In: Root » Health » Hair loss
As a woman experiencing hair loss, you should first be evaluated by a dermatologist to make sure that no underlying skin conditions are contributing to the hair loss. They may require a treatment different and may require a biopsy to rule out the presence of certain skin diseases like diffuse alopecia areata. Your family doctor can do the required blood tests for the various diseases that may be present. Dermatologists are the best to hone in on a diagnosis. Blood tests check the following common contributors to female hair loss and can help rule out some identifiable medical conditions: ANA (antinuclear antibody): Used to test for lupus or other autoimmune diseases. This test is either positive or negative and further testing may be required if the initial screening tests are positive. Iron: Levels serum iron, TIBC (total iron binding capacity), and ferritin deficiencies in iron. Estradiol: This sex hormone indicates the status of ovarian output. FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone): This sex hormone indicates the status of ovarian output. This hormone reflects the status of a woman’s ability to ovulate. LH (luteinizing hormone): This is a sex hormone indicates the status of ovarian outputa woman may be in her overall aging process. When she ovulates, this hormone stimulates the production of eggs. Free testosterone: May help the doctor understand a woman’s ability to convert testosterone into estrogen. Most testosterone is bound to proteins in the blood and the free testosterone is easily converted into estrogen. SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin): Level indicates the status of male hormones. TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone): Level indicates the presence of hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. Total testosterone: Largely bound to proteins in the blood. It’s important to note that even after a medical condition has been corrected, your hair loss may still persist perhaps because of a “switch” in your genetic makeup that’s turned on when the medical insult occurs. After the hair loss starts, it may be difficult to turn off this switch. The hope is that your hair loss will slow down after your medical condition is treated or cured and any deficiency of your overall hormone balance is corrected. Baby blues: Postpartum hair loss Pregnancy alters a woman’s overall hormone configuration in many different ways. When hormones change, hair becomes a target organ for change in some (but not all) women because the rapid growth of the hair cells reflects changes in the overall hormonal environment in the woman’s body. When you’re pregnant, your production of the sex hormone estrogen increases, which prolongs the growth (anagen) phase of the hair cycle. During pregnancy, many women are delighted to discover that their hair is thicker and more lush. After the baby is born, however, estrogen levels drop and more hair lapses into the resting (telogen) phase. Consequently, your growing hair may fall out, and because the resting cycle lasts two to six months, it may take time to see the hair return to its growth phase. Because hair grows at about 1⁄2 inch per month and doesn’t start growing again until the rest cycle is complete, it can take up to a year for you to get your “old” hair back. In that period, you may think you’re going bald; don’t worry, you aren’t. In nursing moms, the resting period can take longer than a year, and it may take more than a year for hair growth to return to previous levels. Anemia and hypothyroidism also can contribute to postpartum hair loss. Menopause-related hair loss Over 50 percent of women going through the hormone fluctuations associated with menopause experience significant hair loss. The drop in estrogen levels in postmenopausal women may put the hair in a prolonged resting phase; this phase is particularly important for those women who have inherited female genetic hair loss. Unfortunately, doctors don’t really understand the mechanisms by which the withdrawal of estrogen causes hair loss in women, but they know that it occurs. Women who lose estrogen support have many changes in their bodies, of which hair is only one.
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