Baldness is a condition that occurs when you have too much stress and are prone to “ghost shaving”. Alopecia areata is a special type of hair loss in which a round or oval shaped spot of hair loss suddenly appears on the top of the patient’s head, and the hair near the spot tends to loosen and fall out, thus gradually expanding. However, the patient himself may not feel anything special, and sometimes he may find it by chance when he looks in the mirror, or even by someone else, so folklore also calls baldness “ghost shaving”, that is, when something “steals” a piece of hair.
In fact, in terms of pathogenesis, baldness is an autoimmune disease in which the patient’s immune system is disrupted and his or her own immune cells attack certain hair follicles, causing them to either not work properly and produce a defective hair shaft, or go dormant and make the roots of the hair shallow. The result of both of these conditions is that the hair is prone to breakage at the defective site or the hair falls out prematurely. There are many factors that can affect a patient’s immune function, with stress being the most common cause, and many times the cause is not clear.
In addition to asking about the patient’s recent mental state, the doctor will usually check thyroid function and autoantibodies during the consultation, as hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis may also be combined with baldness. Among them, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis combined with baldness is more common.
It is important to note that the presence of hair loss spots is not always a case of baldness and should be differentiated.
For example, some patients with syphilis may also develop alopecia areata, which is similar to baldness, but it is a completely different disease from baldness, and the damage caused and the treatment is completely different. Therefore, if there are multiple small irregular patches of hair loss recently, you should be alert to syphilis and need to have blood drawn for a syphilis serology test.
Some inflammatory diseases of the skin can also appear as patchy alopecia, such as discoid lupus erythematosus, lichen planus, and scleroderma. Most of them are also asymptomatic at the onset of the disease, but the biggest difference with baldness is that the local skin is often red when the disease progresses, sometimes with flaking; later in the disease, the local skin appears atrophied and no pores are visible. These diseases require prompt and aggressive treatment, otherwise there will be a complete destruction of the hair follicles, leading to permanent baldness, called scarring alopecia.
There is a psychological and behavioral abnormality that causes hair loss patches that are also very similar to baldness, namely hair pulling fetish. This type of alopecia is caused by unconscious hair-pulling behavior and is treated with psychological and behavioral therapy.
It is important to note that allergies to hair dyes and cosmetics do not cause baldness. However, chronic dermatitis of the scalp can cause itchy skin, and patients may scratch their heads frequently, sometimes breaking their hair and forming small hair loss patches, which are also more similar to baldness.
When it comes to hair loss, patients often emphasize that they have a lot of oil on their scalp. In fact, oil on the scalp does not cause or aggravate hair loss, so there is no need to worry too much. Others worry that they may develop seborrheic alopecia. Seborrheic alopecia is the old name for androgenic baldness, and many adults experience this type of hair loss to a greater or lesser extent, sooner or later. There are many differences between baldness and androgenetic alopecia, from pathogenesis to symptoms to medication, and the most crucial difference is – baldness can gradually heal itself, but androgenetic alopecia will definitely become thinner and thinner if left untreated. Therefore, if you are diagnosed with baldness rather than androgenetic alopecia, you should not worry about your early shedding and keep a good attitude, and the baldness will get better faster.
Do I need to use hormones to treat baldness?
The most common cause of baldness is mental stress, so in most cases, most patients can heal themselves by adjusting their mood, living a regular life, paying attention to rest, and allowing their immune function to return to normal. The hormone referred to here is cortisol hormone, which belongs to a kind of immunosuppressant, can reduce the inflammation around the hair follicle, inhibit the development of the disease, promote the recovery of the function of the hair follicle, and make the hair regenerate; the growth of hair will also have obvious relief of the psychological stress caused by hair loss, which is also beneficial to the treatment of baldness, thus entering the virtuous cycle of disease treatment.
There are two types of hormone therapy, systemic and topical. Systemic hormone use includes oral and injections, which can regulate the immune status of the whole body, and is usually used when baldness is developing rapidly or the area of hair loss is large. Since systemic hormone use has certain side effects, such as fattening, hairiness, etc., the duration and dosage of the medication need to be regulated by an experienced doctor according to the condition, and cannot be used for a long time on your own. If you are unwilling or intolerant to hormones, you can also switch to cyclosporine, which is another immunosuppressant commonly used to treat baldness. Topical hormones are generally strong hormones that are effective in promoting hair regrowth. The most common side effects are capillary dilation, skin atrophy, skin erythema and, in some younger patients, folliculitis. However, all these side effects can gradually subside after stopping the drug. Other than this, topical hormones rarely have other side effects, so do not reject them when you hear “hormones”.
It should be noted that while applying hormones to treat baldness, it is important to “treat the root cause”. If the immune status is not regulated properly, baldness can easily recur after stopping the medication. Therefore, patients should adjust their psychological state and live a regular life. If there are other underlying diseases, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, active treatment is also necessary to help reduce the recurrence of baldness.
