There may be several diseases that cause hair loss. The predominant diseases of hair that contribute to hair loss are known as alopecia. Apart from alopecia, several other diseases may lead to considerable hair loss. It is important to know about the disease that causes hair loss so that preventive measures can be adopted. Moreover, if an underlying disease that is responsible for hair loss is diagnosed, treating the disease may help stop subsequent hair loss and baldness.
Hair Diseases And Disorders
Hereditary thinning or baldness is one of the most common disorders that cause hair loss. In men, hereditary hair loss show acute symptoms of pattern baldness. The top of the scalp often becomes bald and a receding hairline is noticed. In women, however, complete baldness is rare. Women usually show visible thinning of hair all over the scalp.
Alopecia aerate, is another common autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. In this disease, hair fall is in patches or chunks. The disease can occur at any age and is common among both the sexes.
In scarring alopecia, the hair follicles of the patient are destroyed and re-growth of hair becomes impossible. The disease is usually treated by treating the inflammation.
Many underlying medical conditions may also lead to hair loss. The most common health conditions that are responsible for hair loss are thyroid diseases (hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism) and anemia, caused due to lack of iron.
Although cancer is not directly responsible for hair loss, its treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy can lead to excessive hair loss. However, these conditions are temporary and the patient regains the hair as soon as the treatment is over. A noticeable point in the treatment of cancer is that, the hair loss is prevalent on all parts of the body, rather than being limited only to the scalp.
Ringworm of the scalp is an infectious disease that is most common among children. It is a fungal infection and if left untreated can cause balding and scaling of the scalp hair.
An impulse control disorder known as Trichotillomania can also be responsible for hair loss. In this disorder, patients often tend to pull their own hair out. Although pulling out scalp hair is common, some patients also feel the compulsion to pull out the nose hairs, eyelashes, eyebrows and hair on other parts of the body.
Although stress and hormonal imbalances are not hair diseases, these can have a profound effect in losing considerable amount of hair. Physical stress due to major surgeries, severe infections, high fevers and illnesses may also cause hair loss.
Hormonal imbalances can also contribute to hair loss. Androgenetic alopecia is one such disease. The male hormone androgen plays a major role in excessive hair loss. High amount of the male hormone, androgen or low amount of this hormone can affect the hair growth and fall cycle, leading to considerable hair loss. However, treatments are available for most of these diseases and disorders. The earlier you detect the causes, the better are the chances of recovery.