any solutions for regrowth please could you let me know. Thankyou!
If you are concerned that you have some disease, then first address this as your highest priority with a good doctor. Assuming that you have no medical problem, then you need to be managed by a doctor who can make the proper diagnosis (assuming that you have genetic hair loss) and then mapping out your head for miniaturization.
12 years ago I had a long term infection after an operation. Soon after that I began losing hair all over my body: pubic, anal, chest, under arms, even nasal hair. Beard and mustached nowhere near as thick as they used to be. Please help me; what could cause this?!?!?!
The absence of body hair is alopecia universalis, an autoimmune problem which is most frequently genetic. Clearly your infection precipitated the condition but the genetics were hiding under the surface. You need to see a good dermatologist. Visit MedlinePlus and DermNet NZ for more information about alopecia.
I am 72 and have been diagnosed with prostate cancer and diabetes. My hair is thinning rapidly and my scalp is itchy and greasy. Washing only accelerates the loss. Do you think there is any connection and is there anythig that can be done about the hair problem.(It is very fine and “flyaway”).
Many people with prostate cancer will be treated with finasteride. If your doctor is willing to add this to your treatment, the hair loss may slow, stop, or reverse. If the cancer is not under control, it might contribute to hair loss. Stress is a major cause of hair loss and I can only imagine that the stress you are going through is adding to this process. Diabetes, if it gets out of control, can contribute to hair loss as well.
Dr. Rassman,
I am very concerned about my hair loss. I am 19 years old. I have been diagnosed with hashimoto’s thyroiditis; however, according to my most recent blood test a few weeks ago, my hormone levels are currently at a normal level (and have been for almost 6 months). The levels have been moving up and down over the past few years (hyper/hypo/normal). I am still experiencing a lot of hair loss to the point where there are some bald patches. The level/amount of hair loss actually has seemed to be increasing over the past few months. I am on no medication. Do you have any suggestions/advice? Would going on synthroid be a good choice? I am in college in Washington DC and am originally from Connecticut. Can you recommend a doctor or specialist for me either in DC or CT or a surrounding area? Thanks so much!
I would recommend Dr. Robert Bernstein in New York and New Jersey. You clearly need a good clinician to help you evaluate the various contributing factors associated with the fluctuating hormones and the patches of hair loss, which might point to other autoimmune causes of hair loss.
I had curly very thick hair all my 56 years. now out of the blue i got seborrheic and it is in my scalp. my hair is falling out. I’m going to the dr. but not much you could do but creams and hard shampoo. it’s not getting better. what can I do? it has been over five weeks. The dr. said this is something I have to live with. I’m not upset. I’m very blessed then other people. thank you if you can give me some feedback. God Bless
Please read the many entries on this blog for female hair loss. First and foremost, you need to have yourself and your health checked out. There are many diseases that can cause hair loss in women and you have to make sure that you do not have one of them. Women, like many men, can get genetic hair loss. In women, it usually is diffuse and not in one of the typical patterns that men show. Women generally thin out, but do not get bald. Some develop a pattern of thinning that can be treated more successfully with Minoxidil and possibly even hair transplants under certain conditions. First, get your self checked out medically and then find a good dermatologist or hair expert physician.
My daughter is 21 and has had thinning hair for the past 3-4 years. She was diagnosed 18 months ago with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and was placed on a daily dose of Actos to help control her insulin levels. Her hair loss seems to have accelerated since being on the medication. This is very alarming for her. Is her POS causing this or her Actos? Is there anything she can do to reverse it, slow it down or stop it?
PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) is a well known cause of hair loss. It reflects some extra male hormone production (all women make testosterone and androgens) which tends to grow hair on the face and take it off of the head in those with the gene that produces genetic hair loss, like male patterned balding. Your daughter needs to be evaluated by a good doctor in the hair loss field (like me or a good dermatologist) who can evaluate the type of hair loss she is experiencing. First, her scalp needs to be diagnosed with the form of hair loss (for miniaturization) and then her endocrinologist should get involved. There may be a role for 5 alpha reductase blockers, but I would want her doctor to work with the hair expert on this management process. I’ve posted previously about PCOS on this blog; see Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
Hi
At 40 I got hypothyroidism.The 4 last the labs have come out normal. At 46 I got Parkinsons. Both my neurologist and endocrinologist say my hair fallout is not a result of the health issues I describe. It is getting really thin unlike any of the women in my family we all have thick hair.
Do you think the MD’s are being frank or easing me into the tuffer problems of the Parkinsons. Does your hair product work on women.
I believe that your physicians are being honest and open with you. There has been no published data that associates hair loss to Parkinson’s Disease. As stress is one of the factors that can accelerate genetic hair loss, it is possible that stress can be a participating cause if you are genetically prone. I would think that Parkinson’s Disease must certainly be a significant cause of stress in anyone who has it.
With that said, thyroid disease may cause hair loss, especially hypothyroidism more than hyperthyroidism, but either one has reported hair loss. It might be worthwhile to rule out other causes for hair loss such as alopecia areata, androgenic alopecia, stress associated with female genetic hair loss, some of the drugs you were or are on, eczema, seborrhea, scleroderma, lupus, hormonal imbalance, psoriasis, fungal, autoimmnune disorders, poor diet, poor nutrients, etc. The common medications which may cause hair loss are beta-blocker, coumadin, oral contraceptive pill, antibiotics and chemo-medications. For female patients, Women’s Rogaine is the best option. Male patients may use Rogaine and/or Propecia.