Author: Dr. William Rassman

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Dengue fever 2 months ago and lost hair

My wife and I caught dengue in Thailand 3 months ago. She started having rapid hair loss two weeks ago and we jokingly said it was probably dengue (it’s a running gag, since that damn thing hit us with a good dozen different symptoms). Joke’s in us; it’s actually dengue. Apparently it’s common to have it happen 2.5 to 3 months down the line. Anyways, I read on it and it’ll apparently go on for a couple months.

In women who have hair loss following a severe illness, a significant telogen effluvium develops and usually reverses in a year or so. In men, if they have genetic balding, they can kick in the genes and then follow their family pattern that is inherited and it could be that it would not reverse in men unlike women who often do reverse. I would expect similar responses to those people who caught Covid-19 Virus and got very sick but as our office is close, we will not see them for some time.


2020-04-20 17:48:07Dengue fever 2 months ago and lost hair

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My Transplanted Hairs Grew Out Kinky Like Pubic Hair

I had a hair transplant 8 months ago, and my hairs are coming out like pubic hairs. It looks horrible. What is going on?

Sometimes transplanted hairs grow out kinky with a different texture. This happens when the grafts were not handled well by skilled technicians or medical group. It can happen with bad recipient sites (too big, too small, too tight, too shallow, etc) made by the doctor. It can also happen to certain individuals despite highly skilled technicians and doctors. If it happens to many patients from the same doctor on a consistent basis, then it’s probably a technical issue (not your fault).

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My Wife Has Alopecia — Will Our Children Have this Disease, Too?

Dear Sir, My wife is 1 month pregnant . She is alopecia patient & complete bald since at the age of 5 years old. Her 2 other sister are also bald and having the same disease. They all wear wigs.. But her parent is having full grown hair.

My worries is that will it affect our future children ? Will my future child inherit this disease from her mother. how can i be assure for that. What test can be done to confirm it. Please advice.

Regards

Alopecia totalis sounds like the diagnosis and in one form of inheritance, the problem starts appearing in the very young at between 3-4 years old. Once the process starts, all of the hair falls out within months. Angela Christiano, Ph.D., of Columbia University in New York researched this in a town in Pakistan where the population was inbred. She found that many of the children in that town lost their hair at ages 3-4 and it fell out in a distinct pattern. She took samples of their genes, and tested them at the university, finding a connection between their disease and some of the genetic patterns in our more common form of alopecia areata, a disease which she has. Your child may very well inherit the condition. See our previous post on this subject here.


2009-01-26 15:36:23My Wife Has Alopecia — Will Our Children Have this Disease, Too?

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My Trichologist Said My Greasy Scalp, Itchiness, and MPB Are Connected

Greasy scalp/itch and MPB. Are these all connected?

I went to see a trichologist recently who told me that she could see plenty of miniaturised hairs at my crown. She also commented on how greasy my scalp was and said that this was linked with my hair thinning and the itchiness which i’d reported was probably also to do with this grease.

Can you confirm if this is true? My hair is itching/greasier again this week and I notice that I do have more hair fall when it gets like this.

Male pattern balding is a genetic trait. Greasy scalp is just a greasy scalp (unless there is a genetic cause of excess sebum production from the hair follicles of the scalp). People who have a full head of hair can have a greasy scalp. Same goes for an itchy scalp. There can be numerous reasons for this, such as dryness, dandruff, hair products, lice, poor hygiene, etc.

I do not believe genetic hair loss, greasy scalp, and itchy scalp are connected. In my opinion, it is a old wives’ tale. If you’re scratching your head and pulling your hair out because of it, that might explain the thinning. Otherwise, I don’t know of a proven correlation.

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My Transplants Seem to Be Thinning and I Can’t Find a Doctor to Prescribe Dutasteride

I am a 50yr old male that has had six strip surgeries over the years. I have continued to thin and even the transplants have seemed to thin. Most noticeably is the mid scalp area. I would like to try low dosage Dutasteride (Avodart 1 pill weekly) along with propecia, which I have been on for about 15 years. The problem is I can not find a doctor willing to write a scrip, and I have been to several Dermatologist as well as my primary care doc. All say they are not comfortable with it. The low dose seem reasonable. I feel I must give this a try before it is too late.

Any advice? Thanks very much!

If you are continuing to lose hair, it just may be from your genetic predisposition to male pattern (androgenic) balding. All drugs have limitations and drugs alone cannot completely stop hair loss. There is a reason why most doctors (including me) do not routinely prescribe dutasteride. Dutasteride is not FDA approved for treating androgenic alopecia and it has a higher side effects potential than Propecia.

As for your continued thinning, including the transplants — this is unusual. I haven’t seen your before/after photos and I haven’t seen your case file, but if the grafts were taken from the donor area (and not higher or lower), they should not fall out with your hair loss progression.