Some stimulating medications can also treat baldness, such as capsaicin ointment, anthralin ointment, etc. These preparations stimulate a mild inflammatory response in the scalp, which encourages hair regrowth. The folklore of applying ginger to the scalp is often said to be based on the same principle. However, its efficacy is limited and it is used less often.
How should the medicine be applied to treat baldness?
The treatment of baldness can be chosen from systemic treatment and topical medication depending on the condition and the patient’s needs. Commonly used topical medications include minoxidil solution and hormones, of which minoxidil single topical application is not effective in the progressive stage of baldness and needs to be combined with strong hormone topical application.
Precautions for drug application.
1. The medication should be applied once in the morning and once in the evening. There is no need to purposely clean the scalp before applying the medication, but only to clean the scalp regularly according to the routine.
2. If the condition is active, the topical medication should be applied to the hair loss spot area and the surrounding seemingly normal area, and must be applied to the scalp. When the disease is stable or recovering, it can be applied only to the hair loss area.
3, first spray minoxidil solution, let it dry naturally before applying hormones.
4.Only one layer of the drug can be applied, applying more will not enhance the healing effect.
5, in order to prevent unnecessary side effects, pay attention not to apply the drug to the face, if drops into the eyes need to rinse with a lot of water.
It should be noted that the scalp will not feel uncomfortable after applying hormone and minoxidil, if the skin is red and itchy after applying the drug, it means that the patient is allergic to the drug and should stop the drug immediately. Therefore, if any uncomfortable symptoms appear after the application of the drug, you need to see a doctor again to adjust the medication. (To add, if a patient uses capsaicin ointment or tincture of bone marrow, there will be a certain burning sensation after applying the drug because the mechanism of the drug is to stimulate the skin to produce inflammation, which is a normal reaction to the drug. (However, if redness and swelling break out, it is necessary to stop the medication and follow up.)
Baldness can be recovered within three months
The time when baldness can be recovered varies greatly from person to person. Patients with mild disease may heal themselves within 3 months, while those with severe disease may not heal for a long time. This gap is determined by a variety of factors, including genetic factors, psychosomatic factors, immune status, and treatment options. Some types of baldness can see new hair within half a month of effective treatment, but most patients generally see results in about 1-3 months of effective treatment and are cured in 6-24 months.
The new hair is relatively fine, white and sometimes curly, which is a normal state of recovery and not a bad quality of hair or malnutrition. Hair loss stops and this white hair grows on the hair loss spot, which is an indication that the treatment is effective; at this time, patients should not think that they are cured and stop the medication on their own, but should continue to consolidate the effect. If black spots can be seen in the new hair, or hair stubble, it means that the disease is not yet stable, reduce or stop the drug may relapse. Therefore, the reduction or discontinuation of medication must be done under the guidance of a doctor. Generally, doctors will ask patients to wait until the hair is in a very healthy state before reducing the dosage, and not to rush.
If no results are seen in three months, the current treatment plan is not suitable and the medication needs to be adjusted or the underlying cause of the baldness needs to be further investigated. Some patients have not regrown their hair for many years, then a scalp biopsy is needed before treatment to observe the number and status of the hair follicles under a microscope and to assess the significance of treatment. This is because some hair follicles will gradually degenerate over time in baldness, resulting in a failure to regrow hair in that area.
The timing of follow-up visits for patients with baldness likewise varies from person to person. Patients who are treated with topical medications only are generally slow to take effect, but have few side effects. If there are no skin allergies, a visit to the hospital once every two or three months is sufficient; however, patients who are taking oral hormones or cyclosporine should be reviewed once every half a month to once a month – patients taking hormones should pay attention to electrolyte concentrations and whether their blood sugar and blood pressure are normal, while patients taking cyclosporine should pay attention to blood pressure and blood potassium, and check the blood concentration regularly to avoid side effects caused by taking the medication.
Patients with baldness can get more sunlight
Sunbathing is highly recommended for patients with baldness, as it has two effects on the recovery of the disease: First, the ultraviolet rays in sunlight can suppress the immune response in the scalp and gradually restore it to normal, which is equivalent to “treating the root cause”. In fact, there is a physiotherapy method, UV therapy, which is more or less effective for baldness; secondly, sunlight helps the synthesis of vitamin D in the patient’s body. Vitamin D has a certain relationship with autoimmune diseases, and many patients with hair loss have low levels of vitamin D. Supplementing vitamin D through sunlight will also have a certain alleviating effect. In addition, sunbathing itself is a relaxing thing to do, and from this perspective it is also beneficial to the recovery of baldness.
The most important keyword in the recovery process of baldness is “simple”. This disease is mostly caused by mental tension and stress, so relaxation is important for the recovery of the disease. Patients can wear hair pieces or wigs to help restore self-confidence and promote recovery from the disease. The answer to the question of what to eat is good for baldness recovery, and whether sweating a lot will aggravate the disease, is also very simple. There is no restriction on what food to eat or what exercise to do, as long as it is healthy. On the other hand, if you are overly nervous, fearing that baldness will appear in other locations, and researching what you can eat to help your hair grow and what you can eat to lose your hair, you may get what you want and the disease will come back again and again.