Can Pressure Cause Hair Loss?

My barber recently noticed that my hair is thinning in a particular area on top of my head.  The affected oblong area is about four inches side-to-side and an inch-and-a-half front-to-back on the dome of my head between the ears.  The size and shape of the patch almost exactly correspond to those of the head pad of the Respironics ComfortLite 2 CPAP headgear I wear at night.  The position of the patch on top of my head is where the headgear rests, too.

I'm wondering if a change to a different type of CPAP headgear to remove the pressure my current headgear exerts on this spot on my head would be beneficial.  In other words, if I relieve the pressure, what is the probability that my hair would thicken again?

Also, baldness is not a trait in my family.  I am not certain, but the shape and location of the patch seems to me to not match male pattern hair loss (i.e., mine is more side-to-side than longitudenally along the vertex) which indicates that Minoxidil Topical Solution 5% (Rogaine) may be an effective treatment.  What are the risks of using minoxidil anyway when its use is not indicated by the pattern of hair loss?

[mammo]

I agree with you, I think it's your breathing apparatus causing the hair loss.  I don't think Rogaine will do you any good, because I think the hair would grow back once the pressure is removed, I don't think it's permanent.  I would certainly try a different type of headgear before going any further with this.  Hope this helped....

[Girl329]

with me too because when i go to bed i wrap my hair and tie it with a scarve and a make ah bow tie knot in the front of my hair with the scarve and i knot from my hair scarve cause my bumb and where the bump is my hair is gone right there. so i guess i tied the head scarve to tight so the pressure caused my hair to fall out so hopefully it grows back right?