One mention of hair loss
Did you think of it directly?
The "Mediterranean" of the "middle-aged greasy uncle"
Seborrheic alopecia/androgenetic alopecia?
however
There is also a type of hair loss that is easy to overlook
That's telogen effluvium
What the?
Doesn't hair start at birth
Just growing all the time?
Do hair follicles also rest?
Explain the problem clearly
Let's start with the hair growth cycle
[There are three main stages in the hair growth cycle]
●Growth phase (6 to 8 years): The hair roots are rooted downward into the dermis and subcutaneous, and the hair mother cells continue to proliferate to form hair cells and internal hair root sheaths. Neonatal hair follicles grow 1 inch of hair on the scalp every 2 months and usually last 6-8 years. The length of the hair growth period determines how long one hair can grow.
●Catagen phase (about 2 weeks): During this period, the hair root becomes more and more superficial, and the hair shaft loses its foothold in the dermis and becomes easy to fall off.
●Telogen (3 months): As the name suggests, your hair follicles are dormant during this period, and hair does not grow, but the hair roots are superficial and easy to fall out.
Image source: Hair Spit Gang
Therefore, normally speaking, 10% of the hair on our head is in the telogen phase, and this part of the hair falls out one after another, which is manifested as normal physiological hair loss.
However, the horror is that under some pathological factors in the body, more than 10% of hair follicles prematurely enter the catagen phase or even telogen phase, which will lead to premature hair loss that exceeds the amount of hair loss, and this situation is the occurrence of telogen effluvium.
【Types of Hair Loss】
▶ Acute telogen effluvium
Physiological factors: postpartum hair loss, neonatal physiological hair loss
Stress factors: severe febrile illness, emotional stress, serious injury, major surgery, dystocia, hemorrhage, hunger, dieting
Drug factors: oral retinoids, oral contraceptives, antithyroid drugs, anticonvulsants, lipid-lowering drugs, heavy metals, β-blockers, captopril, amphetamines
Endocrine factors: hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism
Organ dysfunction: renal insufficiency, hepatic insufficiency
Hair cycle disorders: short-term anagen syndrome
Nutritional factors: iron deficiency anemia, enteropathic acrodermatitis, acquired zinc deficiency, malnutrition
Local factors: Hair coloring
Other diseases: syphilis, systemic lupus erythematosus
These factors will cause a certain amount of hair follicles to enter the telogen phase prematurely, thus falling out prematurely.
▶ Chronic telogen effluvium
If the above causes persist, acute telogen effluvium persists for 4-6 months or even years, and chronic telogen effluvium may develop.
The good news is that if the cause of telogen effluvium can be detected in time, intervened and removed, then the hair follicles have a chance to re-enter the anagen phase, grow healthy anagen hair, and maintain a long anagen phase normally, then telogen effluvium can be self-healing.
The bad news is that the various types of hair loss that really occur in clinical practice are not so easy to identify the cause and intervene, especially the bad lifestyle habits and poor mental state of modern people, which may often be combined with androgenetic alopecia (a more clinically common type of hair loss with the slow miniaturization of hair follicles as the main manifestation), so the cause of the hair loss is more difficult to determine and remove.
[How to diagnose telogen effluvium]
1. Detailed medical history collection
Usually, in order to help patients find the cause of hair loss, doctors in the hair clinic can ask them about their ancestral life experiences, including but not limited to family history, personal chronic medical history, sleep conditions, mental state, weight loss experience, and even ...... Emotional experience (bushi).
2. Relevant inspections
(1) The most common is dermoscopy (or trichoscopy), in which you can see the small changes that the doctor cannot distinguish with the naked eye, so as to help the patient clarify the category of hair loss and point out the direction for finding the cause.
(2) Laboratory tests: including vitamins, trace elements, thyroid function, immune function and other blood tests.
How to treat telogen effluvium
1. Do everything you can to get rid of the cause.
2. Symptomatic treatment.
In short, the cause of hair loss is very complex, and problems in various systems may interfere with the growth of hair follicles, leading to the occurrence of hair loss, but no matter what type of hair loss, it will be aggravated by poor eating and sleeping habits and poor mental state, so whether it is to prevent hair loss or cooperate with hair loss treatment, a balanced and light diet, good sleep habits and quality, and a stable and peaceful psychological and mental state are very important.
Who doesn't want to
Become a beautiful man and beautiful woman with every strand of her hair exuding charm
That loves hair
Let's start now
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