Category: Hair Diseases

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What If I Need Chemotherapy After I Have a Hair Transplant? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

If you get a hair transplant and later get diagnosed with cancer, need chemotherapy and lose your hair, what do you do about the scarring and dots where the transplanted hair previously was?

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I would think that if you have cancer, a hair transplant or its scar would be one of the last things on your mind. If you do end up going through chemotherapy and lose all your hair, you will see the scarring.

But while most of us do not plan on having cancer or chemo in our lifetime, if it happens to you and you are worried about the scar, you can wear a hat or a wig as most chemo patients do.

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Lichen Planus and Hair Loss – Balding Blog

Is there anything that can be done for lichen planus? Had it on my legs and arms for over 2 years and its now on my scalp. I’m losing hair in patches and i’m afraid it will never return. How can i combat this to make sure i keep my hair? Thanks

Unfortunately, lichen planus is a chronic medical condition in which there is no definitive cure. When it affects the hair, it may grow back in time. There’s really not much help I can offer. There are treatments for the disease, but nothing that works 100% of the time for everyone. Please follow up with your primary care doctor or a dermatologist.


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Hair Transplant and Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia – Balding Blog

Hi. Yesterday i was diagnosed with Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia. I was wondering if you know anything about having this disease and hair transplants. Since I was born with this can insurance cover it? I have spots and places where my hair will not grow. It requires me to wear hair extentions , and im thinking about a wig. Anyway , i was wondering if you knew anything about this.

Thank you

Yes, I do know about ectodermal dysplasia. It is a genetic trait which can affect hair (among other things). I do not know how insurance coverage plays a factor in this, but I doubt that hair transplantation will be an option. With ectodermal dysplasia there are defects in the hair and skin that may make hair transplants not possible.




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Hair Loss InformationWill Hair Regrow After a Bout of Typhoid? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Doc
My Sister had Thypoid for a month and she suffered hair loss due to Thypoid. Does the hairloss due to Thypoid is reversible ?

Thanks

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Hair loss in itself is likely not a direct result of typhoid, but the hair loss is likely from the stress on the body from the disease. This stress related hair loss can be caused by a variety of illnesses. Your sister should gain her hair back over the course of a year or so.

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Dr Christiano’s Alopecia Areata Discovery, Revisited – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

I´ve found this article on the internet about alopecia areata. Can you please share your opinion about this.

Physorg.com – Professor discovers genetic basis for hair loss

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I think this is the same news that was announced in July. I’m not sure why Physorg.com is just getting to it now, though the article you linked to appears to have a little more info than the previously announced news… and a new video interview with Dr. Christiano.

At any rate, the discovery is great news and hopefully will lead to new treatments for alopecia areata in the future.

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Diet High in Folic Acid to Prevent Chemo Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

My wife is about to start chemo treatment and I found this recent article about ways to keep the hair loss from chemo at bay. Here’s the interesting quote –

“The Plant Programme – devised by Professor Jane Plant, of whom I have written in an earlier post – recommends a diet high in folic acid to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy treatment. Jane is convinced that, by following her Programme – which is a dairy free, processed food free, organic diet – the body effectively produces its own protection.”

Link: Chemotherapy: how to combat loss of hair

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Thank you for sharing. Everyone has their own opinions and regimens, and if you (or your wife in this case) are about to go through chemotherapy it would be completely normal to have concerns about losing hair. If a high folic acid diet possibly helps keep the hair during treatment, it’s worth looking into.

I have no information about the Plant Programme beyond this other article I found, but talk with your doctor about dietary changes to make sure there’s no problems.

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Do Doctors Know to Even Look for Body Dysmorphic Disorder? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Hi Dr. Rassman
I truly believe that HT surgeons like yourself offering good and honest advice to the general public, are few and far between. As we both know hairloss can be a devastating condition for any man. My severe worry is, that given this invaluable tool we call the internet, alot of misplaced paranoia is given to very young people (17-25) who should be enjoying their youth and the best years of their lives. It is of major concern to me, given the easily accessed nature of the internet, how (a minority) of young men (and women) may be posting pictures of their hair when there really is nothing wrong with their appearance.

I only mention this as i myself am a long term sufferer of a mental disorder know as “Body Dismorphic Disorder” and although there is nothing wrong with my hair, i have severe BDD. I know BBD sufferers are a minority but i believe especially when it comes to cosmetic procedures, sadly for alot of sufferers (especially the young) it is often overlooked.

My main question is, do professionals as yourself check for such (sometimes severe) disorders when assessing a patient and given the devastation they can cause among sufferers, how do surgeons like yourself deal with, what can be life or death situations for sufferers of this chronic condition?

Thank you for your time

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I obviously can’t speak for all doctors, but we do occasionally see men and women with body dysmorphic disorder in our clinic, and for some of those patients much of the consult time is spent on counseling them.

Most of the time these patients are already under care for BDD when we see them, but otherwise we refer them to psychiatrists.

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Vitamin K and Hair Transplant – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman

I have a question about Vitamin K. Since it helps with blood coagulation, would it be OK to take it before and during a hair transplant procedure? My platelets have always tended to run a bit low, which has made previous surgeries last a bit longer than they should. Thanks, and you are still doing a wonderful job with the blog!

I do not think taking vitamin K supplements would help with a hair transplant surgery. Blood coagulation is not as simple as adding a vitamin. Please ask your doctor to address your blood coagulation and platelet issues. Do you have von Willebrand disease (vWD)?


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In the News – Alopecia Areata and Stress – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

Snippet from the article written by Dr. Maria Hordinsky, a dermatologist from the University of Minnesota:

Stress has been cited frequently as a factor in autoimmune diseases, including alopecia areata. Yet experimental evidence to decisively link stress and alopecia has been lacking.

It is easy to link alopecia with stress, as many but not all patients associate stressful events with the development of hair loss. Moreover, there are a lot of nerves in and around hair follicles. The actions of these nerves, as well as various nervous system products called neuropeptides, could affect the hair growth cycle.

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Read the full text at NY Times — Can Stress Cause Hair Loss?

I have seen a few cases of surgical stress induced alopecia areata. One patient that comes to mind had a hair transplant surgery just before the alopecia areata appeared and it was active for about 6 months.

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Hair Loss InformationI Thought DUPA Was Diffuse All Over the Scalp? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog

In response to My Hair on Top is Thick, But My Sides Are Thinning Quickly!

You said, “If you are thinning only on the sides, something that I have rarely seen, it’s often associated with diffuse unpatterned alopecia (DUPA).”

Doctor….How the heck can he have DUPA if only his sides are thinning and not the top? Makes no sense.

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You’re right. In the above referenced post, I was a little quick in my reply. Perhaps what I should’ve said in addition to the above quote is, “There may be additional miniaturization in the front, top, and crown that you’re not noticing, but if the hair is longer it could be more difficult to detect.”

Generally if the sides of the head have significant miniaturization, the rest of the hair on the scalp will also show the same. The degree of miniaturization may not be the same in different parts of the scalp, though. As I can’t see the hair loss through text sent in an email, I have to make guesses (educated or otherwise) when trying to answer a question like this. The individual needs to be seen by a doctor to examine their scalp, since who knows what is actually happening with their hair loss.

So just to clarify once more… in the case of someone losing hair on the sides of their head, chances are good that there will be hair loss elsewhere on the scalp. I apologize I wasn’t more clear about that in my earlier reply.