telogen effluvium, mpb, or something else?

Hello,

I am a 20 year old male with limited financial means wondering if a trip to the dermatologist would be wise. Almost 4 months ago I had noticed a rapidly increasing rate of hair shedding that lasted for about 4 to 5 weeks. I have no hair shedding as of yet though I sometimes notice that 5-10 thin hairs fall out everyday. I was on vacation last summer and got a very high flu, did not eat anything for 3 days, and so I suspect that I might be having telogen effluvium. However, hair density appears to only have decreased on top of my head. I don't suspect any genetic cause but I am not 100% sure. My primary care physician said he wasn't sure of what to do, yet did not offer me a definitive answer as to what I should do next. Is it possible for TE to restrict itself to mostly one area of the scalp such as the top? I do not suspect this is the case and thus am considering its just genetic. I do not think I have had regrowth since September. Do you know if those long thin hairs count as miniaturization, and if so, is that the best recovery I can expect (assuming TE) or is this just a case of baldness starting early?

Thank you so much for your help.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From these symptoms it is less likely to be telogen effluvium and can be male pattern baldness. Male pattern baldness is usually an inherited trait and men start lossing hair at an early age leading to extensive baldnesss. Since the nutritional deficiency is also a common cause of hairloss,patient is required to take food rich in protien,vitamins(mainly vit A and vit C) and other micronutrient like zinc,iron and copper. So there is no harm taking vitamin supplement provided they should be taken under prescription of your doctor to avoid overdose.

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.

[navid418]

Your help is much appreciated, Dr. Kaur. I went to the doctor who ran a series of tests including those for thyroid, folic acids, vitamins, and testosterone and everything came out normal. He said that it is probably genetic; do you recommend going to a dermatologist for further checkup? My feeling is that all they could do is prescribe rogaine or some other drug. Do you know if starting on them right now means that all my hair will fall if I stop administering the medication?

Also, do you know the prognosis for genetic baldness? Does hair fall in cycles or does it just continuously fall? Lastly, I am attempting to make changes to my lifestyle in terms of eating healthier, taking omega 3 fatty acid pills, and overall stress reduction. I hope that will slow down its onset. Thank you again for your help. I'm tremendously grateful.