Hair Loss

Overview

Hair loss can affect just your scalp or your entire body. It can be the result of heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions or medications. Anyone can experience hair loss, but it’s more common in men.

Baldness typically refers to excessive hair loss from your scalp. Hereditary hair loss with age is the most common cause of baldness. Some people prefer to let their hair loss run its course untreated and unhidden. Others may cover it up with hairstyles, makeup, hats or scarves. And still others choose one of the treatments available to prevent further hair loss and to restore growth.

Before pursuing hair loss treatment, talk with your doctor about the cause of your hair loss and treatment options.

Symptoms

Hair loss can appear in many different ways, depending on what’s causing it. It can come on suddenly or gradually and affect just your scalp or your whole body. Some types of hair loss are temporary, and others are permanent.

Signs and symptoms of hair loss may include:

Gradual thinning on top of head. This is the most common type of hair loss, affecting both men and women as they age. In men, hair often begins to recede from the forehead in a line that resembles the letter M. Women typically retain the hairline on the forehead but have a broadening of the part in their hair.
Circular or patchy bald spots. Some people experience smooth, coin-sized bald spots. This type of hair loss usually affects just the scalp, but it sometimes also occurs in beards or eyebrows. In some cases, your skin may become itchy or painful before the hair falls out.
Sudden loosening of hair. A physical or emotional shock can cause hair to loosen. Handfuls of hair may come out when combing or washing your hair or even after gentle tugging. This type of hair loss usually causes overall hair thinning and not bald patches.
Full-body hair loss. Some conditions and medical treatments, such as chemotherapy for cancer, can result in the loss of hair all over your body. The hair usually grows back.
Patches of scaling that spread over the scalp. This is a sign of ringworm. It may be accompanied by broken hair, redness, swelling and, at times, oozing.

When to see a doctor

See your doctor if your child or you are distressed by hair loss and want to pursue treatment. Also talk to your doctor if you notice sudden or patchy hair loss or more than usual hair loss when combing or washing your or your child’s hair. Sudden hair loss can signal an underlying medical condition that requires treatment.

Causes

People typically lose about 100 hairs a day. This usually doesn’t cause noticeable thinning of scalp hair because new hair is growing in at the same time. Hair loss occurs when this cycle of hair growth and shedding is disrupted or when the hair follicle is destroyed and replaced with scar tissue.

Hair loss is typically related to one or more of the following factors:

Family history (heredity). The most common cause of hair loss is a hereditary condition called male-pattern baldness or female-pattern baldness. It usually occurs gradually with aging and in predictable patterns — a receding hairline and bald spots in men and thinning hair in women.
Hormonal changes and medical conditions. A variety of conditions can cause permanent or temporary hair loss, including hormonal changes due to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause and thyroid problems. Medical conditions include alopecia areata (al-o-PEE-she-uh ar-e-A-tuh), which causes patchy hair loss, scalp infections such as ringworm and a hair-pulling disorder called trichotillomania (trik-o-til-o-MAY-nee-uh).
Medications and supplements. Hair loss can be a side effect of certain drugs, such as those used for cancer, arthritis, depression, heart problems, gout and high blood pressure.
Radiation therapy to the head. The hair may not grow back the same as it was before.
A very stressful event. Many people experience a general thinning of hair several months after a physical or emotional shock. This type of hair loss is temporary.
Certain hairstyles and treatments. Excessive hairstyling or hairstyles that pull your hair tight, such as pigtails or cornrows, can cause a type of hair loss called traction alopecia. Hot oil hair treatments and permanents can cause inflammation of hair follicles that leads to hair loss. If scarring occurs, hair loss could be permanent.

Risk factors

A number of factors can increase your risk of hair loss, including:

Family history of balding, in either of your parent’s families
Age
Significant weight loss
Certain medical conditions, such as diabetes and lupus
Stress

Prevention

Most baldness is caused by genetics (male-pattern baldness and female-pattern baldness). This type of hair loss is not preventable.

