Lyme Disease and Hair Loss?

Hi there….I am a female with diffused hair loss for almost 19 years. Eventually it will all be gone. I have been tested for all the diseases that cause hair loss. Could Lyme Disease cause hair loss? If so what kind of hair loss is seen with the disease? Hopefully you can help me, thanks!

You should be evaluated by a qualified hair transplant doctor or a dermatologist. You may have a condition known as diffuse alopecia areata , a variety of conditions (search women’s hair loss on this site) and you may have DUPA.

With respect to Lyme disease causing your hair loss, you would have many other medical problems if you had this disease for 19 years. It is conceivable that Lyme disease may cause hair loss, but it would be very non-specific, as many other disease states and stressors can affect hair loss. Therefore, I suspect your hair loss of 19 years is not related to Lyme disease.

From my nine years working with Dr. Rassman, he has taught me a simple way to approach any cause of hair loss. Hair loss can be divided in to five causes:

1. Genetics – such as male pattern baldness
2. Stress – such as emotional, disease states, or trauma
3. Hormonal – such as hypothyroidism
4. Age – we all lose hair with age
5. Medical diseases including unexplained weight loss

By Dr. Jae Pak