We’re taking a long weekend to enjoy 4 consecutive days of friends, family, and constant eating and will be back on Monday, November 26. Enjoy your time with friends and family!
Happy Thanksgiving! – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
Hair Mildew? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
I keep hearing of “hair mildew”. I can’t find it anywhere on the net.
I was wondering what HAIR MILDEW is,exactly, how do you get it and what would be the symptoms? And, is there any cure for it or would you have to cut out all of your hair?
Thanks alot
I’m sure each of us has been near someone who doesn’t dry their hair, which can sometimes develop an odor to it. Perhaps that is what one is talking about with the term “hair mildew”. If this mildew is a problem for someone, using a hair dryer after a wash should eliminate the problem. I’ve never heard this term used before, though, so I’m just assuming this is what you mean.
Balding in Professional Sports – Rare? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
Hi Dr. Rassman! I have a pretty weird question for you.
I just read a comment you made about most politicians having lots of hair compared to the average man. As a big fan of european soccer, I have noticed that almost all of the games biggest stars have a full head of hair (Francesco Totti, Ronaldinho, Kaka, Fernando Torres, David Beckham, Luis Figo and more). The only superstar who is balding is Zinedine Zidane from France. Very few choose to shave their head and those who do aren’t balding (ronaldo). For example, Englands national team does not have one bald guy in the starting 11. The same goes for Italy. And a lot of other big soccer teams don’t have much bald guys. Is this a coincidence?
There seems to be a good number of balding men in tennis. I can’t make a case one way or the other on your observations on soccer, but do think that it is interesting to note. Thanks for sharing.
Is David Beckham Balding? – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
My daughter is a huge fan of Beckham especially now that he’s playing soccer in Los Angeles. She was looking at some Beckham photos and found this posting somewhere and forwarded it to me since she knows I’m all over the hair loss forums. Is this just bad lighting? It looks like he’s combing his hair forward a little but it could just be that his hair falls forward when its short. I know this is superficial, but I am just curious if you can tell between possible thinning or bad lighting (or a combination of the two perhaps). Thanks
The photographs in that link suggest that he is thinning, although I have seen many photos of him where his hair looks pretty darn good (see photo at right).
I would think that he would benefit from a miniaturization study and if he does have miniaturized hair, he could probably get a some kind of deal with Merck to become a Propecia advocate, particularly if that soccer thing doesn’t work out for him. Or as the rest of the world calls it, football.
In Memory of Dr. James Arnold – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
A great doctor died on November 3, 2007.
I knew James Arnold, M.D., for years, and merged his San Jose, California medical practice with my Atherton practice in 1999 so that he could begin his retirement. His thoughts struck me as profound, as he and I were the same age.
From his Legacy.com obituary:
“I’ve always felt if you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space. The sacrifice in my move is a loss of income, but the reward is a gift of time. My most immediate goal over the next few months is to start the year 2000 with a clean piece of paper and a new box of crayons.”
Jim has spent the following years camping, rafting, motorcycling and exploring the world with his beloved wife, numerous friends, and family. He enjoyed spending time with his granddaughter, drumming, collecting wild mushrooms, and writing poetry in his self-made cabin. He was a kind and generous man who shared his love and friendship with all he met.
He died on a motorcycle living life to its fullest. He was always a caring human being and had an air about him that reflected the warmth of his good soul.
4 Years Ago, Doctors Said We Were 10 Years From a Hair Loss Cure – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
3 or 4 years ago I found myself attending lectures on hair loss. The belief at the time, was that any sort of “CURE” for hair loss was approximately 10 years away. The same answer was given by several doctors. Now I completely understand that a cure will only come when it comes and that a doctor telling me that a cure is 10 years away, does not mean that I should set a timer and count the seconds, but I’m curious if science and technology supports that response? Has our knowledge and science progressed enough that a cure could be,….7 or 8 years away? or are doctors still saying 10?
It seems 10 years is a good round number and far enough away that we can promise these cures and just let the timeline slip. In reality, nobody really knows. I do not think anything significant has happened in the last 2 or three years to say the “cure” is 7 to 8 years away.
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Granzyme B Enzyme Linked with Aging and Hair Loss? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
This press release speaks to some interesting research. Granted, this is the only place I can find this info on the web, so I can’t vouch for its validity.
