What HAIR LOSS Says About Your HEALTH: Top 15 Causes of Hair Loss (Doctor Explains)

hey guys I'm Siobhan an internal medicine and Rheumatology specialist today let's talk about what hair loss says about your health is it just normal aging or could it be something more sinister let's get into it this video was made for educational purposes only and should not be due to medical advice speak to your doctor if you have any concerns about your health alopecia areata it's a condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles it may sound familiar to you because it's the condition that Jada Smith has been suffering with and it was heavily discussed with Will Smith's Oscar slap and it's actually relatively common about 1 in 50 people will experience it at some point in their life and it can happen at any age this is the classic way that it shows up around Smooth Spot of hair loss this patient was treated with injections of steroids directly in the scalp to calm down the immune system after just three injections this fault was gone but in severe cases these patches can spread to the entire scalp and that's what happened to this 33 year old man who very quickly and suddenly went completely bald he was treated with high-dose prednisone to suppress his immune system and the results were truly amazing in just six months he had a full head of hair back okay discoid lupus this is an autoimmune disease that affects the skin unlike alopecia areata where the scalp looks normal discwid lupus causes massive inflammation which leads to scarring and destruction of the hair follicle and unfortunately that often leads to permanent hair loss one famous example is musician seal who has distinct scars on his cheeks caused by the disease now in discoid lupus usually only affects the skin and that's quite different than systemic lupus the diagnosis that Selena Gomez has been open about where internal organs are usually involved anytime there's a major shock to your system like an infection surgery childbirth or even a crash diet your hair follicles can be affected and when the shock is severe enough you can shed a lot of hair this is a woman who noticed her hair was thinning two months after a covid-19 infection you might be wondering why such a long delay well it has to do with the life cycle of a hair so a hair normally grows for four years then enters a resting phase before falling out a few months later every hair on your head goes through this process and falls out at some point but because it doesn't all happen at the same time you barely notice it but if there's a large shock to the system a whole bunch of hairs go into that resting phase at the same time and then it's just a matter of months before they all fall out this is called telogen effluvium luckily the new hairs are in the process of growing so it's temporary but it takes time so how is it diagnosed well there's an easy test called the hair pull test and it's what you probably think you take about 5 50 to 60 hairs and and you pull down see if any come out ah there you go they've got a hair that came out here a couple no problem but if it's more than 10 of the hairs that come out this is a positive test and while you're doing tests on yourself you can also check your nails too because Nails also get affected by a big shock to the system you can see horizontal ridges called bows lines and I talk about this more in a separate video where we discuss what your nails say about your health so I'll pin a link in the comments section in case you want to check that out after this video sometimes it's not so much a shock to the system that causes hair loss but a shock directly to the scalp a 41 year old woman experienced a severe reaction the day after dyeing her hair her scalp itched her face swelled and she started losing her hair this is what her hair looked like when she saw her dermatologist then four months later she'd lost almost all of her hair she had patch testing done to look for any allergies and it showed she was extremely allergic to a common chemical in permanent dyes called PPD just like in the last case the shock of the allergic reaction put her hair follicles in this resting phase and a few months later all of her hair had fallen out don't worry it wasn't permanent she was treated with steroids to calm down the allergic reaction and then she had a full recovery okay now on to syphilis this 38 year old man developed a mysterious rash that went away on its own over the next three months his hair started falling out in this unusual moth Eden pattern so he went to his doctor and he was diagnosed with syphilis a sexually transmitted infection that's been making a comeback recently a fun fact about syphilis we often call it the great Pretender because it can cause almost any symptom and can mimic other diseases fortunately syphilis is curable so after receiving penicillin his hair was back to normal three months later okay next let's talk about biotin deficiency so this woman presented with a flaky scalp hair loss and low biotin levels in her blood work she started a supplement and really improved after just three months but a true biotin deficiency is actually quite rare and that's because the bacteria in our gut produce it and we get it from things like soybeans liver and yeast so how does it happen then well in healthy people with a balanced diet it's extremely rare but one way that you can become deficient is by eating too many raw egg whites that's because they contain avidin which binds biotin blocking its absorption so just cook your eggs and you'll be okay but severe cases of biotin deficiency can be far more dramatic here's a three-year-old boy who has a genetic condition that prevents him from metabolizing biotin he presented with a rash around his mouth hair thinning and problems with speech and movement amazingly after just six weeks of high-dose biotin he had a full head of hair his rash was gone and he was walking and talking like a pro so clearly biotin is important but if you aren't deficient taking extra isn't going to help with