What to do if your hair starts falling out
Posted by kathryn in Uncategorized
It’s Q & A Thursday. We’re starting off this week with a question about hair loss:
I was hoping you could help my brother who is only 24 years old and who is losing hair! I know he has been stressed out. Searching the internet shows that stress and lack of sleep is a big contributing factor for hair loss.
1. Find out why it’s happening
We usually associate hair loss with older people going bald. However, it can also happen in younger people. It’s a symptom that can be caused by all sorts of health issues. From trivial through to more problemmatic.
If your hair is falling out, the number one step to take is to see your doctor. Get the problem checked out. It’s probably nothing serious, but you need a diagnosis.
2. Can stress induce hair loss?
Telogen effluvium is the gorgeous name given to hair loss caused by severe stress.
Trauma, surgery, severe illness and extended periods of considerable stress take a huge toll. Add into this a poor diet and you have the two most common causes of telogen effluvium.
Stress and dietary deficiences cause some hair follicles to temporarily go dormant. There’s a great explanation of this at Web MD.
With telogen effluvium you don’t lose all your hair, but it can come out in large patches. It’s usually a temporary condition. But the longer the stress lasts, the more likely TE is to persist.
3. Deal with the stress
Stress is driving it, so that’s what you have to deal with first of all. Yes there are dietary changes you can make. But if you’re so stressed your hair is falling out, that’s something you have to deal with.
This can be hard. So seek out professional help. Go to see a counsellor or talk to your health professional. Relationships Australia and a lot of church groups, like Wesley Mission, offer low budget, independent counselling services. Call them up, make an appointment.
One of the best online resources is Moodgym. It’s a cognitive behavioural approach to stress and works really well for some.
Long-term: take up meditation, do some yoga, exercise regularly, work out what your stress triggers are and do something about them.
4. Get enough protein
People with telogen effluvium often don’t eat well – largely because they’re stressed. A lack of basic nutrients, makes it hard for your body to make hair.
Hair is mostly made of protein, so you need adequate amounts of this in your diet.
You don’t need whopping big steaks. Instead a couple of serves of protein foods per day is enough. The best protein sources are:
- lean meat
- chicken
- fish
- tofu
- eggs
- legumes, like chickpeas, lentils, red kidney beans
- nuts
- lower fat cheeses, like ricotta, fetta and cottage cheese
5. Eat plenty of fruit, vegetables and good oils
To grow hair you also need vitamins, minerals and fatty acids. These are found in fruit and vegetables, as well as nuts, and oily fish.
- eat thee cups of vegetables per day
- have two pieces of fruit
- eat nuts regularly – these are great as snacks, sprinkled on salads, or in stirfries. Aim for a variety of nuts, as they contain slightly different nutrients.
- have oily fish three times a week – take a look at this post for good sources.
6. Take a supplement
If you’re stressed out and not eating well, changing your diet is hard. In the short-term, take a supplement. If the protein and vegies are too difficult, purchase a protein powder and a multivitamin. Take these every day.
Long-term you need to change your diet and eat well. But, while you’re sorting out the stress, take supplements as nutritional insurance.
7. Be patient
Remember, hair grows slowly. It’s going to be two or three months before you see a change.
What is Q & A Thursday?
This post is part of Q & A Thursday – a fortnightly burst of blogging, where you get to dictate the subject matter. Q & A Thursday is all about simple, practical answers to food and diet dilemmas sent in by readers.
If you have a question you’d like answered, leave a comment below or send me an email. For more information you can take a look at the Q & A Thursday archives.
08 November, 2007
Comments
A comment about my own experience:
A couple of years ago I began having a problem with my hair. It became very fine and broke extremely easily. I thought I was just being vain worrying about this issue and put off seeking advice. When I EVENTUALLY went to the doctor’s about it (more than a year later) I discovered I had a serious iron deficiency and was put on supplements immediately. Six months later my healthy hair is back and I have more energy (which I hadn’t realised I was lacking).
Listen to Katherine – step one is to go see the doctor!
Thanks for sharing your experience Wendy. Iron deficiency can creep up on you. It happens gradually, over a period of time and you just don’t realise how tired you are. I’m glad to hear you got it sorted out – and are feeling so much better!
my husband wants a divorce and I do not want one,and I am so stressed out over it to were I have lossed weight and my hair has falling out over it. please help/!!!!!!
Hi there Kelli: Relationship difficulties are incredibly stressful and I really do feel for you. I would strongly recommend going to see your GP, telling them what is going on and trying to get some professional help. Talking to your GP, an impartial person is usually a good start. However, they will also have a good idea of the services in your area, and will be able to refer you for some personal or relationship counselling. You need someone to talk to, unpack this problem and work out how you and your husband can move forward.
Your GP will also be able to manage your health. Losing weight and hairloss are common during stressful times, but they are a sign you need to take just a bit more care of yourself. Talk to your doctor about all this, get some help and assistance to work your way through this difficult time.
Best of luck with this Kelli.
I wish my hair would return to normal.
I got a rare balance disorder called Mal de Debarquement Syndrome (MdDS) in June 1999. It is a landsickness disorder – you never get your land legs back after a motion event such as a boat ride. It is the worst feeling ever and the rocking sensations are 24/7. As you can image it causes tremendous amount of stress trying to live with it and causes great mental and physical fatigue.
I noticed my hair started to fall out about 1 year after getting MdDS. It fell out evenly all over my head and my hair is now about a third of it’s usually thickness. I went to numerous doctors, a tricologist and a dermatologist. Turns out I have chronic Telogen effluvium and no matter what I do, eat, take (iron supplements) and use (very expensive Thymuskin hair products) my hair is still the same almost 10 years later even though the MdDS symptoms have subsided greatly and I only suffer from it if I get overly stressed.
I’m open to any suggestions on what to do in my case.
Thanks.
Please Help!
Iv just turned 21 and for the past month now srands of hair have been falling out.. I have lost about half a head of hair skattered across my entire head! Im so worried i will be completely bald. I had a blood test and all my iron levels and things were fine. This is one of the worst things i have ever been through and i just want it to stop. Doctors say there is nothing they can do and go see a hair specialist.. which is a three week wait, I will have liitle to no hair in three weeks..
I dont know what to do
Kelly
Kelly, you are doing the right thing – as this needs to be investigated. There are a whole lot of reasons why this could be happening, so seeing a specialist will help you narrow it down to why it’s happening for you.
Over the next few days though it’s important that you try to calm down. Easier said than done I know. But as I’ve said above stress can cause hair loss and certainly make it work. So cut some things out of your diary, take some time out for yourself, go for a walk, try some yoga or go to a meditation class. Whatever is available to you in your local area.
And then you need to follow the rest of the advice above. Eat well. This includes lean protein; plenty of fruit and vegetables; good fats and so on.
Follow the dietary advice above and try to keep calm and you will be doing the best things you can for your health and hair.
Good luck.
Please help me!
I am 13 years old,i’m a girl and my hair is really falling off.And I don’t eat meat at all.My hair is falling off so much like 7 months.
What should I do? Please email me
Hey I’m 18 years old and my hair is fallen out all the time and I had Problems with my hair fallen out in the past but it settled down and it’s worse then it was before I’m waking up with hair all over my bed and It beginning to thin at the back . I find it really embrassing because all my friends are noticing . I dont know what to do Please help
Hi there Sarah, my main advice is to read the post above and go to see your GP. Find out why this is happening. Then look at what you are eating and make sure your diet is tip-top. But you need to find out what the cause of your hair loss is and your GP is the best person to help you with that.
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