Friday, June 29, 2007

The Nasty Side Effects Of Ramipril And Hair Loss

Ramipril is a drug that is used to treat high blood pressure, heart failure as well as kidney failure and it seems to do wonders for many patients. However, it should be noted that there can be side effects of taking ramipril and one of the side effects that should be mentioned is the side effect of Ramipril and hair loss.

Hair Today…

Before taking Ramipril, make sure that you are prepared for any and all side effects. It should be noted that not every person experiences all side effects and some don’t have any at all. Ramipril and hair loss do not go hand and hand but it needs to be discussed because it can be very scary when you suddenly look in the mirror to find that you no longer have as much hair as you did yesterday.

If you take Ramipril and experience hair loss, tell your doctor immediately. Your doctor can sometimes prescribe other medications that don’t have as many side effects or that have different ones. If you take Ramipril and experience hair loss, understand that it is not the end of the world. You are taking Ramipril to potentially save your life and if that means that you have a little less hair, that should be one sacrifice you’re willing to live with.

However, if your hair is really important to you, make sure you discuss Ramipril and hair loss with your doctor. By discussing this nasty side effect well in advance, you can hopefully skip that morning when you find you have a hairball stuck to your hairbrush or that your drain is clogged from the hair that should be on your head.

If you’re a woman, then Ramipril and hair loss can be especially devastating, but men and women are really no different in that regard. Hair loss can be traumatizing, but again, if the Ramipril is being given to save your life, hair or no hair, listen to your doctor and take the medication so that it can do its job effectively.

There are many drugs on the market today and they are used to treat many ailments each and every day. Sometimes, those medications that we take have side effects. Some are barely noticeable and some are completely devastating or life hindering. The important thing to remember is that the medications prescribed are by a professional so you should never try to alter or not take your correct dosages, even when you are afraid of certain side effects such as Ramipril and hair loss.

The Connection Between Stress And Hair Loss

Stress occurs at many levels out of which two we experience everyday and they are: primary stress, which is the type that affects you directly and the secondary stress that is usually caused from a third party at a subconscious level. The primary type of stress can occur from anything that affects you directly such as, financial difficulties, marital problems, too much workload or a medical condition.

Secondary stress can occur when you hear about someone’s misfortune, for example, when watching news, a violent movie and/or witness an accident to name a few instances. Both types of stress can have severe side effects out of which one is hair loss.

Common Side Effects Of Stress

Some common side effects of stress are: insomnia, change in appetite, which will cause one to either eat too much or too less, irritability and mood swings with depression, which usually weakens your body’ immune system. Hair loss is caused due to weak immune system that is unable to provide the nourishment required by the hair to stay strong and healthy and thus, stress and hair loss are directly connected.

Hair maintenance also takes a back seat when one is stressed especially if you have long hair that requires considerable amount of time invested in washing, blow drying and styling and poor maintenance always takes a toll on the growth of your hair.

Noticing The Stress And Hair Loss Connection

Hair loss due to stress can occur as late as three months after you have suffered a particular stressful period therefore it may not be easy to connect the stress and hair loss occurrence but you may want to ensure when you go through a stressful period that you provide the same and sometimes extra care to your hair in order to maintain your locks.

If you are experiencing hair loss all of a sudden think back and consider what you have encountered that may have affected you enough to change your lifestyle and/or eating habits that may in turn have affected your hair.

Dealing With Stress And Hair Loss

It is not always possible to relieve stress or to avoid stress even though that is the best solutions therefore, you need to ensure that you provide your hair with its daily requirements of vitamins and minerals by either eating a balanced diet or taking vitamin supplements. If you are going through a rough period where you can identify that you are stressed try taking targeted drugs for your hair and nails in order to ensure that they stay healthy. Stress and hair loss have always been connected and while you cannot always avoid or stay stress free you can take extra steps to ensure that your hair is being nourished and protected.

Sudden Hair Loss Can be Due to Trauma

Sudden hair loss is typically caused by infection, trauma, or radical reactions to certain drugs. Especially using the drugs used in chemotherapy. It is easily differentiated from other forms of hair loss as it is usually radical. There is a condition known as alopecia that has several forms of sudden hair loss. Alopecia areata, is a condition that results in patches of sudden hair loss. Alopecia totalis results in total hair loss of the scalp, and Alopecia universalis, results in total hair loss all over the body. Alopecia is not treatable.

Hair loss is normal. At any one point ten percent of your hair is not-growing. Shedding of the dormant hair is normal, both in humans and animals. What characterizes sudden hair loss is when shampooing or combing results in large clumps of hair obviously being removed, and the scalp beginning to take on a bald appearance. This should be a concern both to the human or pet owner and you should look for the cause.

Infection

Most modern men and women wash their hair frequently and are not typically subject to hair infections. However, fungal infections are quite common in younger children who are more resistant to washing their hair and are exposed to more sources of infection. Fungal infections are treatable and usually result in minimal yet sudden hair loss, however, these infections are often devastating in the mind of the children impacted.

