How your health affects hair loss

Losing a bit of hair is perfectly normal as we go about our day to day lives, but what about when it becomes a more noticeable and serious problem? Although it can be down to difference causes for men and women, here are a few reasons – of the many – we lose hair on our heads when it comes to our health.

Scalp skin conditions

Hair has difficulty growing on an unhealthy scalp which you may temporarily experience or have as a result of a skin condition like seborrheic dermatitis (more commonly known as dandruff) or fungal infections such as tinea capitis (or ringworm to most). If you think you might have one of these, it’s worth visiting a medical professional to have your scalp physically examined so you can get the right treatment.

Anemia

Iron deficiency is a relatively easy resolvable cause of hair loss as it comes down to a lack of iron in the diet. Severely iron deficient anaemic people may also experience extreme fatigue and have pale skin as well display these other signs. Only a blood test by a doctor can determine whether this applies to you but if this form of anaemia is the problem, you can help yourself by eating lots of iron through sources like spinach, red meat, liver, lentils and nuts including almonds and walnuts.

Hypothyroidism

This is the medical term for having an under-active thyroid. Having an under-active thyroid means your body produces too little of the thyroid hormone – the one responsible for metabolism and growth of your hair, skin and nails. Other symptoms to look out for include brittle nails, constipation, unexplained weight gain and fatigue and should be discussed with your doctor to understand the real cause.

Stress

Stress induced by severe illness or traumatic surgery, and intense physical or emotional stress can trigger a temporary type of hair loss called telogen effluvium. There are some things that you can do to lessen the severity of the effects and these include practising stress management, eating a balanced diet of vegetables, fruit and protein and switching medication following the advice of a medical professional if you notice your hair thinning.

Of course, there are common types of hair loss due to natural ageing, and they are ordinarily down to factors out of our control. For this type of balding, there are treatments out there that can encourage the regrowth of hair for both men and women, and these can be attained via trusted merchants such as Chemist Direct.