Dr. William Rassman – Page 1397

October 23, 2008

Fucidin H to Alleviate Redness After Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hello Dr. Rassman,

I recently had my hair procedure at a good clinic. I am about 50 days post op and all hair transplanted hairs have fallen out and I am also back to my old hair washing routine. However the redness in the recipient area is still there so I was advised by my clinic to use Fucidin H creme on it after applying minoxidil. I think the minoxidil dries the area causing the redness (but I have no itch). The clinic said it is perfectly safe but I should stop after my redness is gone.

My question to you is, after reading many forums where people talk about the negative side effects of topical corticosteriods (like Fucidin H); am I risking harming my grafts? Or neighbouring skin? Should I stop Fucidin H at once?

Any advice duly appreciated, thankyou.

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Fuicidin H Fucidin H contains a steroid and I believe that continued use can be a problem. Short term use is best, like a few days and then a rest period for the rest of the week… and then repeat the process. The red color should subside over time.

October 23, 2008

70 Year Old Missing Pubic Hair – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

(female) I am 70 years young and I would really like to grow my pubic hair which has almost disappeared. how can it be done

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A hair transplant works nicely for pubic hair and age should not be a problem provided that the donor area is healthy. It will be taken from the scalp and you can make it as dense as you like. Pubic hair transplants are very common in Asia.

October 22, 2008

Rusty Water Pipes and Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I was wondering if you could tell me if rust or the water pipes in my building could be causing some hair loss? My landlord snaked one of my drains and there was tons of organge disgusting water coming up. I have experienced unknown hair loss over the last few months and all of my blood work is normal. Iam trying to get to the cause of this. The building I live in is old. Any idea if this could be a cause?

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Rusted pipe One of the major causes of discolored water like you describe is rusty water pipes, but I doubt that it’s drainage that you are putting on your head. I do not know of hair loss side effects for this type of water, but it does produce stains on your sink/tub that are similar to hard water, which is loaded with minerals. If you have hard water, you will see that the shampoo you use does not create suds well. Yet, even hard water will not impact your hair as long as you treat it gently.

I am assuming that you are a male and if that is the case, you should get your hair mapped out for miniaturization to find out if you have genetic hair loss and stop worrying about your rusty pipes being the cause of your thinning hair. At the very least, I’d let the water run until it clear water comes out, because if you’re showering in rust, that’s not very hygienic and your landlord should take care of that for you.

October 22, 2008

Hair Loss InformationRegistered Nurse or Hair Transplant Technician? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi there, what type of work can a RN nurse do in this field? and what type of salary is she looking at?

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Registered nurses require considerable training to becoming an expert in the field, but these are skills that must be learned and practice is essential. For example, we can all go skiing, but there are various skill levels of the skiers. Becoming an expert skier takes quite a bit of time and practice. This is the case for hair transplant work on the technical level. Many areas, such as anesthesia, are relatively easy to teach, but practicing with cutting and placing grafts takes time. The average time ranges from 6 months – 10 years. Yes, quite a range. Even at 10 years of experience, some people just never learn what they need to become proficient. Salaries can be competitive with hospital work with proper expertise in the field. We do not employ RNs in our practice at this time.

October 22, 2008

Psoriasis Treatments to Keep It Under Control? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Dr Rassman,

Firstly i would just like to thank you for providing such a constructive and educational forum for unbiased, informative hair loss advice. I work in a hair transplant clinic and never hesitate to refer patients to this site for additional information.

My question however is regarding a friend of mine who suffers from psoriasis, her scalp being the worst affected area. I felt compelled to seek your advice after seeing her in tears yesterday, fed up with the constant irritation and discomfort. She is nearly always scratching her scalp and is now experiencing noticeable thinning and loss in some areas.

Can you recommend any particular treatments to control the condition or at least alleviate the itching? She has seen numerous doctors and dermatologists but is yet to find anything that works.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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This is a standard dermatologic condition which any good dermatologist should be able to address. The best person to treat your friend’s psoriasis is her dermatologist, but as she’s having difficulty finding a treatment that works, I found a good list you can both review at the National Psoriasis Foundation site.

October 22, 2008

Can I Prevent Hair Loss? – Balding Blog

Hair loss is on both side of my family, so I’m assuming I won’t escape it, but what can I do to best prevent it if I have already noticed a slight thinning at the age of 19? Does flaxseed oil actually help prevent hair loss? What steps have shown the most success?

