Dr. William Rassman – Page 1441

July 10, 2008

It Feels Like Bugs Are Crawling on My Scalp – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My scalp consistently feels “weird” (i.e. like bugs are crawling around on it). I know this might sound strange, but I am always having to itch my head because it just never feels normal anymore. This has been going on for the past three years and sometimes I can deal with it, but most of the time its annoying me. Do you have an explanation on this?

Any response is greatly appreciated.

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Maybe there are bugs crawling on your scalp. For example, head lice or mites can be small enough where you may not notice by just looking in the mirror. I would see a doctor for a good examination.

July 10, 2008

Dutasteride and AndroGel – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello Doctor!

I have recently been diagnosed with having low testosterone and my doctor has prescribed androgel (I think that’s the name). I am currently taking .5mg of Dutasteride. Will the Dutasteride reduce the chances of hair loss from the Androgel? Thanks!

AndroGel It may, but I would discuss your concerns with your doctor, as it seems you have other medical conditions that need to be addressed.

Dutasteride will decrease your DHT level and may compete with the 5 alpha-reductase enzyme that the DHT attacks, but AndroGel will increase your testosterone level, which may increase your DHT level. So what does this all mean? To me, it means that the block created by the medication will still work, but in medicine, things are not so simple and binary so I can not tell you the degree of offset that the AndroGel will cause.

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July 10, 2008

Head Fungus is Now Gone — How Long Until Hair Grows Back? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

My daughter has recently recovered from head fungus. The spot where the fungus was is bald. I would like to know if the hair will grow back?

It seems the fungus was serious enough to cause hair loss. I would give it a good 6 months to a year before the hair grows back. Generally, it should grow back if the underlying infection has been treated.

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July 10, 2008

UV Rays on the Scalp – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr,

I am having UVB treatment for chronic eczema on my body. Should i be protecting my scalp from the UV rays? The sessions are short and only 15mins max. Right now i am on 54 seconds.

UV exposure does impact the skin. Dr. Richard Shiell in Australia believes that he gets less hair growth from transplants on the right side of the frontal hairline in his patients due to sun exposure from those who do a lot of driving. In Australia, they drive on the left side of the road and therefore get more sun exposure to the right side. If he is correct in his observation, UV exposure can damage the skin. There are two areas of potential damage:

To the skin and the growing parts of the skin
To the blood supply of the scalp

At the dose you are taking, it may not be a problem, but I would check with your doctor and find out from the source.

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July 9, 2008

Can Hair De-Miniaturize? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hey Dr. Rassman,

I like your site and all the time you devote to it to help the readers. I have a little bit of miniaturization going on at my temples (I’m 20). I went and saw a hair transplant doctor and he explained to me the process of the “mature hairline” (although he didn’t call it that). He also said that sometimes hair can miniaturize and then come back again (de-miniaturize) healthy on its own in young men as they grow. I was just wondering what your professional opinion was on this statement. Would you agree? Have you seen that happen? Thanks for your time.

Generally when miniaturization occurs in men, it is permanent if it is associated with genetic hair loss. If the miniaturization is part of the maturing hairline, then this too should be permanent. Miniaturization caused by DHT and genetic balding will not reverse on its own, but may reverse with finasteride (Propecia). I do not believe that there is spontaneous reversal of miniaturization in the genetic process, at least not in most of the miniaturization seen in men. With regard to women and miniaturization, the same rule may apply, but we unfortunately do not have enough information to make certain one way or the other.

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July 9, 2008

In the News – Testing Hair to Detect Breast Cancer? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Snippet from the article:

An Australian company called Fermiscan is in the process of developing a test that could possibly identify a person with breast cancer using about 20 strands of their hair.

The Fermiscan test has shown a 69% accuracy in detecting breast cancer. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that mammograms or ultrasounds showed no greater than a 50% chance at detecting breast cancer, and a 78% detection rate when the two were combined.

Read the full article at InventorSpot.com.

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July 9, 2008

My Newly Placed Grafts Are Itching Like Crazy! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have just had a hair transplant on Tuesday 1st July, so only 2 days ago. I am itching where my grafts are placed and i know it takes about 7 days before i can touch them incase they come out. it is driving me mad, with this itching, is there anything i can put on or you can recommend please. Thanks

While I am flattered you’d turn to me for advice, I am also shocked how there seems to be no relationship between a patient (you) and his doctor. This is a perfect question for the doctor that performed your surgery!

In general, you can touch your head or lightly tap on it to alleviate the itching. Please follow up with your doctor. There may be other issues (aside from general itching) that may be causing your problem. I really don’t know, as I was not your surgeon.

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July 9, 2008

Preliminary DHT Sensitivity Test? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Dear Dr Rassman

I have read with interest your website and would be keen to ask you the following.

You state that if hairs are not DHT sensitive, medications such as Propecia will not help. Effectively the most probable medication a doctor or dermatologist does prescribe is right Propecia or Minoxidil. But at this point I wonder whether there are some preliminary tests on the scalp or the hair someone might do before even trying with these medications. In fact, if someone wants to know whether his hairs are DHT sensitive and so whether a medication like Propecia would work, what kind of tests would you recommend?

Thank you for your time. With kind regards

There are no tests that I am aware of to test for dihydrotestosterone (DHT) sensitivity or to test for effectiveness in DHT blocking with Propecia (finasteride 1mg). If you are a male and balding with a typical male balding pattern, DHT is likely responsible and Propecia will likely help… but I suspect DHT is not 100% responsible for male pattern baldness, as genetic and biological processes are not so simply constructed. More importantly, try to look at the problem more practically. You may be very sensitive to DHT or not very sensitive to DHT, but even a little finasteride is worth a shot at slowing the balding process when you have nothing but hair to lose.

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July 9, 2008

Prescribing Propecia Online? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

Hello,

I was wondering if you are able to prescribe Propecia to people such as myself who are far away. Thanks for your time.

I need to see you and examine you before prescribing Propecia (finasteride 1mg). I believe that what you are asking of me is against the law, at least in California and thirteen other states. See FDA.gov – Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online FAQs for more.

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July 9, 2008

Tattooing Your Scalp to Get a Buzzed Hair Look? – Balding Blog

Hi, I was wondering if it would look natural if a person with a norwood 5, shaves their head and tattoos the balding portion of the head (in an attempt to regain a shaved norwood 2 look.) Also, when you tattoo the balding portion, would it promote hair loss in the non-balding parts?

Most people who have their scalp tattooed just can not replicate the appearance of a crew cut head of hair. I’ve seen this tried before, and to be honest, the majority I have seen look distinctly abnormal, with one exception: a patient that was able to artfully replicate a short hair cut with a temporary tattoo which he reapplies every few days. While tattoos could potentially cause hair loss (if there’s infection, for example), they more than likely won’t.