i'm losing hair when i shower

Hi,

I'm a 16 year old boy who suffers from hair loss.i started to loss hair in may.in june i cut my hair because of the loss.but even with short hair i lost hair when i was showering.now i'm losing about 4-5 strands while i'm washing it and about 7-8 when i'm drying it with a towel.I started to use a shampoo based on plants but i still losing hair.I also have a receding hairline in a "M" shape.i was born with it.My father and his brother are both bald.i don't know what to do, i don't want to become bald.Can you help me about this?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the pattern of baldness, it sounds like male pattern baldness. Androgenic alopecia is a common form of hair loss and typically occurs in M shaped pattern.

Men who have this type of hair loss usually have inherited the trait. Other causes may be use of some drugs, infections and underlying disease, such as lupus or diabetes. A biopsy (taking a small sample of cells to examine under a microscope) of your scalp may be needed to establish the correct diagnosis. Depending on your type of hair loss, treatments are available. If a medicine is causing your hair loss, your doctor may be able to prescribe a different medicine and if it is due to infections or systemic disease,then treating it will treat baldness.

Medicines which are useful are minoxidil and finasteride(Propecia) but please use them after consulting a dermatologist because of the side effects involved. Finally one can resort to hair transplantation also. You can discuss these treatment options with your dermatologist.

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.