hair loss on the bright side it can be really helpful for brittle nails regardless of your biotin status okay on to iron deficiency anemia now this woman developed severe iron deficiency because of her heavy periods gradually over time she became more exhausted she became short of breath just walking up the stairs and her hair was progressively Getting Thinner when she went to the doctor her hemoglobin was shockingly low at 48 grams per liter now for American viewers out there that's 4.8 grams per deciliter she was treated with a blood transfusion and intravenous iron her hemoglobin then increased from 48 to 140 not only did her hair grow back but she felt better than she had in years for this next one if you look closely at this patch of hair loss you'll see hairs at different stages of regrowth this 19 year old woman was diagnosed with trichotillomania a psychological condition where a person feels the irresistible urge to repeatedly pull out their hair often this goes along with anxiety depression and other obsessive-compulsive symptoms it can be difficult to treat but this woman was able to overcome it with the right supports another way your hair can get pulled out is with your hairstyle traction alopecia is anything that pulls your hair too tight for too long so if you notice this happening it may be the Universe telling you it's time for a change so let your hair down and your scalp will thank you hypothyroidism and zinc deficiency over two months this 28 year old woman developed generalized hair loss as well as a puffy face and really dry skin her doctors ran blood work and diagnosed her with hypothyroidism her body wasn't producing enough thyroid hormone this is a classic cause of hair loss weight gain dry skin fatigue most people respond quickly after starting the right medication but surprisingly she didn't improve so her doctors continued to search for another cause and they found low zinc levels in her blood this explained a lot it can cause a rash like this it can cause hair loss starting at the back of the scalp and we know that you need thyroid hormone to absorb zinc from your food just look at this transformation after only four months of treatment in medicine we often see overlapping conditions and in this case both hypothyroidism and zinc deficiency contributed to her hair loss so how can you prevent zinc deficiency oysters are surprisingly packed full of zinc but you can also get it from other types of meats and legumes but for all the vegetarians and vegans watching you're still at risk of a deficiency even if you're eating lots of legumes because they contain phytates which block the absorption of zinc pregnancy breastfeeding and chronic diseases can also put you at risk next let's talk about medications so everybody know is that chemotherapy can cause hair loss but other common medications can too like Accutane lithium or anti-seizure medications this woman took velproic acid a common anti-seizure medication for three years slowly increasing the dose over time she started losing so much hair that she was clogging the drain after each shower but this was all reversible this is her just three months after stopping the medication so that brings us to female pattern hair loss I'm so sorry ladies I hate to tell you it's not just men and it's way more common than you might think at least 40 percent of women will be affected before the age of 50. the good news is that we don't have to worry about a receding hairline instead we get progressive thinning on the top of the head I've definitely had my moments where I was looking at my brush thinking oh no it's happening but I want to remind you that it's completely normal to lose up to 100 hairs per day and with long hair that can look like a lot most of the time this form of hair loss isn't related to an underlying condition but when it is it's usually polycystic ovarian syndrome women with this condition have higher levels of testosterone irregular periods infertility and acne research is ongoing to better understand female pattern hair loss and how it differs from the male version this way we can develop more targeted treatment options for women okay let's switch over to the male version male pattern hair loss it's also called androgenic alopecia to show the complex relationship between androgens the male hormones and genetics but the truth is out guys you can't blame your mum for your hair genes it's a common myth hair loss genes actually come from both sides of the family so what does this tell you about your health there's a link between heart disease and male pattern hair loss especially if the hair loss starts before the age of 40. since we can't change our genes at least not yet anyway consider it as a reminder to focus on the risk factors that you do have control over like smoking diet and exercise on a more positive note there are effective treatment options both for men and women with pattern hair loss and they're usually more effective if they're started early so see your doctor at the first signs of hair loss so the bottom line is if you're having hair loss keep track of any other symptoms you're having because they could be related take pictures to track changes and see your doctor to help make the diagnosis the health of your hair is closely linked to the health of your nails so if you're wondering what your nails say about your health then check out this video over here and if you're curious about other hair conditions like brittle hair flaky scalp or extra hair growth then you're in luck because I'm creating that video right now be sure to subscribe so you don't miss it and that way I'll see you in the next video so bye for now

Channel: Violin MD

Views: 102,323

Keywords: violinmd, violin md, life as a doctor, day in the life of a doctor, doctor vlog, junior doctor, life as a resident, life as a medical student, internal medicine, vlogging in the hospital, causes of hair loss, alopecia, biotin for hair loss

Id: nHkQLBEv5C0

Length: 10min 46sec (646 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 11 2023