Another form of infection that is not typical in the western hemisphere, is that caused by tropical disease or infection. Most result in permanent weakening of the hair follicle and often there is sudden hair loss involved. In some cases the head is actually shaved to reduce the likelihood of passing the disease onto others. Shaving the head can actually be considered an extreme form of sudden hair loss in this situation, as many times the hair does not return.

Chemotherapy

Today, unfortunately, the most common form of observed sudden hair loss is that resulting from chemotherapy. In most cases a healthy head of hair will return. This form of sudden hair loss is caused by the general reaction of a human body to the toxicity of the chemicals being used to treat the cancer or lupus. Other forms of sudden hair loss have been documented and can result from reaction of the thyroid to certain chemicals causing change in the level of thyroid activity. There is even a form of reaction to anti-depressants that can be associated with sudden hair loss.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

The Basics on Vitamins for Hair Loss

Hair loss is caused by a wide variety of factors. The treatment of hair loss is still mostly an art; however, the list of options for treatment is improving. The application of vitamins for controlling hair loss, or even the use of vitamins for reversing hair loss, is becoming more acceptable.

Using Vitamins for Hair Loss

The primary kinds of vitamins used for hair loss are those considered antioxidants. Vitamin A is an antioxidant that can help produce healthy sebum in the scalp, while vitamin C is also an antioxidant that helps maintain general skin & hair health. Vitamin C is available in common foods such as citrus fruits, strawberries, kiwi, cantaloupe, pineapple, tomatoes, green peppers, potatoes and dark green vegetables and, therefore, should be a natural inclusion in your suite of vitamins used for hair loss.

Vitamin E is also an antioxidant that enhances scalp circulation, however, it can raise blood pressure and reduce blood clotting. If you are taking high blood pressure medication or anticoagulants you should check with your doctor before taking Vitamin E for hair loss. An alternative to Vitamin E is Niacin (Vitamin B3). This vitamin also promotes scalp circulation, however, there are some slight side effects that have been documented that may reduce your use of this vitamin for treating hair loss.

Not all vitamins are called vitamins and biotin is one such example, and as it aids in producing keratin, it may actually help prevent graying and hair loss. Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) also may prevent graying and hair loss.

Vitamin B6 and Vitamin B12 are both recommended for preventing hair loss and, therefore, should be used in your application of vitamins for hair loss treatment.

Treating Hair Loss with Natural Products

In addition to applying vitamins for hair loss treatment, there are additional natural remedies. For instance Ginkgo biloba is a very popular herbal remedy that some believe delivers more nutrients to the hair follicles and so promotes hair re-growth. Although not a vitamin treatment for hair loss, shou wu, is an ancient Chinese herb that has been used for centuries for hair loss and baldness. It is frequently available in both tea and capsule form and is one of the main ingredients found in many commercial remedies for the treatment of hair loss.

Two other natural remedies are popular. Saw palmetto has the ability to protect the prostrate and can slow hair loss down as well as re-grow it. Finally, it is well known that the chemical DHT attacks the hair follicle and causes hair loss in males and sometimes in women. It is, however, not known that the stinging nettle blocks the conversion of testosterone into DHT. This natural remedy can be purchased in both pill and capsule form. In conclusion, using a combination of a vitamin treatment for hair loss and other natural remedies, is becoming a more acceptable form of alternative medicine as vitamins for hair loss is itself, becoming better documented and as a result, is regarded as safe.

Understanding About Thyroid Hair Loss And How You Can Stop It

Thyroid hair loss is actually an incredibly common problem among both women and men alike, and if you are one of the many people out there that are suffering from thyroid hair loss, then you should know that you can really rest assured because there are many different solutions that are available to you for something such as this.

About Thyroid Hair Loss And The Solutions That You Have For It

There are many different solutions out there for thyroid hair loss, and the first thing that you are going to want to do if you start experiencing thyroid hair loss problems is get yourself evaluated. This means going into your doctor and having them give you a check up so that they can determine exactly what the problem is.

You are also going to have to make sure that you are patient throughout an ordeal such as this, not only because it will most likely take a while and so you are going to be patient for the results, but as well because you do not want to stress yourself out, as this may worsen the hair loss that you are already experiencing.

Another thing that you are going to want to consider here is whether or not your hair loss is due to the thyroid treatment that you are presently taking, and so you will definitely want to make sure that you speak to your doctor about this, so that they can determine this for you.

If it is due to your thyroid treatment, then obviously you will be taken off of it, and even if it is not due to that, you still may want to consider an alternative type of treatment, such as a natural thyroid treatment, if you can.

Just make sure that you make yourself as informed and knowledgeable about this issue as you can, so that you can know as much as possible and so that thus you will be able to understand better and as well come up with the best possible solutions – alongside your doctor, of course.

Just make sure that as soon as you start experiencing hair loss that you get yourself into your doctor, so that they can figure out what is wrong with you and get a solution for you as quickly as possible, because this is what is most important.