These tips may help you avoid preventable types of hair loss:

Avoid tight hairstyles, such as braids, buns or ponytails.
Avoid compulsively twisting, rubbing or pulling your hair.
Treat your hair gently when washing and brushing. A wide-toothed comb may help prevent pulling out hair.
Avoid harsh treatments such as hot rollers, curling irons, hot oil treatments and permanents.
Avoid medications and supplements that could cause hair loss.
Protect your hair from sunlight and other sources of ultraviolet light.
Stop smoking. Some studies show an association between smoking and baldness in men.
If you are being treated with chemotherapy, ask your doctor about a cooling cap. This cap can reduce your risk of losing hair during chemotherapy.

Diagnosis

Before making a diagnosis, your doctor will likely give you a physical exam and ask about your medical history and family history. He or she may also perform tests, such as the following:

Blood test. This may help uncover medical conditions related to hair loss.
Pull test. Your doctor gently pulls several dozen hairs to see how many come out. This helps determine the stage of the shedding process.
Scalp biopsy. Your doctor scrapes samples from the skin or from a few hairs plucked from the scalp to examine the hair roots. This can help determine whether an infection is causing hair loss.
Light microscopy. Your doctor uses a special instrument to examine hairs trimmed at their bases. Microscopy helps uncover possible disorders of the hair shaft.

Treatment

Effective treatments for some types of hair loss are available. You might be able to reverse hair loss, or at least slow further thinning. With some conditions, such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata), hair may regrow without treatment within a year.

Treatments for hair loss include medications, surgery to promote hair growth and slow hair loss.

If your hair loss is caused by an underlying disease, treatment for that disease will be necessary. This may include drugs to reduce inflammation and suppress your immune system, such as prednisone. If a certain medication is causing the hair loss, your doctor may advise you to stop using it for at least three months.

What Varmasakshi offers for Patients with Hair Loss?

Ancient Vedic Medical System offers permanent cure for most medical conditions. Though science may challenge the Vedic System, the one common word anyone uses is “God is Great” when the cure happens. God and his miracles cannot be measured or substantiated by Science right?

At Varmasakshi, we follow our ancient Vedic system STRICTLY and all our treatment protocols are customized for each and every patient. When every finger is different, every person is different and every horoscope is different – how can the same treatment work for everyone? Your treatment and therapy is customized and structured based on many aspects and all the treatment protocols and even your diet is planned according to the Vedic System. All treatment aspects include:

Vedic Medical Astrology – In depth analysis of your horoscope from Medical Astrology point of view helps planning, structuring and deciding the treatment protocols. We use both Astrology and Astronomy to arrive at the most suitable time to initiate and continue therapy and we have seen in numerous instances that the cure happens much faster.

Vedic Medical Vaasthu Shastra – Not many people would have even heard about this. Vaasthu Shastra is based on the flow of energy and our experts will suggest the best possible remedies to ensure that your system receives the maximum amount of Positive energies, which are needed to cure you from your ailments. When combined with Medical Astrology, this plays a vital role in your therapy and helps your system cure well.

Varmakalai Therapy – There are 108 important Varma points and 7 Chakras in our human body. These points speak to our Varma Guru. Every point has significance and they breathe life. A complete assessment of these critical points and chakras will reveal the root cause of the issue and the therapy / treatment is planned and structured accordingly.

Vedic Diet – Vedic diet is a highly customized diet plan based on several years of deep research of our ancient Veda Shastras. Based on many aspects including Medical Astrology, planetary positions, planetary impacts, etc. our Guru will advise you on the best Vedic Diet that will help your medical condition vanish. “Food is Medicine” and in most situations, we have seen thousands of people coming out of their complicated medical conditions when they follow all these protocols committedly.

No science can ever explain why we were born or why we were born to specific parents or purpose of our birth or the potential sufferings that everyone goes through… There is a Super Power that is above us, who decides the plan and movement – some call it GOD, some call it FATE. If eclipses, planetary positions, good and bad times, disasters etc. were calculated without technology 50,000 years ago by our Maharishi’s, you can feel the depth of their knowledge and blessings. Our Veda Shastra’s are the oldest and following the Vedic System will help you in every walk of life! Ssree Gurubhyo Namaha!

Lifestyle and home remedies

You may want to try shaving, other styling techniques and products, scarves, a wig, or a hairpiece. Talk with a hair stylist for ideas. These non-medical solutions can be used to cover permanent or temporary hair loss.

If your hair loss is due to a medical condition, the cost of a wig may be covered by insurance.