how to stop or slow down the progress of Hirsutism?

[andthesagacontinues]

Does anyone know of anything that I can take or do or put on my body (perhaps a type of cream or something) to pevent or decrease the problem of Hirsutism?

[poppy67]

I know how you feel and how distressing this can be. I am in the UK and approx 18 months ago my dr prescribed a cream for me called Vaniqa. Its supposed to slow/decrease the rate of hair growth. I tried it for 6 months and did notice that the facial hair slowed down............. but to be honest I discontinued use of the cream. I've suffered Hirsutism for over 20 years and while my normal hair colouring if fair this unwelcome excess body hair is very dark. I have to shave the beard, neck and sometimes chest area every morning before stepping outside my house. This cream only slows down the rate of hair growth, it doesnt stop it. So I found that the hair wasnt long enough to effectively shave first thing in the morning but by afternoon!!!! Not a convenient side effect when you are at work and feeling even more self-concious and needing to take razor etc into work with you and find a private place. Also the maximum recommended amount of cream you can use per day wasnt enough I felt to cover the facial areas I needed to treat. However this is just my personal experience and as my dr explained the benefits of the cream vary person to person. Maybe someone else here has had a more positive experience they can relate and if you can get hold of this cream its worth at least trying. I really wish you well in dealing with this distressing problem.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

Hirsutism is usually caused by hormonal imbalance and in women PCOS is one of the leading causes of hirsutism and infertility. The methods of hair removal in hirsutism are shaving, chemical depilation by using depilatory creams, temporary epilation by plucking, tweezing, waxing and permanent epilation by electrolysis, thermolysis and laser hair removal.

Apart from these there are some medicines available for treating hirsutism in PCOS. These include oral contraceptives which contain estrogen and progesterone and suppress ovulation, Metformin, antiandrogens which cause androgen blockage( eg spironolactone, flutamide, cyproterone acetate), oral corticosteroids and Finasteride.

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.