Clogged Pore or Dead Graft at 5 Months Post-Op?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

Hi Dr. Rassman,

I don’t believe this question has been addressed anywhere on your site. If I missed it, then my apologies.

I am a female who is 5 months post-op. In the past couple of days, I noticed 2 grafts “stuck” in my scalp in what had formed into a clogged pore. I could feel them when I ran my fingers through my scalp and it was obvious that they were just “there” – dead and not growing.

I gently forced them out and they came out easily. They certainly looked like the hairs I had transplanted. In other words, they were not “new” hair. Each graft had 3 hairs in it.

Is this normal or possible at 5 months post-op?

Was I wrong in pressing these things out of my scalp?

Thanks again, and God Bless you Dr. Rassman.

Some people do not shed the transplanted hairs and they are not the ones that grow. You are OK with what you did. Any hair that you remove will not damage what you have or any prospects of what you might get. Good luck. The new hair should be strong at the 8th month.

Tags: hair transplant, aftercare, hairloss, hair loss, hair restoration, pore

Staph Infection Causing Hair Loss?

/by William Rassman, M.D./4 /,

I have a 15 yr. old daughter about 9 mths. ago her hair started falling out. I thought it was a perm. It came out around the sides and back. I have taken her to different daughters and I have no results yet. She have risens alot this time she have two in her had this is the first time she ever had a risen in her head. One dermatologist treated the risen saying she had a steph infection. How this happen I dont know but could this be why her hair has fallen out and just want grow back I am very stressed over this please help us. Thank you so much

Infections can cause hair loss. Your email is not clear for me to understand what you are really asking. I would suggest that you ask your dermatologist, who seems to understand what is happening. Get the doctor to explain it to you. A good patient-doctor (or in your case, parent-doctor) relationship is important and can be very helpful in getting all of your questions answered by the person that is treating your daughter.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, staph infection, infection

Female Hair Loss After Typhoid

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

My mom, my sister and myself lost a lot of hair after getting typhoid. They say its in genes. Its been more than 6 years now. It does not fall anymore, but I was wondering if its possible to regrow my hair back. The balding patches start from the front of my hair. Is this alopecia and can I safely try Rogaine.

Typhoid fever can cause hair loss, as do other infectious diseases that stress our body. Stress is a known cause of hair loss.

Who says what is ‘in the genes’? Did a doctor examine you already and give you an opinion — and if so, what did the doctor tell you? Drugs like Rogaine (minoxidil) can grow hair in some people like you. Try it and if there is no side effects from the drug, then give it a year to see if it grows you some hair.

Tags: typhoid, hairloss, hair loss

Hair Transplant for Women Suffering from Hair Loss Due to PCOS

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

Hi, I am a 24-year old female, who in the last seven years, has lost a substantial amount of hair. It is particularly thin in the front, where you can see my scalp. I have been diagnosed with PCOS, and have been on numerous BCPs, none of which have helped.

I am worried that my hair loss will continue to get worse. My questions is this, if in five years time, my ‘baldness’ has progressed, would it be possible to undergo hair transplantation? I don’t have the money to do so now.

Does hair transplantation make a difference to women suffering male pattern baldness due to PCOS?

Many thanks!

Women with PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome) tend to show male characteristics of their hair loss and are amongst the best ones to treat with a transplant if they bald in a male pattern. The donor area must be examined for miniaturization to be sure that it is healthy. Drugs like finasteride might have value for preventing hair loss, but as it would be off-label treatment with the drug, you need to have a good doctor to manage you.

Good luck.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, hair transplant, women, woman, female, pcos, polycystic ovarian syndrome

Pressure Hair Loss?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

I am a 31 year old female. I recently had 2 major surgeries on my back which required me to lay on my stomach in the OR for about 8 hours for both procudures. after which I noticed a spot on my forhead that hurt. Actually everywhere my body was touching the operating table hurt because of the amount of time and repetative movement involved in this very long surgery. 2 weeks after I notice the hair gone from that spot in my forhead. It no longer hurts but I figure with it being a month since the surgery that I would see it growing back by now. The area is still shiney and seems to be getting bigger (this could be my imagination).

