Alopecia or baldness is a disease that manifests itself in increased loss of and hair growth on the head. According to the peculiarities of the course, the following types of alopecia are distinguished:
- focal (circular alopecia);
- diffuse (baldness of hairy areas of the head);
- Cicatricial, accompanied by the formation of scar tissue.
Causes of alopecia in women
The problem of baldness has always been significant, but it is in recent decades that alopecia becomes relevant due to the fact that many young people are beginning to lose their hair, and more and more women suffer from considerable hair loss, sometimes leading to complete baldness.
The causes of alopecia in women are diverse. Let's consider the most frequent of them.
Causes of focal alopecia in women
Hair loss can depend on the characteristics of the experience of the reference periods - the key moments associated with hormonal age-related changes. These are adolescence, pregnancy, lactation and menopause.
Often, the causes are androgenic changes in the body, when the balance between female and male sex hormones is broken because of the lack of function of the ovaries, failure of the adrenal glands and other endocrine problems.
A common cause of this kind of hair loss in the representatives of both sexes are long stressful situations and deeply experienced emotional upheavals.
Radiation therapy , the effect of certain medications (antitumor, bromocriptine, allopunirol, etc.) are the causes most often of temporary alopecia. After the recovery period, the hair grows, although in some cases a man part with the head of hair forever.
Total alopecia
Severe poisoning by some chemical substances (arsenic, lead, bismuth, thallium, etc.), as a rule, causes total alopecia. Subsequently, the hair does not grow, because of the effects of toxic substances, hair follicles die.
The cause of severe hair thinning are mycoses - diseases caused by pathogenic fungi parasitizing the tissues of the human body.
Cicatricial alopecia
This type of baldness can be caused by infectious diseases (herpes, syphilis, leishmaniasis), dermatological diseases ( pemphigus , red flat lichen) or develop with basal cell carcinoma.
Causes of cicatrical alopecia are also unfavorable physical factors:
- burns;
- frostbite;
- exposure to acids and alkalis;
- irradiation.
Diffuse (zone) alopecia
This disease is associated with injuries affecting the scalp. Very common, the so-called cosmetic alopecia, arising from the weaving of stiff braids, the use of hair dryers, forceps, curlers, hairpins, as well as the action of chemical agents for dyeing and waving hair.
It should be remembered that a responsible attitude towards one's health is in many respects a guarantee of a good appearance, and, in particular, an excellent condition of the hair.