HAIR LOSS FROM DRUGS, MEDICATIONS & VITAMINS

While medications are taken to target specific health issues, they can also disrupt the normal function of your hair follicles, which are responsible for hair growth. In the case that your hair follicles become disrupted or damaged, your body may send the natural growth of your hair into a resting phase called telogen effluvium, or a more severe condition, anagen effluvium.

Medications That Can Cause Hair Loss

When most people think of hair loss as a side-effect of a medication, most will immediately think of chemotherapy and drugs used for cancer. While these often cause anagen effluvium, it is only one of the many types of drugs and medications that cause hair loss. Other commonly prescribed medications that can lead to hair loss are addressed below and include:

• Acne medications with Vitamin A
• Amphetamines
• Antibiotics
• Antidepressants and blood thinners
• Birth control
• Cholesterol-lowering drugs
• Immune system suppressants
• High blood pressure medications
• Steroids (anabolic)
• Vitamin B
• Weight loss drugs

Many commonly prescribed acne medications, such as Accutane®, are retinoid-derived drugs, meaning they contain high levels of vitamin A. At appropriate levels, vitamin A can be beneficial for your skin and hair growth. However, because it is a fat-soluble vitamin, the body stores excess amounts and it is relatively easy to build up a toxic amount in your system, which can result in hair loss. 

Vitamin A And Hair Loss

When your body is deficient in vitamin A, it can produce an energy-conserving response. When this occurs, hair growth is typically one of the first processes to be halted. This may lead to a decrease in hair cell regeneration and growth, causing the follicles to remain in the telogen, or resting phase, for a longer period than normal. 

High levels of vitamin A can also have negative effects on hair growth as vitamin A is fat-soluble, which means that it is stored in the body's adipose tissue, so the body stores more of it than other vitamins that are water-soluble. Too much vitamin A can cause your hair follicles to reach the end of the growth phase at a much quicker pace, causing them to fall out faster than the body can replace the hair.

Additionally, vitamin A is considered an essential nutrient for healthy cell development. Among other roles in the body, vitamin A is a key component of gene transcription, skin health, and hair growth. Too much or too little vitamin A in the body can have devastating effects on a patient's health and can lead to organ damage over time.

Our hair restoration specialist can determine the cause of your hair loss and develop a customized solution.

Patients who are taking retinoid-derived medications may be building up a toxic amount of vitamin A in their bodies without knowing it. For many patients, discontinuing use of the drug may cause hair to begin regrowing. For others, the hair loss may be permanent.

Consuming A Healthy Amount Of Vitamin A

Typically, patients experience increased levels of vitamin A when taking supplements or drugs that contain retinoids, such as acne medications. The best way to ensure that you are not ingesting toxic levels of any vitamin is to avoid the use of supplements unless otherwise instructed by your doctor. You can ensure that you are consuming a safe amount of vitamin A by eating a healthy, balanced diet that includes foods such as: 

• Eggs 
• Fruits 
• Leafy green vegetables
• Milk

While some patients may be able to halt hair loss by consuming the daily recommended amounts of vitamin A and discontinuing the use of certain medications, many patients may need to seek the assistance of a professional hair restoration doctor. 

Steroids And Hair Loss

Steroids are often thought to be a contributing factor to hair loss. Although steroids and other medications can play a role in losing hair, a genetic predisposition to hair loss must usually also be present.

How Steroids Affect Hair Growth

Steroids have a number of purposes. They are often prescribed by physicians to treat inflammation relating to conditions such as lupus. In other instances, anabolic steroids are prescribed to patients transitioning from female to male. Anabolic steroids are sometimes used illegally by athletes as a performance enhancer.

Steroids work by altering the levels of certain hormones in the body. Specifically, these drugs tend to increase dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is known to cause damage and inflammation to hair follicles. Over time, the hairs within these damaged follicles will weaken and eventually fall out.

If you have suffered hair loss that may be related to steroids, The Hair Loss Doctors By Robert J. Dorin can help you find an effective solution.

Some patients who are not susceptible to hair loss may not experience this side effect from steroids. It is largely unknown why some have this genetic predisposition, but it is thought that some patients' hair follicles are able to withstand higher levels of DHT and are therefore not affected by steroid use. 

Treatment Options For Hair Loss

If it is determined that a patient can safely stop taking steroids, that is the first recommendation for patients wishing to regrow their hair. Many patients will see hair regrowth within a few months after discontinuing use of the drugs. However, for other patients, the the appearance of thinning hair or complete loss of hair may be permanent. Fortunately, we offer several treatment options for patients who have experienced a permanent reduction.