Providence Health Care researcher Dr. David Granville has made a series of discoveries that could have a major impact not only on the treatment of cardiovascular disease, but also on other conditions associated with aging, including hair loss.
Full press release — Discovery links enzyme with atherosclerosis and aging
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Doctor Froze Bumps on My Scalp — Now I Have Even More Bumps! – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
Hello,
I am 54 years old and recently found bumps all over my scalp. I went to my dermatologist and before I could say a word she “froze” the bumps! I was in such shock and pain that I couldn’t move and when I got home, the bumps were much bigger, swollen and scabby. I started to use the shampoo she prescribed as well and it got a little better, but now I have twice the amount of bumps I had then before! Please help! I don’t want these bumps on my head and I’m afraid of going to another dermatologist. Just for some past reference, I do dye my hair and have been doing so for the past 25 years. Can this be something that is causing the bumps now? I really appreciate your help with this.
I honestly don’t know how to help you. I take the view that the doctor works for you, so if the doctor does not satisfy your medical needs, you “fire” the doctor and “hire” another. I don’t know what the bumps are or what could be causing them. You need to see a doctor who takes the time to bond with you. Unfortunately, I can’t provide more help without examining you.
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Hair Loss InformationChest Pain, Indigestion, and Outpatient Surgery – Hair Loss Information – Balding Blog
Yesterday, I received some sad news when I learned about the passing of one of our hair transplant patients just 5 months after his procedure. He had complained to his local doctor about chest pain and was told that it just was indigestion. This patient complained a number of times about the chest pain to his physician and each time he was tagged with the diagnosis of reflux. He recently had a heart attack and died.
Although the outcome was different, this reminded me of a similar case that I wanted to share. A female hair transplant patient had complained of periodic chest pain when I took her medical history. It sounded like cardiac pain (angina), so I had her see her doctor. He took an electrocardiogram (ECG — also known as an EKG) and told her that the pain was reflux (stomach type pain), not heart pain. She came back to me for a hair transplant, but I did not like her doctor’s diagnosis since it sounded like classic angina (pain coming on with exertion, climbing stairs, and fast paced walking), so I sent her back to her doctor. Again, he reassured her that the pain was not cardiac in nature, as her ECG was normal. I then got into her medical care and called her doctor, suggesting that he perform a stress ECG. He told me that it was unnecessary and again insisted that the pain was not cardiac. This lady wanted a hair transplant and was unable to persuade her doctor to get further testing, so because her doctor had cleared her and she wanted to proceed, I transplanted her.
During the surgery, she began experiencing chest pain, which I then treated with nitroglycerin, fortunately relieving her discomfort. This happened twice during the procedure. After surgery, I called her doctor and told him of the events at surgery. He saw her again after the transplant procedure and told her that she did not have cardiac pain and was upset with me for interfering with his medical care of her. I suggested to her that she see another doctor for a second opinion, but she liked her doctor and wanted to stay with his opinion. Three weeks after the surgery, she had a heart attack, and fortunately for her, she survived.
Being right is not a consolation from my point of view. We know from the anesthesia literature, that for people with heart disease and outpatient surgery, the risk of a heart attack in the 30 days after the surgery is higher than in the average person without surgery. Undergoing any surgery is no small matter and although I have never experienced any cardiac problems with my patients that I could not manage in surgery, risk clearance for anyone over the age of 45 years old, a good and thorough physical examination should be a medically necessity. We must all be on guard for detecting heart disease early and there are many good ways to do this today. The sad reality, however, is that in nearly 50% of cases, the first sign of heart disease is death.
Scientific American Asks, Does Stress Cause Gray Hair? – Hair Loss Information by Dr. William Rassman
Scientific American looks into whether stress really causes gray (or grey, if you prefer) hair. From the article –
“There is evidence that local expression of stress hormones mediate the signals instructing melanocytes to deliver melanin to keratinocytes,” notes Jennifer Lin, a dermatologist who conducts molecular biology research at the Dana-Farber / Harvard Cancer Center in Boston. “Conceivably, if that signal is disrupted, melanin will not deliver pigment to your hair.”
And general practice physicians have observed accelerated graying among patients under stress, says Tyler Cymet, head of family medicine at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, who conducted a small retrospective study on hair graying among patients at Sinai. “We’ve seen that people who are stressed two to three years report that they turn gray sooner,” he says.”
Full article here — Fact or Fiction?: Stress Causes Gray Hair
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