Prime
What causes premature balding?
What you need to know:
- There are medicines which, along with lifestyle changes such as avoiding some braiding hairstyles or dyeing the hair, quitting smoking and eating nutritious foods, may help slow or prevent baldness.
At 32 years of age, why do I have a bald head? This has affected my self-esteem and I cannot go out without a cap.
Adyeeri
Dear Adyeeri,
Although on our heads hair protects us from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet rays, it is largely of cosmetic value, the reason why balding can lead to stress. Humans want to remain young, so anything such as balding (which normally happens in old age, say 50 years and above) early balding is likely to cause a lot of stress, requiring wearing a cap or wig to hide it.
Humans shed about 100 hairs from their heads daily but compared to about 100,000 hairs on the head, this may not be noticed, but shedding more may cause balding.
Usually, balding at a young age is not due to disease but may be genetic (male-pattern baldness), which may happen as early as 15 years of age.
Today, people are balding early because in addition to genetics, a lifestyle of eating foods lacking iron and proteins apart from other nutrients for slimming down, hair styling (braiding and hair dyeing), smoking shisha, and taking anabolic steroids.
Of course, diseases of the thyroid gland, hair-pulling mental disorders (Trichotillomania), alopecia areata (where the body's immune system attacks hair), scalp fungal infection and cancer drugs, among many others may also lead to baldness.
There are medicines which, along with lifestyle changes such as avoiding some braiding hairstyles or dyeing the hair, quitting smoking and eating nutritious foods, may help slow or prevent baldness. However, drugs are only prescribed by a doctor.
Some causes of balding may not be found or removed requiring the victim to use wigs, caps or expensive hair transplanting, which should be done after consulting a doctor.
