Hair Loss

I'm a 19 year old girl and for four/five years I've had thinning hair on my scalp. Despite the limited choices of hair styling I now have because my scalp can be seen when I part my hair, it's not been a big problem. I haven't seen a doctor about it so I've not got any lotions or potions or medication for it. But now I've noticed that my leg hair is patchy. I'm a student, sometimes I have to go a week or two without having a smooth legs as razors aren't a priority. Recently, I've just found a bald patch in my pubic hair. I trim it, not a big fan of shaving it completely off as my skin is sensitive as I have dermatitis and have suffered from eczema in the past.
I do not know what's going on and I want to make sure it's something worth seeing my doctor about. He's a dermatologist and very hard to see. If I phone up now, I might not get an appointment with him for three weeks.
Any thoughts?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
For the hair fall, causes 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.

In your case, it is important to rule out telogen effluvium as the cause of such hair thinning.

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 doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.