GOT NO CLUE!

It has almost been a year, since this problem had been occuring.


I personally, had been streesed for nearly a whole year. And I really don't know what the problem. My skin ontop of my head is constantly dry and ebverytime after bath, I always see white peel off skin on my head that really annoying. And for no reason, I had been losing hair, and every hair I lose looks really healthy (black and thick) on the top and suddenly in the last centimetre, become thinner and less pigmented, and a big white dot at the end. Is this the normal way of hair loss?

But this strange occurence is accompanied by other things as well.

The story begins in last year, when I had a really stressful exam in July last year, and since then I started to lose hair like 50-60 a day, or more at times, and I started to have the habit of looking at the mirror all the time then I was really streessed, and the I started to carry this stressful state for another 2 months and in August, I started to have gangivitis, and the gums have been receeding since then, and for another two more months, in October, my eyes started to get floaters, and some shiny dots wondering around, which I then got checked recently which happens to due to cracks on my retinas on both eyes, which I only had 300 short sighted on both eyes. And now what's really bothering, is I started to see the skin on my hands, face and all over my body, started to get dry and some wrinkles. And my hands at times, when I let them hanging, I could see my hands really look black and purplish which is a bit uncommon. And I could see the skin is being dry out from underneath.

I really wanted to know what are the cause for skin to dry out and start getting wrinkles, although I'm only 19. I use to have really smmothe and beautiful white skin, but now I could see some sorta bit dark, with the skin holes exposed, although it isn't cold . And whenever I scratch my tummy, it always leave a brown spot with hair holes exposed. and it is the same for the other parts of the body too. Also I got really raw, and dry skin on my legs. No matter what moisturing lotion i use, it's still the same on my skin. My skin is started to like ppl 40-50.

What are the common cause for skin to get worse? Is my hair loss normal, what should I do? Could I get back to what I use to be? Is it stress? And if skin once got raw, can they be improved under no-stress condition in time?

PLEASE HELP

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Frankie:

I don't know whether "stress" is your whole problem, but you are looking at and thinking about your body entirely too much for your own good.  The things you describe are normal.  You need to check them out to confirm what I am pretty confident about, namely that they are not worth paying attention to.

If you can't stop obsessing like this, you should consider some short-term counseling.  The joint physical-psychological approach should help you get back on track.  Don't wait to start.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff