Why does our hair fall out and when should we view it as an alarming sign of alopecia or a disease?
According to experts, the hair on the brush is not a cause for alarm.
For some people it can be distressing to see their hair fall out. But not in all cases it is a harbinger of imminent baldness or an illness. In fact, it is estimated that every day we lose between 50 and 100 hairs, which is absolutely normal.
"It depends on the animal part that we still conserve, what we dermatologists call: the phylogenetic stigma. In all mammals with the exception of humans there is what is called the annual synchronized molt," Ramón Grimalt, senior professor, explains to BBC Mundo of dermatology from the International University of Catalonia.
"If you have a dog or a cat, a deer or a bear, you will see that every year in spring all these mammals synchronously shed all their fur to spend the summer fresh and, from October and November, without taking any supplement or pill or without putting on a lotion, they regain hair ".
There are several factors that can affect hair growth.
But unlike those animals, people do not need our hair to regulate our temperature. Hence, that synchronization has been lost and most of us have a daily shed of approximately 50 to 100 hairs.
The hair falls out and is renewed daily. Dr. Grimalt calls it: a replacement. "We maintain this tendency to group these spare parts. Most of us do not lose exactly 100 hairs every day, but we go through times when only 50, 60, 70 fall out and others when 150 or 200 are replaced per day. day. And these times coincide many times with the end of summer and the beginning of autumn ", says the specialist. And as with mammals, lost hair is recovered.
When to worry?
Grimalt has an infallible method: "What we really have to worry about is our photography and not our brush." And it is that the brush full of hair has become a sign of alarm for many women.
A lower density of hairs on the scalp is a sign that we should go to the doctor.
But, as the doctor explains, let's stop and think about a detail: if women generally wear their hair much longer than men, their 100 detached hair will occupy a higher volume compared to the 100 hair that falls out to a man with short hair.
"The seasonal change is identical in men and women. If I have my hair cut one or two centimeters away from my head, the 100 hairs that fall out every day I will practically not see them because they do not stay stuck in the comb or in the brush, nor will I see them obstructing the shower, "says the doctor.
"Nobody worries about the volume of hair that falls out, you have to worry about your photo," says the doctor.
Comparing a photo from last year to a current one is a good way to detect if there are "lighter" areas on the head. Do you see less hair? That is the signal.
“If my hair falls out it is a good sign: the new hair underneath is tightening so that the old hair falls out.
Ramón Grimalt, International University of Catalonia....
If so, it is important to see your doctor to determine what is happening. "It is absurd to go to a hairdresser or a pharmacy to look for 'something' for hair," warns the doctor. This is not the solution. Medical tests will find the root of the problem. For Aguado, the alarm sign should not be the number of hairs that fall, but rather notice that the density of hair that we see on the scalp has decreased, that clearer areas are seen on the head.
The paradox of baldness
Although it seems impossible to believe, Grimalt explains that men who have gone bald have not lost their hair. "Its diseased root stops working and causes a situation that we doctors call miniaturization, that is, the root produces a finer stem every time and in the end it is so fine that it becomes hair and disappears".
There are hairs in different phases on the scalp, some of them are in the shedding stage.
"The diseases that cause baldness in most cases are not associated with an increase in turnover because precisely the root is diseased. And when the root becomes ill, the person does not shed hair because it does not come out." Why do people go bald- - BBC World? This is how, according to the professor at the International University of Catalonia, the message goes in the opposite direction:
"If my hair is replaced, I am healthy. If my hair falls out it is a good sign: the new hair underneath is squeezing so that the old hair falls out."
Factors:
There are several factors that explain our hair loss, such as the aging process, genetics, constant weight loss and gain, hormonal imbalances.
In many cases it can be a temporary situation.
According to Harvard Health Publications, a journal of Harvard University School of Medicine, hair loss is due to different reasons:
Acute telogenic effluvium:
"This common form of hair loss happens two to three months after a situation in which the body has been under intense stress such as a prolonged illness, major surgery, or severe infection. It also happens after a sudden change in hair. hormone levels, especially after giving birth. Moderate amounts of hair fall out from the entire length of the scalp and can be seen on the pillow, in the shower or on the brush. "
Side effects of taking a drug:
"Hair loss can be a side effect of certain medications that contain lithium, beta blockers, warfarin, heparin, amphetamines, and levodopa," as well as as a consequence of drugs used in cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.
Androgenic alopecia or hereditary baldness:
It is very common among men and can occur at any time in their lives, even during adolescence. "It is usually caused by the interaction of three factors: hereditary tendency to baldness, male hormones, and increasing age." Women are not exempt. With age many of them can develop some degree of baldness
A fungal infection on the scalp
"This form of patchy hair loss occurs when certain types of fungi infect the scalp." This causes hair to break on the surface of the scalp and flake off.
Symptom of a disease:
Hair loss can respond to diseases such as lupus, syphilis, a thyroid disorder such as hypothyroidism, or hyperthyroidism. It can also be a symptom of a protein, iron, zinc, or biotin deficiency.
Alopecia areata: "This is an autoimmune disease that causes hair to fall out in one or more small areas. The cause of this condition is unknown, although it is
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