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My Twin and I Lost Leg Hair

I’ve been reading some of the postings about hair loss on calf. You commented about not knowing age & also about role of DHT & hair being one of the benefits.

With that in mind, here’s another one for you. My fraternal twin & I have both lost the hair on the calves of our legs. Happened in late 30s-early 40s. All the males on father’s side are pretty hirsute, as we are. In my case, I have all the hair I’ve ever had everywhere else, including the tops of my feet and toes! I’m a little thin on top, too, as is my brother. But, I’m also now dealing with rampant eyebrow hair growth & hairy ears needing trimmed. I have pitting edema of lower calves as well, but normal warmth and good pedal pulses. What do you think?

Thanks!

Pedal edema (swelling of the feet) usually reflects some medical problem. With swollen feet, there may be a connection. Does your fraternal twin have pedal edema? Good chance that there is some genetic cause, but I am stumped.


2007-06-08 10:31:43My Twin and I Lost Leg Hair

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My Trichologist Told Me I Had Poor Blood Circulation and Oily Scalp That Can Be Fixed for $5000

Hi Doctor,
I just made a trip to a local trichologist (Svenson Hair). They did a scalp and minituarisation study for me. She commented that I have a few hairs growing from the same pore, as well as minituarisation at same parts. She also said I had dandruff that was not flaky, and a sensitive scalp (some slight redness).

So she said that I had these problems:

  1. Poor blood circulation (said my scalp was grey in some areas)
  2. Dandruff clinging to my pores (thus blocking the new hair from growing out. Said it was worse than flaky dandruff)
  3. Oily scalp

The treatment package was going to cost 5000 dollars, and she started to use the words VERY SEVERE as we got along, as she sensed my apprehension. However I’m not sure what she said was true. Can you help me verify the 3 points as above? Are they true??? I’m currently on Propecia.

Thank you very much. I hope no one gets pressured by such trichologists into a 5k package.

In my opinion, none of what your trichologist told you is true. We often grow multiple hair follicles (called follicular units) from one pore. If you have an oily scalp, you can treat it with shampoo formulated for oily hair/scalp, available at most drug stores or grocery stores. Grey scalp from poor circulation? Don’t waste your money! Now that I’ve saved you $5000, if that money is burning a hole in your pocket I suggest that you will get more satisfaction by donating some of it to charity.

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My Wife Is Pushing For Me To Get a Facelift

I am a 55 and my wife is 45. She wants to do a face lift and is pushing me to look into it as well. I feel that I am too young to get a face lift and that it is a better surgery for a woman than a man. Are we too young for a face lift? Is it better to undergo a surgical procedure (i.e., facelift) at a younger age when the skin elasticity is better or at an older age when everything hangs down lower?

My feeling is that one should only undergo surgery when one is excited by the prospect of change and feels that he or she will benefit maximally from the procedure (physically and emotionally). Feeling compelled to have a facelift at an earlier age is ill-advised. The key is to get a good doctor and bond with him/her to help you decide if this is the right decision for you at this time. More and more men are getting facelifts today and the results can be as dramatic as the results we get on women.

This question was answered by Jon Perlman, M.D.


2006-05-23 15:31:02My Wife Is Pushing For Me To Get a Facelift

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Myotonic Dystrophy and Hair Loss?

Hello, I am currently a 20 years old male, with extremely fast paced MPB in the front region. There is no extreme history of MPB in my family, although my dad and his brother are both above 50 and both thinning.

Anyways, my question is, my father has miatonic dystrophy, which of course is a genetic disease effecting muscles. I have never been tested for the disease, however I was looking up symptoms and one was listed as possible frontal hair loss at an earlier age due to hormone changes. My dad of course, did not experience this. I had just got a prescription from a dr for proscar, and was wondering IF this was the case, would there even be a point to taking it? I write to you because none of the physicians I’ve seen seem to know what they are talking about.

Hair loss in the great majority of men (especially frontal hair loss that occurs in a specific pattern) is due to genetics. It does not matter if your father or uncle didn’t see male pattern baldness until their later years, as the gene can also come from your mother and can even skip generations.

Though myotonic dystrophy can cause hair loss, I am a bit worried if none of the physicians can explain this to you before you were prescribed a medication to treat genetic hair loss in the first place. Was your doctor not aware of your family history?


2013-11-06 12:46:55Myotonic Dystrophy and Hair Loss?

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Nandamo for Hair Loss

any thoughts on nandamo? sample size of this study seems low. Nandamo Clinical Research

I agree with you. This is a Chinese study and the results probably are not statistically meaningful. I give the researchers an ‘A’ for trying.


2006-02-09 11:37:54Nandamo for Hair Loss