What Causes Excessive Hair Loss?
A number of things can cause excessive hair loss. For example, about three or four months after an illness or major surgery you may suddenly lose a large amount of hair. This hair loss is related to the stress of illness and is temporary.
Hormonal problems may cause hair loss. If your thyroid gland is overactive, or are less active than normal hair can fall out. This hair loss usually can be helped with treatment of thyroid disease. Hair loss may occur if there is a balance of male or female hormones known as androgens and estrogens. Correcting the hormone imbalance may stop the hair loss.
Many women notice hair loss about three months of having a baby. This loss is also related to hormones. During pregnancy, high levels of certain hormones cause the body to keep hair that would normally fall. When the hormones return to pre-pregnancy levels, that hair falls out and the normal cycle of growth and hair loss starts again.
Some medicines cause hair loss. This type of hair loss improves when you stop taking the medicine. Drugs that can cause hair loss include those for thinning the blood (also called anticoagulants), medicines used to treat goiter, in chemotherapy to treat cancer, vitamin A if taken in excess, the pills for birth control and antidepressants.
Certain infections can cause hair loss. Children may have hair loss caused by a fungal infection of the scalp. The infection is easily treated with antifungal medicines.
Finally, hair loss may occur as part of an underlying disease such as lupus or diabetes. Since hair loss may be an early symptom of disease is important to determine the cause may be involved.
