Is hair loss a concern of your? Is your hair thinning and your scalp becoming more visible? Are you shedding and finding loads of hair on the bathroom floors?
Hair loss in men is predominantly associated with male patterned baldness that is hereditary. Hair loss in women is not as straight forward. There are a whole host of factors to consider. Our Oakville Naturopathic Doctors provide patients a complete assessment to help you get to the root cause.
The proper diagnosis of hair loss in women begins with a host of lab tests to pin point potential root causes of hair loss.
- Anemia: Hair loss is one of the hallmark signs of anemia. CBC, iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and ferritin levels help a patient best understand their iron status.
- Hypothyroidism: Low thyroid function can result in hair loss. Complete thyroid hormone profiling including antibodies will determine if thyroid dysfunction is causing hairloss.
- Hormonal Imbalances: There are a whole host of imbalances in reproductive hormones that can affect hair growth. DHEAs, testosterone, androstenedione, prolactin, follicular stimulating hormone, and leutinizing hormone should be assessed by a practitioner specifically familiar with evaluating hormone disorders.
- Syphilis: One of the symptoms of syphilis is patchy hair loss. Screening VDRL will rule this out as a potential cause.
Good clinical evaluation also may take into consideration the following:
- Duration: How long since you feel that you have had normal hair growth?
- Pregnancy: Have you recently had a baby?
- Heredity: Do you have a family history of hairloss and if so who?
- Styling Habits: Do you dye, perm or bleach, blow dry or curl your hair?
- Skin: Any skin issues, rashes or ringworm?
- Illness: Have your been sick recently or had any cancer treatment?
- Medications: Are you taking any blood thinners, antidepressants, arthritis or heart medications?
- Diet: What’s an average day’s diet?
As Naturopathic Doctors, our goal is to understand the root cause of health concerns and apply an individual treatment. Lab assessments in combination with a good clinical assessment help us to better serve our patients need. Feel free to book an appointment with one of our Oakville Naturopathic Doctors to help better understand your hairloss.[/fusion_text]