Category: Hair Diseases

I am a 37 year old hispanic female. less than 2 months ago I noticed a small bald patch (the size of a nickle) on the crown of my head. I thought it was ringwom and so did my doctor. He gave me a cream and shampoo to treat it. A week later I noticed another but smaller bald patch not to far from the first one. at this point my doctor sent me to a dermatologist. The dermatologist said it alopecia areata and gave me a topical solution that will help grow my hair back and to see him again in a month. Now I noticed that the hair on the top part of my head is thinning and some areas are read and burn a little. (not much itching) I don’t find hair on my pillows, towels, brush, or floor, but I can start to se my scalp specially where I part my hair. Does this mean I will lose all my hair? Is it common to have bald patches and then thining of the rest of the hair at the same time?

Alopecia areata is a known condition which you can learn about at National Alopecia Areata Foundation. I am confused with your history. To make a firm diagnosis of alopecia areata, you would need a biopsy. The questions you are asking are reasonable questions which your doctor should answer for you. As I have not examined you myself, I can not do any justice by giving you advice, unseen. In the past I have been surprised at the simplicity of the questions that should be asked of the treating physician. I wonder if doctors are becoming detached from the people they are treating and just treating the condition. When my son entered his surgery training, I gave him some simple advice. I said: “Never refer to your patient as the man in room 202 with the amputated right leg. Always talk about Mr. Smith in room 202, the musician (or carpenter, or father of four daughters). You need to relate to the human being and his/her human needs. In doing so, you will relate to Mr. Smith, a man in need of your services and a person who you are there for you to help, not the man with the amputated leg.”

He told me that he remembered my advice. He told me that he learned to listen to his patients and in becoming a good listener, he became a better doctor. The woman with her scalp problem reached out for insights into her condition. She has reasonable questions and she should expect that her doctor will answer them. If she picked the wrong doctor, she should make it right and get another one.

I am a 45 year old female who is diagnosed with M.S. (relapsing & remitting). My scalp has, over the last few months, become itchy followed by overall hair loss (no patches) and there is no dandruff – could it possibly be linked to the M.S.? Is there anything I can do to help the situation. I mentioned it to my doctor who said it was probably my age and there was nothing I can do about it.

This could be a chicken and egg situation. We know that Multiple Sclerosis causes paresthesia (numbness, tingling, or burning) and this may cause you to scratch it. Scratching it can cause hair loss. So in one of the scenarios, the MS can be the underlying cause of a process that leads to hair loss. There are many other things that can cause thinning hair, so you might want to see a dermatologist for an assessment of the hair loss.

Hello,

I have a problem with my hair. It seems that lately I’ve been getting these strange bumps on my head that seem to be pimples only on a very different scale. They are quite rough and I can tell that there is a dense liquid behind them. Out of curiousity I’ve popped them and they usually scab and go away. But about a day or two after they go away, they leave a baldspot, usually the size of nickel or dime. Sometimes the spot is bald for more than a month and sometimes only a few weeks. I’m afraid to cut my hair because I know they will be clearly visible. What do you think this is?

It sounds like you have recurrent folliculitis. See a good dermatologist and get it treated. Infections can produce temporary balding around the infection itself.

Hi!!
I was just wondering. I am a 19 year old male and as a younger teenager i had very thick dark hair. Earlier this year i had severe glandular fever with hepatitus of the liver. It is now 7 months since then, but ever since, my hair has been falling out quite alot and my hair seems thinner too. When my hair is wet, my scalp is noticeable and their seems to be large spaces between each hair strand. I was wondering if the hepatitus of the liver or the glandular fever i had could lead to this hair loss even though it is now 7 months later; or is this permanent?? please let me know as it is very damaging to my self esteem and atleast if i knew i would know if it will grow back or not.

Infectious mononucleosis, commonly known as glandular fever, is a viral infection, which is caused by the Epstein-Barr virus. This disease often impacts the liver and produces a form of hepatitis. If you are genetically predisposed for balding, then the stress of the disease could well be the precipitating factor that can accelerate your normal aging balding problem. Best to get your hair mapped out for miniaturization and assuming that I am correct, consider starting Propecia. The earlier you do this, the better off you will be. My heart goes out to you through this process and fortunately there is a solution, but you need to act sooner rather than later, as genetic hair loss at some point is irreversible.

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I’m a 34 yo white healty male. When I was 30 (2 mts before I turned 31) I noticed a lot of hairs on my pillow and when I ran my hands through my hair. My hair was extreamly thick. When I was 32 I went to a local Dr. that is a hair specalist. He did a biopsy said 2 vellus hairs to 25 total hairs. Had mild follicular and lymphohistiocytic infiltrate. He says I dont have AGA.

Fast forward two years to today, Im 34 hairs still come out same rate(been on propecia 2 yrs) biopsy says I have 3 velous hairs out of 23 total hairs. My family has little to no MBP (only mothers brother and her father a little) I see zero frontal recesion, no balding in the crown. No change in the way my hair is around my head other than its getting thinner everywhere, sideburns,sides, nape of neck, crown, vertex,all thinning at the same rate. What are your thoughts?
Thank you

Biopsies should not be done to rule in the androgenetic alopecia (AGA) diagnosis. They should be saved for special forms of alopecia which require the microscopic analysis and staining techniques that show cellular details. When doctors find lymphohistiocytic infiltrate, they often look to classify other cells in the area of biopsy which should not be present in large quantities, for large quantities of lymphocytes, eosinophils, etc, may point to infection or auto-immune diseases. The diagnosis of AGA is better made with a video densitometer (see Miniaturization: Critical to the Master Plan for Hair Loss), as it is non-invasive and simple.

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