Pressure hair loss does occur. Usually if the hair is healthy to start with, it will reverse. The shine you are seeing reflects the acute loss which will eventually disappear when the hair returns after 3-6 months from the date of the injury.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, pressure, surgery

Very Stressed Woman Losing Hair

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

I recently went throught a very stressful situation.. Husband had an affair lost 26lbs in 6 weeks and 2 mths. after all this happened my hair started to come out. first slowly then it got worse, it’s starting to slow down on most days. Could all this have trigged this loss. My physician think yes and told me the hair will regrow. I’ve never dealt wiht anything like this and it make me sick to my stomach to try to do something to my now thin hair. I’m 37 and pretty healthy other than the rapid weight loss.. I went days sometimes wihtout eating.. Now I take a multi-vitamin and eat 3 meals a day.. How long will it take to correct the damage I did? My blood work came back good and my TSH is normal..

I agree with your doctor that your situation could’ve triggered the hair loss and that it should regrow, but you need to get good dietary management. If you have no genetic hair loss present, then the hair should return once you return to a normal, stress-free environment. If you need help getting there, see a good doctor and/or a good therapist to help you manage the stress.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, stress

71 Year Old Woman Experiencing Hair Breakage

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

I am female, age 71 and have a question. My hair has been breaking off quite badly for over a month. My Physician says I am not taking medication that would cause it. I have never dyed, bleached, or stripped my hair but I do wash it daily. I have been treating it with the Nioxin treatment kit for about 3 weeks but see no improvement. I do not brush it, use wide comb and have it man cut short. Have any suggestions for stopping the breakage?

Try a good conditioner made for dry hair and see if it helps. Check with a good stylist for suggestions.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, women, woman, female

Ketoconazole Shampoo for Female Hair Loss?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

(female) I am a sophomore at Rutgers University and my hair is thinning day by day. I don’t think i’m stressing, i get enough sleep, eat healthy, so what is the reason why i’m losing so much hair. I lose about 50 to 80 strands every day and this is getting me worried. I went to my doctor and she gave me Ketoconazole Shampoo, and it is not working. What should i do?

It is normal to lose 100 – 200 hairs a day. As you lose those hairs, there are new hairs always growing.

Ketoconozale is a medicine used for fungal infection (like ringworm). You need to ask your doctor why you were prescribed that shampoo. A good patient-doctor relationship and communication is very important. Please call your doctor and clarify your issue or diagnosis.

Tags: ketoconozale, hairloss, hair loss, ringworm

Bald Spot — Should I Wait it Out or See a Dermatologist?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Hi- I’ve recently noticed a bald spot above my right ear, which has little baby hairs still remaining in some parts. The spot is maybe an inch tall and 2 inches wide. I have been through stress the past two months, and have been experiencing variations with my emotions as well, sometimes, even more than usual. Should I go see a dermatologist or wait it out and see if my hair returns? I’m afraid that I will lose more hair and that would be worse than what I have now. I am 26 years old and a female. I recently moved to the northwest from the midwest and am beginning graduate school. I tried a new shampoo earlier this week and it could be a combination of things. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Thanks,

Hair loss from above the ear may reflect a genetic problem. There are some types of hair loss that run in families and are found above the ear. Other conditions must also be considered such as Alopecia Areata. See a good dermatologist and rest your concerns.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, doctor

I’m a 79 Year Old Woman — Too Old For Hair Help?

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

79 year old black female(mixed race) Balding began left, center, after age 37 uterine hysterectony. Rapid since 1992.Several maternal aunts became bald, none on maternal side. Used weaves and wigs. Prescribed Rogaine gave me full-mask headaches. Stopped after three days. I have chemical sensitivities. Hair Club for Men and Women product left rash from the glue. Their defective product,shed within four weeks($2,500 loss.) Retired teacher with limitd funds, but would like minimal coverage for the rest of my shortlife,if possible. Back to wigs,hot and unsatisfactory. Am I too old for any help?

Unfortunately, women with extensive genetic hair loss are not candidates for hair transplants. Minoxidil (Rogaine) may work for women your age, but in your particular case it doesn’t sound like it is worth the side effects, especially with your sensitivities to chemicals.

