Category: Drugs (Cause Hair Loss)

Snippet from the article:

A product promoted to parents of children with autism is not a harmless dietary supplement, as claimed, but a toxic unapproved drug that lacks adequate warnings about potential side effects, including hair loss and abnormalities of the pancreas, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned in a letter to its maker.

The FDA’s June 17 letter to Boyd Haley, a retired Kentucky chemist and hero to the autism recovery movement, details five violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act related to his product, OSR#1. Failing to correct such violations can result in fines, seizure of products and even criminal prosecution.

The Tribune in January reported that the compound, sold as OSR#1, had been developed to treat mining wastewater, and that it had not undergone rigorous testing to ensure it is safe and effective. The report was part of an investigation into unproven autism therapies offered by health providers who say they can reverse the disorder.

Read the full article at the Chicago Tribune — FDA warns maker of product used as alternative autism treatment

Wastewater treatment turned unproven autism therapy? Wow. Just wow.

When the Tribune first broke the story about this industrial chemical (sold as OSR#1) being fed to autistic children, the maker of this “supplement” stated that it was tested on 10 people before being sold to the public, yet provided no proof of even that much. You can find that earlier report here.

Hi Dr. Rassman,

Thank you for maintaining this site, it is by far the most informative hair-loss site on the net I have come across.

When I was 22 I noticed that my hair line was starting to recede and I had a little bit of thinning in the crown. When I was 24 I went to see a doctor and was prescribed Propecia. At that point my hair loss was still in the early stages and was probably only noticeable to me. In January 10′, after about a year and a half on the drug… I felt like my hair-loss had stabilized, was thicker than my hair had been in a long time, and I was genuinely happy with the results.

This brings me to my problem. Along with suffering from hair-loss, I have also been fighting acne for over 10 years. In February I finally decided to take accutane to hopefully put an end to it for good. I am currently in month 4 and my acne has cleared and is continuing to get better. Unfortunately I feel my hair is in the worst condition it has been in years. The hair is overall brittle and thin. The hairline has receded in the past few months, and the crown has thinned considerably.

My question is this: If I was to assume that the accutane is what is having a negative affect on the hair…once the drug is stopped, will my hair improve? I have heard that loss while on accutane is temporary but in some cases accutane speeds up MPB. Have I done myself a huge disservice by taking accutane after having been on Propecia?

Accutane (isotretinoin) does work well for treating acne, but unfortunately one of its many side effects is hair loss. I suspect hair loss from Accutane is temporary, but it may accelerate the male pattern balding process. Only time will tell. I really do not have much experience with patients taking Accutane (nor do I prescribe it), so you should talk with your doctor as he/she may be a little more versed.

Weren’t you given all the warnings and waivers before a doctor prescribed you Accutane? I mean, have you read all the other side effects of Accutane? I know this isn’t doing much to boost your morale, but my point was to illustrate to all readers that things should be put into perspective and take medications with an informed decision. Always weigh the benefits with the risks of any drug you take.

Dear Dr. Rassman, My question is about dilantin. I know that it is often cited as a possible cause of hair loss in women. Can it cause hair loss in men and if it does does it manifest itself as slow diffuse thinning all over.

thanks for your time.

If the hair loss is from a medication (rare), it can happen in both men and women. In rare cases, Dilantin (phenytoin) is even known to cause body hair growth.

Slow diffuse thinning all over does not sound like male pattern baldness, but slow diffuse thinning can be from many other causes as well (and not only from medication). What I am saying is, you need a good medical diagnosis. At this point, it seems you are trying to establish a cause and effect relationship that may or may not be related. For those patients on Dilantin, it may be impossible to stop or switch the medication, but this is a decision for the patient and his/her prescribing doctor.

Hi, I would like to request clarification on something. I saw a post where you mentioned Sertraline causes hair loss as well as Zoloft. I also saw on some posts where SSRI’s are said to cause hair loss. The questions is how common is this? I have seen different sources use different percentages to represent how rare or often this can occur. I ask this because online it appears as a significant amount of people have voiced their concerns about Sertraline or Zoloft possibly contributing to their hair loss. However, there have to be many people who simply will never come to these forums because they are not affected. Also, how long does the hair loss take? Some posts mentioned period from 2-8 days, while some people blame the meds after they have used them for 4-6 years.

I have been told by several physicians that hair loss with SSRI’s is simply an alergic reaction which is rare. Do you agree with that? Thank you for your help.

Hair loss from SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) drugs are relatively uncommon, but they can occur. First and foremost you need to find out if there is a pattern to your hair loss. Is the hair loss everywhere or just confined to the front/top (in a pattern)? If the hair loss is happening in a pattern like those shown here, then it is most likely not from the drug. Hair loss from drugs will often impact the donor area, which is what we generally refer to as “permanent” hair not susceptible to genetic factors.

Most doctors (and even the doctors that treat hair loss, such as myself) do not know the exact mechanism of why some people lose hair from certain medications. We must believe the patient when they say that they are noticing some correlation with the timing of starting these medications and the hair thinning, but these things are often very difficult to narrow down. It is just not that simple, as the patient may also have underlying genetic hair loss as well. Remember that more than 50% of the population have some form of genetic balding which has nothing to do with SSRIs or other medications! I do not think hair loss from SSRIs (or other medication in general) is an allergic reaction, but more of a rare side effect. If hair loss is caused by a medication, I do not think it would happen in the time frame of a few days, but more likely several weeks to months.

Finally keep in mind of the big picture, rather than focusing only on hair. You are taking a certain medication for a reason, such as the SSRI to treat depression. What you are experiencing with respect to hair loss may or may not be related, but the reason of WHY you are taking the SSRI or other medication is real and the pros and cons (risks/benefits) need to be discussed with your physician before taking any action.