Male Pattern Baldness and Other Reasons for Hair fall
Male pattern baldness usually occurs in men after 40 years of age. But lifestyle changes, change in food habits and the excessive use of styling products has advanced the age of occurrence with several young men suffering from premature baldness symptoms.
When a patient visits a dermatologist or a surgeon he is questioned about his own medical conditions since treatments like chemotherapy cause hair fall. Emphasis is given to family history as male pattern baldness is genetic in majority of the cases.
Dermatologists study the scalp using a densitometer which magnifies the structure of the hair follicles to decipher their viability. This helps them chalk out the best treatment method.
It is best to avoid some clinics which recommend a hair analysis or a scalp biopsy. Besides being expensive it is not necessary except where poisoning is suspected as a cause for hair loss. Poison-induced hair loss is caused by arsenic or lead which can be detected by a proper hair analysis.
The Norwood Scale is a set
of pictures which helps diagnose the extent of hair loss so that it can
be treated appropriately. The scale also helps patients describe their
condition better to surgeons and dermatologists when consulting them
over telephone.
When men start losing hair the receding hairline causes
thinning at the crown. The hair follicles which are tiny holes which
house the hair strand start shrinking. The hair becomes weak and thin
and stops growing after some time. It soon falls and the follicle does
not grow a new hair, but retains the capacity to produce a new hair.
As the hairline recedes it does so forming a “M” pattern as some hair remains in the front, but eventually this also falls and forms a “U” shaped pattern of hair. Hair remains only at the sides of the head while the top and middle of the head go bare.
Besides genetic reasons other disorders can also cause hair loss. It is difficult to detect hair loss owing to nutritional deficiency but poisons can be detected. A dermatologist has to be consulted if a patient suffers from rapid hair loss, too much hair shedding, hair loss in patches, or hair breakage.
If there is itching, skin irritation, redness, scaling, pain, or other symptoms also it is best to consult a dermatologist. Sometimes intake of certain medications also causes hair loss.
Hair loss not only changes the appearance of a person it also causes psychological stress, loss of self-esteem and sometimes makes people lose confidence in their own work. So the sooner the problem is diagnosed the better.
Hairfear - 6-27-2013
