Women and Hair Loss

Every morning after my shower I brush through my hair and end up with gobs of it in my hands. I know it's normal to lose some hair after pregnancy, but I really must say I don't like it! Is it a sign that I will have thinning hair when I am older? Is there anything that I can do if that happens? Yikes! I was just thinking all these things this morning and today I found this story on the news wires. I hope it's not a sign! I have never even heard of a scalp prosthesis. It sounds painful!

FROM CNN: Losing one's hair can be devastating to a woman's self-esteem. As Susan Hendricks reports in today's health minute, getting to the 'root' of the problem is essential when deciding on a treatment plan. As a real estate broker, Judy Harper believes her appearance is critical. but 15 years ago Harper, who was in her early 40s, started losing her hair. Her doctor recommended medications to slow down the loss.

But when those didn't work she turned to something else. It had progressed to the point to where I felt that I needed to have a scalp prothesis. Many women experience some hair thinning or hair loss before menopause but excessive hair loss is medically known as alopecia (prono: aloe-pee-sha). What might be very acceptable to men- not acceptable to women. Even a slight amount of loss is, is not acceptable. Dr. Edmond Griffin says hair thinning has many causes- often, genetics- but there can be other reasons.

Whether it's a thyroid problem or anemia problem, or medications, or an auto-immune. and each one of those problems is a different approach to their treatment. Griffin says a blood test or biopsy may be needed to make the diagnosis. In order to grow more hair, many women use topical creams, oral medication, even surgery to replace hair follicles. Judy plans to continue treating her condition with both topical and oral medication, as she's now seeing some regrowth along her hairline.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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