Medical Keywords - Everything you need to know about health.

So You Are Losing Your Hair

Did you know that men and women both tend to lose hair thickness as they age? They both can lose the amount of hair that they have as they age too. Men are likely to see a pattern of hair loss by the time they are 30 years of age and as many as 60% of men are completely bald or have a balding pattern by the time they turn 60. Read on to learn more interesting and hopefully useful facts about hair loss.

Most men will notice a pattern of baldness that starts with the receding hairline, and then a thinning of hair around the crown with perhaps some bald spots.

Females tend to have a different baldness pattern, which involves thinning hair all over the scalp with the front of the head remaining intact regarding the hair.

Baldness can be related to aging, occur because of a condition or disease or be related to hormones. Baldness can occur because of one factor or several. Children can even experience unusual hair loss.

Women can develop hair loss for many reasons including hormonal fluctuations like those that occur because of pregnancy, from going through and into menopause, or when they are on birth control pills. Women can also experience hair loss because of age or genetics.

Hair loss can occur wherever hair exists on the human body. Alopecia areata is a disease where bald batches develop on your eyebrows, eyelashes, and beard area and on your scalp. Hair loss can also be the result of autoimmune diseases and conditions such as lupus. Infections such as fungal infections of the scalp such as found in ringworm or infectious diseases such as syphilis can cause hair loss.

Did you know that if you become severely emotionally or physically stressed that you can suffer hair loss? The stress can come from major surgery, or a loss of a family member. You can also do damage to your hair from excessive shampooing or blow-drying with an electric dryer that causes damage to an extent that follicles die and don't come back.

Fever and burns can also cause hair loss. Treatments such as those for cancer like chemotherapy and radiation therapy can also cause hair loss.

You can also have hair loss if you suffer from tumors of the ovary or adrenal glands.

The realization that you are losing your hair comes as a surprise to most people and can be devastating because in today's world so much stock is put on image. When you look in the mirror and realize for the first time that your hair is thinning out, you have a receding hairline or that you have bald, patchy spots it is difficult not to think about image and how you will be received especially if you have a high profile, public job. This is the time when you take stock of what your options are by seeking information, such as the article you are reading now, and by gathering research on products and by joining hair loss forums and community support groups.