How awful for you. I think it's really scary, too. It could be some weird autoimmune thing, or a (so-far) unknown allergy. Maybe even food allergy? Have you had your thyroid checked?
This is interesting: (from Today Health)
A single hair follicle grows its hair strand over a period of four to six years (the anagen phase). It then rests for two to four months (the telogen phase), after which it loses the “old” hair as a new hair shaft grows and pushes out its predecessor. When the new hair grows in, it does so at a rate of approximately half an inch per month. At any time, 10 percent of your hair is in the telogen phase and 90 percent is in the anagen phase.
What causes a change in this hair loss/ hair growth process?
If lots of hair begins to fall out throughout the scalp, it’s obviously due to a change in the normal hair cycle: either a short anagen phase or an increase in the number of follicles that enter the telogen phase. When the majority of hair follicles “go telogen” it’s called telogen effluvium or stress alopecia. A shock to the body’s system, which stresses the hair follicles, is often to blame for this change in cyclical hair events. Two to three months after the stressor hits, up to 70 percent of hairs can enter the telogen phase and commence a massive “fall out”. There are a number of shocks that are known to cause this. They include:
- A sudden hormone change (usually a drop in hormone levels)
- After the birth of a baby ( delivery of the placenta causes the levels of pregnancy hormones to plummet)
- Discontinuing birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy
- High fever
- Acute trauma (surgery, physical injury or psychological trauma)
- Severe dieting ( inadequate protein and iron intake)
- Underactive or overactive thyroid
- Diseases such as diabetes and lupus
- Chemotherapy
- Medications: These include retinoids, blood pressure medication, anti-depressants, certain birth control pills and even NSAID’s (including Ibuprofen)
- Burns or radiation therapy
Note with stress alopecia, the loss over the scalp is general, not patchy and hair loss on other parts of the body can also occur. You and your doctor may be able to ascertain if your hair loss falls in the category of stress alopecia by simply running your fingers through your hair and seeing if the many hairs that are shed have clubbed shafts.
Are there other tests that should be done to diagnose telogen effluvium?
Your doctor may want to check your iron and thyroid levels, but in most cases, your history is the most important factor for diagnosis.
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