Alopecia. Causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Many of us have noticed that hair tends to fall out. We attribute this fact to various reasons – a lack of vitamins caused by the off-season, improperly selected cosmetics or shampoos, or maybe it’s just a result of natural renewal – old hair falls out, new hair grows.

Indeed, hair loss is a normal physiological phenomenon. The life cycle of a hair is 3-6 years on average (it depends on external factors and heredity), then the hair falls out and a new hair grows in its place. This renewal process in its normal course should be invisible and unnoticeable. Visually, the number of hairs remains the same, and the number of hairs that have fallen out should be insignificant.

So what to do if the process of hair loss gets out of control, and the appearance of obvious gaps on the scalp begins not only to cause a sense of doubt, but definitely alarming? The answer is obvious – the cause is not cosmetics or a lack of vitamins.

There are many different causes of baldness. In addition to external factors that traumatize the hair follicles, there are other causes – various diseases such as thyroid, gastrointestinal tract, female reproductive system and others. Increased hair loss caused by these or other causes is called in medicine alopecia.

What is alopecia?

For example, the AhealthyMan website says that alopecia means “baldness” in Greek. It is an unnatural loss of hair that results in the loss of hair on the head as well as on other parts of the body. The loss can be either partial or complete. Most commonly, baldness affects the scalp.

Each hair grows from a follicle (this is a hair follicle – a root with surrounding tissues consisting of 20 different types of cells with different functions). First, the hair is in an active growth stage – this phase is called anagen and lasts up to 5 years.

Then comes the second and shortest phase – catagen (end of active hair growth), which lasts up to four weeks. In this phase, the follicle enters the resting stage, and hair growth stops.

After the follicle “falls asleep”, the final phase begins – the resting stage of the follicle, which is called telogen. The hair follicle stops nourishing the hair; it continues to stay in the follicle for about 6-8 weeks, and then it falls out. Once again, the first phase of anagen begins – the rested follicle forms new hair again.

Each follicle, and there are tens of thousands of them on the head, has its own rhythm and rate of phase change, so hair is constantly growing and falling out. On average, about 90% of all hair is in the anagen phase, and 8% is in the final phase, which explains the normal process of hair loss.

The average rate of hair loss is 80 to 150 hairs per day. If this amount is significantly higher than the norm, it is recommended to consult a trichologist.

Prevalence

Diseases associated with hair loss are not only common, but also socially significant. Hair is especially important for women, as it is a symbol of beauty and health. Loss of hair affects women’s state of mind very deeply. However, men are also often affected by hair loss in a painful way and men are more often affected by it. About 95% of men suffer from hair loss problems.

Statistics show that every third inhabitant of the globe suffers from hair or scalp problems, and about 90% of the population of our country is dissatisfied with their hair condition! Of all the problems addressed to a specialist, 80% are increased hair loss, and only 20% are various other diseases such as psoriasis, dandruff, seborrhea.

How common is alopecia among women? Here too, the statistics are disappointing – 79% of women experience problems with increased hair loss as they age.

Thus, most men and women show signs of alopecia as they age. Of these, only 10% go to a doctor for help, although in most cases the problem of alopecia can and should be treated!

Healthy man, happy man

Staying healthy and young is an opportunity to fully live your life. And every person has this opportunity. It is necessary to lead a healthy lifestyle. It implies constant work on yourself, giving up bad habits and achieving harmony with both your body and soul.

General health rules

Healthy sleep is an integral part of a healthy life. Against the background of chronic lack of sleep, a lot of diseases can actively develop, since, first of all, lack of sleep affects the decrease in the immune function of the body. It is advisable to go to bed before midnight and sleep a full 8 hours a day.

It is necessary to observe hygiene and remember that most germs and bacteria enter the body through dirty hands and poorly washed fruits and vegetables.

It is important to strengthen the immune system and be outdoors more often.

It is necessary to remember about the destructive influence of bad habits: smoking, alcohol abuse and especially drugs will shorten life by several years, or even decades. In this article you can learn more about how to become a healthy man

It is dangerous to self-medicate, in case of illness, you should contact a specialist and follow his advice.

Basics of Healthy eating

The basis of nutrition should be natural quality products. The most important meal should be breakfast, which includes complex carbohydrates, fiber, proteins and healthy fats. The best food for breakfast is vegetables, cereals, lean meat and eggs. A healthy, natural breakfast will help to maintain and improve health, replenish energy for the whole day. At least once a week there should be a fish day, fish contains fatty polyunsaturated acids, so necessary for the body – they will prolong youth and improve well-being. It is advisable to give up fried, it is desirable to cook food for a couple, which will preserve the nutrients of the products, vitamins and minerals as much as possible. Chewing food should be done carefully and slowly, which greatly facilitates the work of the gastrointestinal tract and increases its efficiency.

Necessarily half of the daily diet should be vegetables. It is necessary to significantly limit the use of sugar and salt, since the body receives them in sufficient quantities with food, and their excess is guaranteed to lead to health problems. Of the drinks, preference should be given to green tea without sugar, it has a lot of microelements, vitamins and nutrients that are useful to the body. It is also useful to drink well-purified raw bottled water. The water contains the microelements necessary for the body. It is very important not to overeat and monitor your weight.

Physical activity

Physical culture can be practiced anywhere and anytime, it is enough to organize your day properly. In order for the result of physical education to be stable, it is necessary to make them your way of life. It is useful to start your day with charging. It will help to wake up, energize and prepare the body for a new active day full of plans and worries. It is necessary to constantly move. 10,000 steps a day, cycling, walking in the fresh air will keep you healthy for many years. Physical education will increase the saturation of tissues with blood and oxygen. A contrast shower is useful, which strengthens the immune system and trains blood vessels. At the same time, prolonged lying on the couch or sitting at the computer will lead to impaired blood flow and health problems.

Psychological comfort

Frequent stress leads to diseases such as ulcers, headaches, depression, heart disease. As soon as there is a cause for stress, it is necessary to eliminate it as soon as possible. The best cure for stress is communication with friends, loved ones. It is necessary to find a source of positive emotions and impressions, to do what you love, which brings satisfaction.

Psychologists advise: do not fuss, trying to embrace the immensity, trying to do a lot of small things that you consider urgent. Fuss contributes to the stress of the body and as a result – premature aging. Let your brain work to keep your mind clear. Read books, solve crosswords, watch interesting programs and movies – “mental gymnastics” will help you to keep vigor and well-being for many years.