Nutcracker

Short of removing your testicles, there is no way to completely prevent your genetics from unfolding. If you are concerned, get your hair mapped out for miniaturization yearly and you will be able to catch it early enough to treat it more effectively with drugs like Propecia (finasteride).

You can read all about flaxseed oil (see the comments toward the bottom) here.

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October 22, 2008

Correcting Iron Deficiency to Regrow Hair? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

(female) if my hair loss has been caused by an iron deficiency, how long will it take to see some regrowth now that I have been taking iron supplements?

Nothing happens fast with respect to hair growth. If your hair loss was due to iron deficiency alone, I would give it about one year to see some growth. Unfortunately, more often than not, I find that hair loss is not completely reversible even after correcting the problem.

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October 22, 2008

Is Hair Loss from Prescription Medication More Treatable than MPB? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Is MPB caused from prescribed antidepressant use on a person without family history of MPB more aggressive and less treatable than MPB caused from natural occurrence?

Male pattern baldness (MPB) is from genetic causes. You may not have a noticeable family history of MPB, but it can skip generations… and you do not get it from prescription medication. MPB is generally treatable with medications such as Propecia (finasteride) or Rogaine (minoxidil).

As for hair loss caused by medication, as long as you are on the offending drug, the hair loss will not reverse. It may not reverse at all, even if you stop the medication. Some people get better from withdrawal of the drug and others do not. There is no way to compare this problem (worse or better) with genetic hair loss.

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October 22, 2008

Wrinkles Around Eyes with Propecia Use? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I am a 21 year old male that has been using propecia for about the last 9 months, and seems to have shown good effectiveness at preventing further hairloss (I’ve been losing hair since I was about 18). However, recently I have noticed noticable wrinkling around the eye area, and having searched online have found this to be a seemingly not uncommon problem after using propecia. Also, many men report that this doesn’t seem to be reversible after discontinuing treatment. Now I’m not sure whether to stop treatment, because in afew motnsh I’ll still have the lines, but also thinnign hair aswell, so I’m not sure whcih course of action to take.

I searched through medical journals, but I don’t see wrinkles around the eyes being a side effect of Propecia (finasteride 1mg). There was one previous post about that here, but elsewhere on the web I found the PropeciaHelp.com forum thread that discusses it, but many problems tend to be applied to finasteride on that forum without much fact to show it was the medication that caused the issue. If it is indeed an unproven side effect, it is a quite rare one. I don’t believe there is a connection, however.

If you think you have wrinkles around the eyes, I would have to believe that is what you are seeing, but you need to address this with your doctor who prescribed you the medication so they can examine you and make an assessment. The course of action is to see your doctor.

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October 21, 2008

If I Have DUPA Should I Take the Hair Gene Test? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Dear Doctor Rassman,

I have a question concerning this post- Tinea Capitis / Ringworm Scars

In this post you said there is a genetic test that can test if you have the balding gene…

I have been struggling a long time with the thought of getting off propecia. My situation is that i have DUPA, and do not know if i should continue with the medication, being that it is very expensive and i do not see any thickening from it. Would you recommend i also take this test? and why isnt this suggested to anyone who is unsure of their hairloss situation?

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While the genetic testing for male pattern hair loss is novel, you don’t need a genetic test to be diagnosed with genetic male pattern baldness. A good physician can give you a diagnosis and a recommendation for treatment plan. I do not know the relationship between diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA) and classic genetic hair loss. We know very little about DUPA, but if we had 100 or so patients take the genetic test and all of them were positive, then we may learn more.

With regard to the post you referenced about ringworm, the genetic test (if normal) would rule out that patient experiencing genetic hair loss, so I would approach him differently without worrying about the impact of genetic balding on his problem. On the other hand, if he is positive for the hair loss gene, there is no assurance that he won’t bald as he gets older, so it would just confuse the situation and certainly not help in building a Master Plan for him in a worst case scenario.

I commend you for doing your homework / research, but be sure that you have a competent doctor overseeing your hair care. There are lot of subtleties that you may not be aware of and no amount of research or BaldingBlog reading can substitute for a physical exam by a qualified physician.