Dr Sarah Jarvis
My Weekly’s favourite GP from TV and radio writes for you
We get period pains, labour and menopause. But at least, unlike men, we don’t have to worry about going bald. Or do we?
It may be less common in women, but thinning hair is not entirely a male preserve. I’m amazed at how often women consult me about hair loss – mostly because when I check their hair, I can’t find anything wrong. But your crowning glory has a huge effect on your self-esteem.
It’s hardly surprising that panic sets in when you start waking up with hair all over your pillow. In fact, if you’re a woman, it virtually never means you’ll lose all your hair.
Your hair goes through three phases in its “lifetime”. The growing phase lasts for 3-5 years. Next comes the “shrinking” phase, which lasts just a couple of weeks, then the resting phase for 3 months or so. Towards the end of this, the hair follicle starts a new growing phase and pushes the old hair out if it hasn’t fallen out.
In some animals these phases happen at around the same time, which is why some dogs moult, leaving your house covered in hair. Most humans lose a few hairs every day, although it can be more in times of stress. Some kinds of cancer chemotherapy can stop the growing phase suddenly, which is why hair loss is an issue. Wearing a cold cap (an ice cap for your head) before treatment starts cuts the risk – if you are due to start chemotherapy, your cancer nurse can advise. Childbirth, some medicines and crash diets can push your hair into the resting phase, making
DON’T FORGET THE SKIN WHERE HAIR HAS BEEN LOST IS SENSITIVE TO SUNLIGHT AND BURNS EASILY – HATS AND SUNSCREEN ONCE SPRING COMES!
you prone to thinning. The medical term for hair loss is alopecia. One kind – alopecia areata – causes patches of total hair loss with normal hair around. The patches can vary from spots less than the size of a 10p piece to the whole scalp. Less often eyebrows, eyelashes, the beard area and even pubic hair can be affected.
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease – your immune system recognises part of your body as an enemy and attacks it. It doesn’t affect your general health but you are at slightly higher risk of conditions like underactive thyroid or rheumatoid arthritis. It can run in families, with men and women equally affected.
The good news is that in alopecia areata, the follicles your hairs grow from aren’t permanently damaged. Many people regain a full head of hair in months. If less than half your scalp is affected, you have a 4 in 5 chance of full recovery in a year.
The older you are when it starts, the less hair tends to be lost and the better the chance of regaining a full head of hair.
Treatment isn’t necessary, especially if affected areas are small and a new hairstyle will hide the problem. For extensive hair loss, steroid injections into your scalp may help. In men, hair loss is often thought to be related to male hormone levels. In fact, men who go bald usually have normal testosterone levels, but the hair follicles become super-sensitive to it, making the follicles shrink. Women also get hormone-related hair loss, but it’s almost always general thinning rather than bald patches, and does not lead to total baldness.
It is worth seeing your doctor if your hair starts thinning. Sometimes medication can be to blame, along with iron deficiency or underactive thyroid, which can be treated. Next week: Looking at osteoporosis
FOR GENERAL THINNING HAIR, YOU CAN BUY A SOLUTION CALLED “MINOXIDIL” FROM PHARMACISTS – IT’S NOT AVAILABLE ON THE NHS