Hair loss or alopecia in medical terms refers to the loss of hair due to several factors. These causes may include such heredity which causes pattern baldness both in men and women, unhealthy diet, taking in medications, certain illnesses such as cancer, thyroid disease or lupus which weaken the immune system, undergoing medical treatments for certain conditions, pregnancy, and varying hair styles that put too much pressure on the scalp that hinders the growth of hair.
If you are losing more than what is normal, now is the time to worry that you might be suffering from hair loss. If you suffer from symptoms such as the losing hair suddenly or in clumps, patchy hair loss, red scalp or areas that have flakes, and total loss of hair in almost all parts of the body, now is the time to visit the specialist. He or she will determine what causes your hair loss and can offer you possible treatments and other options.
Talking with the doctor
If you are talking to the doctor for the first time to seek medical advice on your hair loss, expect that he or she will ask about your family history and medical background. The doctor will ask questions on your recent medical status to know if you underwent treatments that may caused your condition. He or she will also ask about your family’s history to know if the baldness is caused by the genes or hereditary because this might indicate that you are suffering from pattern baldness.
Before going to the clinic or the hospital, it is advisable to list down the foods that you eat and the medications you take if there are any. This will help the doctor find out faster what causes your condition. During your visit, expect that she or she will ask details like your hair care habits, your current emotional and physiological status as well as other aspects of your life because your hair loss might be caused by stress.
Aside from asking questions, expect that the doctor will do examination on your hair and your scalp. This is very important so the doctor will know how much hair you have lost and what is the condition of your scalp. Be ready because the doctor will examine your scalp to know if there are signs and symptoms of infection such as redness, scaling or flaking. To be positive of the diagnosis, there will be a need to pull some of your hair strands to find out how stringy or weak your hair is. This test is called the “pull test”. Seeing how easy the hair comes out from the follicles will help the doctor determine which part of your hair is resting and which part is growing.
The doctor may also do the following set of tests during your visit:
1. Getting samples of skin scrapings.
If there are scrapings or flakes, the doctor will get samples of it and examine it to find out if there is infection or what causes the condition.
2. The punch biopsy.
This is considered as the last option when all the tests are done and no result or diagnosis has been made. People who suffer from alopecia areata and scarring alopecia are asked to have this test right away. Here, the doctor makes use of a piece of circular tool to be able to remove a small section from the deeper layers of the skin.
3. Blood tests.
This is usually not common when testing for hair loss but some physicians recommend it to find out if the condition might be caused by an underlying medical problem like autoimmune diseases.
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