Hair loss is a relatively rare side effect, but a variety of medications may cause it: beta-blockers, blood thinners, antidepressants, cholesterol-lowering drugs, certain nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and hormone-related drugs like thyroid meds, hormone replacement therapies or steroids.
Minoxidil (Rogaine).
Products with minoxidil help many people regrow their hair or slow the rate of hair loss or both. It'll take at least six months of treatment to prevent further hair loss and to start hair regrowth.
It can be the result of heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions or a normal part of aging. Anyone can lose hair on their head, but it's more common in men. Baldness typically refers to excessive hair loss from your scalp. Hereditary hair loss with age is the most common cause of baldness.
Only riboflavin, biotin, folate, and vitamin B12 deficiencies have been associated with hair loss.
“Vitamins are essential for healthy hair growth and may help in preventing hair shedding and thinning,” says Michele Green, M.D., a cosmetic dermatologist in New York. “The best vitamins for hair growth include B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, biotin and iron.
People can buy minoxidil, or Rogaine, over the counter (OTC) and apply it topically to the scalp. People using minoxidil may start to see their hair growing back within 3–6 months. People can speak to a pharmacist about minoxidil or purchase it online.
Statins are a class of cholesterol treatments that have a reported side effect of hair loss. This includes drugs such as Lipitor/atorvastatin and Zocor/simvastatin. The statin Crestor/rosuvastatin does not produce this side effect.
Hair loss, or alopecia, is a very rare side effect of all statin drugs. Widely prescribed in the treatment of high cholesterol, statins work by blocking the action of an enzyme the liver uses to make cholesterol. About 1% of people taking statins report hair loss.
What causes FPHL (Female Pattern Hair Loss)? Genes: Your family's genes can cause thinning of hair along the top of your head. Aging: Hormone changes as you age can cause balding. Menopause: This type of hair loss often gets worse when estrogen is lost during menopause.
Hormonal imbalance
A common cause of this imbalance is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It leads to cysts on a woman's ovaries, along with other signs and symptoms, which can include hair loss. Stopping some types of birth control pills can cause a temporary hormonal imbalance.
As with male pattern baldness, female pattern baldness comes from hormone imbalances, specifically dihydrotestosterone imbalances, or DHT. This hormone is similar in structure to testosterone, but it is significantly more potent [3].
Finasteride (Propecia): Finasteride is a daily oral medication that requires a prescription. Studies show that it can significantly improve hair loss and reverse some hair thinning in men.
02/6Study shows link cholesterol's impact on hair
Researchers from John Hopkins conducted research on mice and found that diets high in cholesterol could lead to premature whitening and hair loss. The study was published in the Nature journal 'Scientific Reports'.
The use of statins may be connected to weight gain, but there's no clinical evidence as to why this weight gain occurs.
In an open access paper recently published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, Subroto Chatterjee and colleagues from Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, MD, show that a diet high in fats and cholesterol can lead to skin inflammation, as well as hair loss and hair whitening.
Too little iron in the bloodstream may contribute to hair loss. Doctors use blood tests to check the level of ferritin, a protein that indicates how much iron is stored in the body.
Seeing a visible scalp is often a sign of fine hair, and genetics can be the primary cause for this type of hair loss. However, other common causes of thinning hair include stress, hormone imbalances, certain medications, illness or infections and malnutrition.
We suggest eating a portion of high-protein food with every breakfast and lunch — fish, chicken, lean meat, eggs, beans, quinoa, tofu, seitan, legumes, nuts or Greek yoghurt are all good sources, making them the perfect hair growth foods. Ferritin (stored iron) levels are extremely important for hair growth.