Medical and Lifestyle Causes of Hair Loss

Underlying medical conditions that cause or contribute to hair loss:

Diabetes encompasses a group of metabolic (chemical reaction that happens at a cellular level) diseases. The patient experiences high blood sugar levels. This condition happens because the body does not produce enough insulin (hormone created by the pancreas) or because cells do not respond to the insulin that the body does produce. Typical symptoms include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased hunger.

Lupus erythematosus is a collection of autoimmune diseases. A general characteristic of lupus is a hyperactive immune system that can't differentiate between viruses, bacteria, and other antigens and healthy tissue. As a result, the immune system begins to attack the normal, healthy tissue. The disease attacks many different body systems, including joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, heart, and lungs.

An overactive thyroid is actually a condition called hyperthyroidism. The gland produces and secretes an abundance of the thyroid hormones triiodothyronine and thyroxine. The alternate condition is hypothyroidism (or sluggish thyroid).

Hypervitaminosis A is a condition where the body has an abundance of vitamin A - specifically retinoid. Retinoids assist with many important roles including vision, growth of bone tissue, immune function, and activation of tumor suppressor genes.

The primary route of transmission of syphilis is through sexual contact (although it may be transfer from mother to fetus during pregnancy or birth). This sexually transmitted disease has four stages. Secondary syphilis is identified by a rash on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet.

Tinea capitis (also known as ringworm of the hair) is a fungal infection on the surface of the scalp. The primary cause of the disease is an invasion of fungus into the hair shaft. Symptoms appear as single or multiple patches of hair loss. Often, the bald patches include a black dot pattern. Hair loss is accompanied by inflammation, scaling, pustules, and itching. Patients are typically pre-pubertal children and more often boys than girls.

Damaging lifestyle situations that can contribute to hair loss

A scalp disorder, telogen effluvium, is characterized by thinning and/or shedding of hair. This is caused by a premature entry of hairs into the telogen phase of growth. Conditions like eating disorders, fever, childbirth, chronic illness, major surgery, anemia, sever emotional disorders, crash diets, and drugs can cause telogen effluvium.

Iron is present in all cells in the human body. It plays several important roles in the function of the human body - carrying oxygen from the lungs to tissues, facilitating the formation of cytochromes, and assisting with enzyme reactions. Unfortunately, iron deficiency is the most common form of nutritional deficiency. Insufficient levels of iron can lead to iron deficiency anemia (most common in children and pre-menopausal women), morbidity and death.

Malnutrition is a broad term that covers any condition where certain nutrients are lacking, overly prevalent, or in the wrong proportions. A wide variety of nutrition disorders stem from malnutrition depending on which nutrients are at an imbalance. In most cases, malnutrition presents itself in the form of under nutrition which is caused by consuming inadequate amounts of calories and protein.