NSAIDs and Female Hair Loss

(female) I have been experiencing hair loss for about 2 months now. It is just beginning to be noticable when I lift up sections of my hair. The hair loss is now accompanied by an itchy scalp but that may be due to the fact that I have had a problem with winter dandruff my whole life. I am wondering if the hair loss could be due to NSAID use.

I have been taking 4-8 200 mg ibuprofen almost every day for the past few months. There has been no major stresses in my life but I was told that I had low iron after giving birth to my son 2.5 yrs ago. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Just to clarify for those readers that may not be familiar with “NSAIDS”, it stands for “Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs” and you likely have them in your medicine cabinet. Some common NSAIDs are aspirin and ibuprofen.

Back to your question — as I am not your doctor, it is difficult to answer this. Low iron can cause hair loss, and even ibuprofen has been reported as a cause of hair loss in some. As I’ve said many times before, causes for female hair loss are difficult to nail down and could be from a variety of possible issues. I’d run some tests with your doctor.