Tags: hair transplant, woman, women, female, hairloss, hair loss, rogaine, minoxidil

Scared to Use Rogaine for Women

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

At the beginning of December i started to realize that my hair was getting thinner. After that i have an appoiment with the gynecologist to ask her for birth controls and i told her my situation and she said that the control pills are going to help me with my hair. I’ve been taking it for 8 months and my hair is still getting thinner and thinner and i went to the doctor to have a blood check up and the doctor said that my iron was low so i took iron for 1 month. My dermatologist told me to use Rogaine for woman but i am a little bit scare to use that. I want to know why i’m having this problem and i want to find the solution. My hair was so thick that i couldn’t hold it with one hand….please help me.
Thanks

Birth control pills and low iron cause hair loss and hair thinning. Sometimes this is not reversible, but it may not get worse if you improve the low iron and manage the birth control pills better with your doctor (focus your doctor on the hair loss element). Rogaine works nicely in some women if they can tolerate its use. It may be worth a try.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, women, woman, female, rogaine, birth control, bcp, iron

Menopausal Woman Losing Hair

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /,

Dear DR. I’m suffering with great deal of hair loss, I’m a 53 yr old woman who is currently going through menopause, I went to my family Dr. and showed him the amount of hair that had fallen out of my head for 3days and he said it was way to much for menopause so he did some blood work on me and everthing came back ok. So I know its not my thyroid…. This happened about last yr as well, and I went to my hairdresser and he gave me some shampoo that seemed to help. But I haven’t had to use again until now..Why is my hair falling out like this? I also notice that even after washing my hair, if I sweat that my hair and scalp really smell bad. Please help if you can. Thanks

The cause of hair loss in women is not as straight forward as it is in men who usually follow a specific male pattern balding. Over 50% of women going through change of life homone fluctuations experience significant hair loss. All women need to be medically evaluated for a variety of causes of hair loss reflecting medications that they take and conditions that are known to produce hair loss, best reviewed by your doctor. There are many potential causes of hair loss in women and most are not readily treatable. If the cause is genetic, treatments are not very effective. Minoxidil is one of the few drugs that work for some women.

If you have seen your primary care doctor and have ruled out medical causes of hair loss, you may want to have your scalp hair evaluated for a specific pattern of hair loss by getting a miniaturization study. I often sound like a broken record when I talk about miniaturization, but it may provide a clue or help monitor your hair loss/gain. With respect to menopause, it is often a contributing factor that may have started a cascade of events for your hair loss, which may be irreversible.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, menopause, women, woman, female

I Experience Bald Patches, But Don’t See Hair Falling Out

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /, ,

Im a 34 black women for the past year I have seen bald patches in different parts of my hair, the good news is the hair grows back, but takes about 3 months. The only thing is there is no evidence of hair comming out of the head, no hair on my bed, just wake up in the mornig to find bald patches but don’t see where that hair disapeared to.

If it was there when you went to sleep and not there in the morning, and there was no hair anywhere in the bed, no hair in your fingernails… hmmm.

I’m sorry, I don’t know what to tell you.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss

Using Rogaine Without Seeing a Doctor First

/by William Rassman, M.D./0 /,

Hello,
If a woman suspects she may have thinning hair, is it safe to use female rogaine without seeing a doctor first?

I am 33 years old and noticed after having my daughter my hair is not as thick (child is 3 now),and it seems like my hairline is thinner. The hairline has always been a little thin but nothing that is noticeable. I just noticed lately that the hair seems sparse, but of course, I am told otherwise by my husband. I am healthy, not on any medication, no crash diets, don’t dye my hair, etc. I am a vegetarian and good about getting the protein I need. Just concerned as I don’t want to lose my hair!

Rogaine is an over-the-counter medication, which means that the FDA feels that decisions on using the drug can be made safely by the patient. Try it, you might find it helps.

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, rogaine, minoxidil

After a Long Night Out, I Woke Up With a Bald Spot!

/by William Rassman, M.D./1 /

FightHi, i am 25 years old female. After one of the “Nights out” i got up and realized that i have bald spot on the back oh my head. It is about 1 inch long and 1/2 wide. My head is hurt all around that spot. I am not sure if it got pulled out or they just fall out on there own.

I do not know what to do. I have to put my hair up, so nobody can see it. Please, tell me if it will ever grow back…

I would assume that you may have had a little too much to drink and got your hair pulled out. I have seen this many times before. It will come back!

Tags: hairloss, hair loss, pulled hair, hair pull