Hair Loss Infromation by Lara Nicole....

Hair Loss Information Original Post by Lara Nicole at 7:41 AM PST on 02/23/2005 This thread has been viewed 32 times Round Rock, TX I have been doing a lot of research on the hair loss subject as this is one thing that really worries me as I sit and wait for approval. When I have my WLS will I lose my hair and why. So I looked into this and I found out some really intersting information that I would like to share with you all. The type of hair loss that is occuring is called Telogen Effluvium...here are some causes...further down is a definition. This is an excert taken from an article I read at the botton I put where I got all of the information... Other causes of telogen effluvium include illness, major physical trauma, menopause, crash diets, severe psychological stress, major surgery (especially with general anesthesia), hypo- or hyperthyroidism, anemia's, acute and severe blood loss, heavy metal poisoning, etc. Chronic illness such as malignancy, and any chronic debilitating illness, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, end-stage renal disease, or liver disease can cause telogen effluvium. Immunizations also have been reported to cause acute hair shedding. Even jet lag and job changes have been reported to cause a telogen effluvium. In the United States, oral medications may very well be the most common cause of telogen effluviums. The list of medications associated with telogen effluviums is extensive and includes retinoids, beta-blockers, anticoagulants, SSRI's, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, calcium channel blockers, etc. In any and all cases, the common factor is metabolic or physiologic stress several months before the start of the hair shedding. What is Telogen Effluvium? When excessive amounts of hair simultaneously switch from anagen (growth) into telogen (dormancy) and subsequently shed several months later, the phenomenon is referred to as a telogen effluvium. Rarely are more than 50% of the hairs on the head involved. Telogen effluviums can be acute or chronic. When the shedding lasts more than six months or persistently recurs, it is referred to as a chronic telogen effluvium. Chronic telogen effluviums have been reported mainly in women. No racial predilection exists. Although telogen effluvium can affect hair on all parts of the body, generally, only loss of scalp hair is symptomatic. The exact prevalence is not known and getting accurate statistics would be very difficult, but the condition is quite common. Telogen effluvium can occur at any age. It is likely that most adults have experienced an episode of telogen effluvium at some point in their lives and, unbeknownst to most people, everybody has experienced the phenomenon early in life. In fact, mothers have been more aware of telogen effluviums in newborns and babies than most doctors have ever been. It is typical for a band like area of occipital hair follicles to enter the first telogen close to the time of birth and for these hairs to shed 2 to 3 months later. In the human infant, waves of hair growth occur before establishment of the mosaic pattern, which is usually present by the end of the first postnatal year. hairlosstalk.com/newsletter/article222.htm