Due to the pandemic that has covered the world, we are increasingly hearing about hair loss after suffering from COVID-19. But, if you look at it, hair fell out before the pandemic, and after that, smart heads will also leave. Let's dig a little shallow for this problem, which in medical parlance is called alopecia.
Alopecias are conventionally divided into 2 large groups - cicatricial and non-cicatricial. With the first, everything is clear - this is a rather rare story that occurs after a long inflammatory process, which cannot be missed. These are patients of dermatologists, immunologists and other specialists.
But the group of non-scarring alopecia is huge, they are found all the time and excite patients of any gender and age.
Consider the most common variants of alopecia, with which absolutely everyone is familiar.
Traction alopecia
This type of hair loss is associated with constant tension (traction) of the hair due to irrational hairstyles: tight braids, African braids, rigid fixation of the hairstyle in ballroom dancers. Prolonged pressure on the hair follicle leads to its depletion and cessation of hair growth.
Alopecia areata or alopecia areata
The most mysterious disease that requires a thorough examination of the patient. Hair falls out only on a skin area or lesion, which can grow on its own with a favorable course, but it can also merge with “neighboring foci”, which leads to sad consequences - to irrecoverable hair loss. It is impossible to predict how events will develop, since external and systemic therapy does not guarantee 100% effectiveness of treatment.
Androgenetic alopecia (AGA)
Despite the name, suggesting that only males are interested, women also suffer from this disease. This form of alopecia is due to the high sensitivity of hair follicle cells to male sex hormones androgens. The higher the level of hormones in the blood and the higher the sensitivity to them, the earlier a man loses hair. AGA begins in men from the top of the head or from the formation of bald patches in the fronto-parietal region. If the disease is not treated, the hair leaves the frontal and parietal zones completely, remaining partially on the back of the head in the so-called androgen-insensitive areas.
Estrogens, the female sex hormones, protect women from premature hair loss. As soon as the synthesis of estrogens decreases, androgens dominate (they are produced in the body of any sex, just like estrogens), hair loss in women begins. As a rule, this is the period of menopause. In women, hair falls out like a "Christmas tree" only in the parietal zone, forming an increasingly noticeable parting.
AGA is a slowly developing disease, it progresses over the years, and the patient has time to stop hair loss and correct this condition if the situation is not advanced to irreversible stages of hair loss. With AGA, the hair follicle, under the influence of androgens, slowly stops working, this is noticeable in the thinning hair, which in the finale becomes almost transparent. Blocking the sensitivity of androgen receptors, as well as the pathway for the transformation of free testosterone into dihydrotestosterone, is a significant mechanism for correcting this disease.
Nowadays, early detection of androgen sensitivity is possible thanks to genetic testing. This diagnostic method opens up wide opportunities for the prevention of alopecia, especially in women.
Diffuse or telogen effluvium
It is the most common type of alopecia in the world. And if we look at the reasons, it becomes clear why:
- Certain medications and their withdrawal
- Operations, traumatic brain injury
- Stress, depression
- Diets
- Endocrinopathy and other diseases
- Heat, increase in ambient temperature above 38 degrees
- Long-term increase in body temperature over 38*C against the background of the disease
- Deficiency of vitamin D, iron, protein
Medications that can cause hair loss include: Antiestrogenic agents;
a-interferon preparations; antidepressants; anticonvulsants; neuroleptics; antiparkinsonian drugs; uricostatic drugs; oral contraceptives with androgenic effect; cytostatics, antiherpetic drugs, vitamin A and its derivatives; beta-adrenergic blockers (selective and non-selective); ACE blockers; antibacterial drugs; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; anticoagulants; thyreostatic drugs; blockers of histamine H2 receptors.
It should now be clear why hair falls out after COVID-19