hair color allergy?

I have been coloring my hair for about 20 years.  The last couple times i colored my hair i developed some sores that have short hair growing out of them.  I continued to color my hair because the doctors i went to said i could and this had nothing to do with the hair color.  The last time i colored my hair,  i got burning sensations on my scalp and hair line.  This made me very ill,  hot flushes all over my body, sick to my stomach.  This happened about 5 days after i colored my hair the last time.  I have been to many doctors but no one knows what is wrong.  The last doctor i went to told me it was a scalp infection.  I took antibiotics and some cortisone cream to put around my hairline.  Will i get better from all this?  What are the sores on my scalp that have short hairs growing out of them?  When will the burning stop i cant even shampoo my hair.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
I think that your symptoms are due to telogen effluvium. Telogen effluvium is characterized by excessive and early entry of hairs into the telogen phase. It is a reactive process caused by a metabolic or hormonal stress or by medications. It can even be mediated by allergic contact dermatitis of the scalp .In my opinion you should not use the hair color till the symptoms resolve because it may lead to worsening of symptoms.

Please discuss this possibility with your dermatologist. Biopsy scalp can help in confirming the diagnosis.

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.