Can headache cause hair fall?
As much as we all love showing off our bald patches, hair loss is not always something to joke about. While sometimes it’s genetic, other times there could be underlying health issues that cause the loss of your beloved locks.
One such issue is frequent headaches which lead many people to wonder: can headache cause hair fall? In this article, we dive into the nitty-gritty details and answer this pressing question.
The Science behind Hair Loss
Hair follicles, structures in the skin from which a strand of hair originates, have different phases of growth: anagen (growth phase), catagen (transitional phase) and telogen (resting or shedding phase). Normally at any given time only 10% to 15% of an individual’s total scalp hair are resting hairs that defines telogen effluvium.
Unusual forces like hormonal imbalances or environmental factors such as nutrient deficiencies set an imbalance in these normal cycles leading to excessive shedding or thinning out of hairs throughout ones head known as alopecia.
Alopecia may show variations depending on its causes but Telogen Effluvium has commonly noticed kinds following signs:
- A large number (>100/day)of strands falling out during combing
- Thinning around crown areas without visible scarring.
- Hairs with club-shaped bulbs at their roots suggesting they were lost normally and have completed a full cycle growth.
Now, onto the million-dollar question!
Is there a Link Between Headaches and Hair Loss?
In short – no!
Despite long-standing beliefs linking headaches with hair loss approximately over 60 years ago. It’s essential elements worthy enough for credible reviews stating otherwise that suggest by computerised tomography scans depicting blood flow differences during migraine headache attacks associated increased cerebral blood flow than vasodilatation outside brain tissue but No statistically significance data proving any sort of correlation between headaches and hair loss.
That being said, it is important to note that some medications such as anticancer drugs or certain antidepressants can cause hair loss. So if you are experiencing any medication-related hair fall, please speak to your physician before discontinuing any medicines.
What Causes Hair Fall?
When we talk about hair fall, several factors come into play:
- Hormones: Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) hormone plays a side role in androgenetic alopecia by weakening hairs around the crown portion.
- Nutrient Deficiencies: Iron deficiency leading iron deficient anemia has a strong association with Telogen effluvium whereas other minerals such as Zinc also have known influence over in maintaining healthy growth.
- Stress & Anxiety: Triggers release of body’s own steroids such cortisol leading male hormone effect on scalp for longer contributing to progressive miniaturization nd this leads to shortening of aniagen phase leading way early switch towards telogen shedding
- Autoimmune Disorders – Alopecia areata is considered an autoimmune condition where body’s immune system attacks its own follicle causing patchy bald spots.
In conclusion while there seems no direct correlation between headache and the voluminous problem of acute/chronic complete baldness; causes including hormonal imbalances, nutrient deficiencies ,or autoimmune disorders triggering one’s well-maintained tresses could be so many others.
If you’re experiencing significant hair loss, it’s best to consult a medical practitioner who will carry out requisite blood tests detecting underlying conditions paving ways for probable remedy or medication based solutions .
Remember ladies and gentlemen “love everything about yourself – including your imperfections”. Stay Bald 😉