Can Stress Cause Alopecia Areata?

Today Dr Dhananjay Chavan will help you understand can Alopecia Areata be caused by stress, do read the blog till the end to get complete information.

What’s covered in the article?

Talking about stress, it does not mean it is psychological stress. It is the response of the body to any stimulus. This stimulus can be environmental, medicinal, physical or mental.

In fact, there are three types of hair loss associated with high levels of stress, they are:

• Telogen effluvium: This is a medical condition leading to hair loss in which hair typically falls off in handfuls. It doesn’t actually cause hair to fall, but rather makes it stop growing by pushing large numbers of hair follicles into a resting phase. But which fall out suddenly when simply combing or washing the hair.
• Trichotillomania: This is a disorder that involves a recurrent and irresistible urge to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows etc. Hair pulling can be a way of dealing with negative or uncomfortable feelings like stress, anxiety, boredom, loneliness, or frustration.
• Alopecia areata: This is an autoimmune condition in which the body’s immune cells mistakenly attack its own hair follicles, on the scalp or elsewhere on the body, leading to sudden, patchy hair loss. The exact reason for this is not known, but stress, infections, nutritional deficiencies, hormonal imbalance, etc can act as triggers for the immune system to misfire.

We all go through stress and tension, but not everyone gets alopecia areata. Isn’t. It has been observed that those who process the stress stimuli by losing hair also belong to the 2% of the world’s population. Now calling that unfair would be fair, too. Short-term stressors cause the body’s immune system to prepare. Actually boosting helps to avoid any long-term effects. But long-term, chronic stressors involving life changes beyond a person’s control can have a negative impact on the immune system. So stress is not a cause of alopecia areata, it is a trigger for it, and for the immune system to receive faulty signals for attacking your hair follicles.

If you are suffering from alopecia problems, you need to know, the remedies which will be useful for your treatment. Let’s check the remedies of this treatment.

• Educate yourself: That’s always the first step in solving any problem correctly. Learn about the types of hair loss and their relation to stress and other factors. Deliberate on the likely cause for your hair loss.
• Consult the expert: Get your diagnosis and cause for hair loss confirmed by your dermatologist or trichologist. Your doctor will examine, and then recommend you ways to combat the hair fall.
• Be patient: Remember that it will only last as long as the stress does. So instead of worrying and paradoxically making your hair loss another stressor, which will lead to a never-ending cycle, stay calm.
• Sleep well: Lack of sleep can contribute and worsen both physical and mental stress. So follow a regular sleep pattern, and make sure you receive 8-9 hours of your beauty sleep at a stretch.
• Eat well: Do you know that hair is made up of keratin? It is being one of the fastest-growing cells in the body. So follow a healthy diet, that includes the recommended daily allowance for proteins and calories.

Alopecia areata and its treatments and along home remedies are very important to get good results. Let’s check the points in details.

• Diet: You need to avoid processed and sugary foods. Eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, avocados, oily fish, nuts and olives etc.
• Supplements: If your diet is falling short of providing you with the necessary nutrition, your doctor may prescribe multivitamins and other supplements such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, etc to improve the health of the scalp.
• Exercise regularly: Exercise is greatly beneficial in alleviating emotional and mental stress by causing the release of endorphins, the happy hormones. Choose your own brand of exercise, may it be running, cycling, yoga, dancing, anything, but practice it regularly and welcome in a happier, calmer and more relaxed version of yourself.
• Counselling and therapy: Emotional and psychological stress can be difficult to deal with, especially without any release. Talking about it with a trusted friend or family member, or even to a therapist may feel cathartic and help you find some peace.
• Rest: If your body has been under physical stress, such as surgery, accident, chronic illness, or even giving birth to a child, your body needs time to recover. Be patient and allow your body to heal; once it has, your hair will recover, too.
• Check your medications: Medications like blood thinners, blood pressure medication, some anti-inflammatory drugs, and certain other drugs can promote hair loss and worsen stress-related hair loss. If you discover you are on one of these, you can talk to your doctor about lowering the dosage and whether alternative medicine is possible.

Follow a hair care regime using hair care products best suited to your hair type. Learn the right techniques of shampooing and conditioning your hair.

• Avoid washing your hair too often as it can strip it of natural oils, making it dry and brittle. Nourish your hair by massaging your scalp with your hands using oil to boost circulation and encourage growth.
• You have to get trimmed every couple of months to eliminate split ends. Avoid over-styling your hair and minimize the use of styling tools.

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