Category: Other

Dear Doctors:
I’m a healthy 25 year old male who has been experiencing mild thinning for the past 3 years in the front area, nothing new there. I’ve been taking Rogaine (now the foam) at night for about 2 years. The problem is that in the past 2 weeks I’ve been experiencing scalp acne, and now my hair in the front is thinning rapidly, in the most bald spots (which are looking patchy), there are small bumps. I use Nizoral (2, but up’ed to 3 times a week) and Head & Shoulders (daily), but my scalp isn’t getting better. I can’t get a doctor’s appointment until late next week, is this serious enough to go the emergency room? Of note, in the two weeks prior I’ve done quite a bit of travel.

If you have an active infection, you need prompt medical care. I can not judge the urgency for a diagnosis by what you told me. Try to get your appointment accelerated.

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Any comments on Dr.Batra, he claims to have cured 70,000 hairloss patients. It supposedly worlds biggest homeopathic chain of clinics. Does homeopathy have any drugs that are proven?

I’m not familiar with Dr. Batra, but homeopathic treatments have been used for years and are claimed to be effective in a variety of ways. Unfortunately, most of these claims are not supported with scientific research and third party studies that do not have a financial interest in the success of the products, are rare. This clearly applies to claims of cures for the treatment of baldness. We can recommend a procedure or treatment only if it is proven to be safe and effective.

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I have these pimple like bumps on my head but they are only around the frame of my face where the hair line starts. They started with just one st the top of my forehead and I thought it was just a pimple so I tried to pop it and now they are spredding along my hair line: behind my ears, bottom of my neck at the hair line, and at the temples. Also they only itch when they first show up and after I itch them the first time it stops itching, but doesnt go away. They stay there and scabb up. I want to know what they are and what to do to make them go away! Please help me!

I am assuming that you have not had a hair transplant. If you have pimples that had white heads on them, you may have developed folliculitis. You are best served seeing a dermatologist to make the diagnosis, but any good family doctor should be able to address the problem. Scratching it will make the folliculitis spread from one area to another.

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Doctor!

I have found a way to once and for all cure hair loss! It involves injecting the subject with copious amounts of testosterone. Granted, the fallout rate will increase dramatically before it gets better, but I can guarantee that within a few months they may never have to worry about losing another hair again! I belive that with this method I can reduce loss by almost 100%. How many other treatments can boast such a claim?

Think I can make any money off of this? I’m all about helping people.

Eureka!

I suspect that you are right. If you inject testosterone directly into your scalp, all of the hair may fall out. Without hair, you can not lose any from genetics! Makes perfect sense! Ha!

Would trichologists be a good place to go to diagnose genetic hair loss. Consultation with examination is a bit expensive so I’d like your opinion on it. I’m seeing one in 2 days and what he plans to do is take some of my hair and examine it under the microscope. Would you have any idea on the effectiveness for diagnosis with this method vs the scalp mapping for miniaturization? I’m 26 asian male with a full head of hair (although not as thick or a lot compared to in HS)Is it still a good idea to see these specialist anyways even though Im not exhibiting any clear observational signs of balding (my diabetic father thinned and had bad hair loss at 46 and his younger brother balded in his teens…grandfather on both sides have hair although diabetic mother on father’s side has extremely thin hair pretty much balding)

I can not tell you what the trichologist will see or what he/she is looking for. Without miniaturization studies I do not believe that hair loss patterns for genetic hair loss can be anticipated. The miniaturization study is a microscopic examination of your scalp. If your trichologist is doing this, and knows what to look for, then you’re a step in the right direction.

You have repeatedly stated that computer generated images used to show hair transplant results are misleading and inaccurate. You recently stated “although using a computerized simulating system sounds like a neat idea, in reality the pictures are misleading at times and the final results may be considerably different from those shown on the computer screen.” Why then, did you stand on the stage on the American Dream show under computer enhanced photo of the contestant who won a transplant? Was this a case of letting the marketing opportunity of appearing on nationwide TV overcoming the deeply-held beliefs and positions you’ve espoused as a healthcare professional? If so this not speak well of your integrity.

I accepted to do the hair transplant on the patient (Russ) from The Great American Dream Vote show and the producers pushed me hard to project an “after” result for them that they could use for shock value on the show. With proper releases, I found another hair transplant patient who looked almost exactly the same as the Dream Vote show winner — he had the same hair thickness, color of hair and skin, and balding pattern as Russ did — and I used Adobe Photoshop to “move” the hair from the former patient to Russ’s head. It took a considerable discussion with the producers who wanted more so this was a compromise to meet what I thought was ethical. If I disappointed you by doing this, well I share some of your concern (and had pain as I negotiated the picture), but with the clear and proper disclosure, what I did was a reasonable exercise. Your point is nevertheless well taken.

I will post his after pictures following one or two procedures and we can see just how close my projected look would be.

For more about my appearance on this very short-lived television show, check these:

• Dr Rassman on The Great American Dream Vote
• The Great American Dream Vote Winner Update (Video)