Excessive Hairfall

I am a 20 year old female, I am very worried as I have been experiencing severe hair fall for the past couple of months.My scalp is also feeling a little unhealthy; slightly itchy even though I can't really see any dandruff and I experience a very mild pain  if I casually touch my scalp,as if someone just tugged on my hair.However I have noticed sometimes  there are white tiny granules,very rarely though ,attached to the bulb of a fallen strand.Mostly the bulb is blackish gray.My hair fall started around the time I suffered from Dengue (late September early October) and hasn't stopped since.My hair was very thick before I was sick and now it has considerably thinned down.I am very careful about nutrition and scalp hygiene.. is it possible that I have  a scalp infection or is it due to the illness?Shouldn't it have stopped by now?I haven't switched products nor Have I subjected my hair to any chemical treatments in the past ,I do not even style my hair.Please help, I have been having horrific nightmares that I will go bald!!

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

The causes of hair fall could be due to stress, fungal infections, alopecia aereata, hormonal imbalance(overproduction of dihydrotestosterone and thyroid hormones irregularities),malnutrition, telogen effluvium and sebum plugs on skin. Telogen effluvium is an important possibility. It is nonscarring alopecia characterized by diffuse hair shedding, often with an acute onset. There is a chronic form also which persists for a longer duration and starts with insidious onset. Chronic telogen effluvium is hair shedding lasting longer than 6 months. Treatment consists of medications like Minoxidil, surgical approach(hair transplantation) and improvement in diet.

I would suggest you to consult a dermatologist and get these possibilities evaluated. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.