Birth Control and Hair Loss
Women who use oral contraceptives might be surprised to learn that hair loss is a common side effect of the pill.
The pill has been available since the 1960s and is one the most popular forms of birth control on the market. It’s also used by many women to keep menstruation cycles regular, to alleviate acne, and to decrease symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). While there are many benefits to taking the pill, it does not protect individuals against sexually transmitted diseases and it may cause hair loss.
The pill’s primary function is to suppress ovulation. This is achieved by using the hormones estrogen and progestin to arrest fertility. Since hormones are also the primary trigger for hair loss, the pill includes a risk for inducing alopecia, which is the medical term for hair loss. Some women are predisposed for hormone related hair loss and have a greater likelihood of experiencing alopecia as a side effect of taking the pill.
Hair loss triggered by the pill varies. In some cases, the loss is minimal. Other times, it can be drastic. Hair loss may not occur until after a woman has stopped taking the pill. While oral contraceptives are safe and effective, women whose family histories include hair loss need to be forewarned that taking the pill could cause them to lose their hair. Knowing this, women can make better and more informed decisions about how to approach birth control.
There are a number of different oral contraceptives available. Those with low androgen index are less likely to cause hair loss. Women concerned about the possibility of hair loss as a side effect of using oral contraceptives should ask their doctors about low-androgen index pills and non-hormonal birth control methods.
The American Hair Loss Association has published a list of birth control pills ordered by lowest androgen index to highest. If you feel you are at risk for hair loss, ask your doctor about getting on a pill that is low-androgen or talk to your OB-GYN about other methods of birth control.
Technorati Tags: American Hair Loss Association, birth control, hair loss, oral contraceptives, women’s hair lossTalking About Hair Loss
Our culture is peppered with taboo subjects, things we just don’t discuss. Some of these are topics we only touch on with family while others are strictly for conversations with friends. Still more subjects may be considered unsuitable for mixed company. Then there are the topics that nobody discusses at all.
As our society grows older and wiser, we are slowly learning to embrace and encourage open discussions and to share our thoughts and feelings about the difficult obstacles in life. One such obstacle is hair loss. Yet we still have a long way to go in bringing hair loss into casual conversation in a meaningful way.
Suffering any kind of loss can be devastating. Hair loss is no different. Yet most hair loss sufferers remain silent as they go through the trying experience that hair loss incurs.
When one’s appearance changes drastically, there can be a profound psychological impact. Most people fail to recognize the challenges that hair loss sufferers face and most people who are suffering from hair loss refuse to talk openly about the experience.
For some, it’s too embarrassing. For others, it’s simply not an appropriate topic for discussion. Many people refrain from discussing painful subjects in any setting. Hair loss is one of those painful subjects.
In the video below, Spencer Kobren discusses the need for people to be more open about hair loss. He encourages hair loss sufferers to allow themselves a mourning period in which they recognize that they are going through a major life adjustment.
Noting that two-thirds of men start incurring hair loss by age 35 and that 40 percent of hair loss sufferers are women, Mr. Kobren points out that this is a relevant subject that affects a large proportion of our population.
Are you open to discussing hair loss? Whether you or a loved one is experiencing hair loss, make it a point to let this difficult topic into your conversations with people you trust. Building a support system through times of difficulty can help ease the pain and make the process easier to bear.
Technorati Tags: American Hair Loss Association, hair loss, hair loss advice, hair loss treament, hair loss video, spencer kobrenThe Dangers of Researching Hair Loss on the Internet
The Internet has created a global network of information, one that allows us to quickly and easily conduct research without having to pick up the phone or take a trip to the library. Information on the Web is free and accessible, but how reliable is it?
Online research must be pursued with great care. The Web is not monitored or regulated. Anyone can publish a web site and there is no guarantee that the information you access online is accurate or that it comes from a credible source.
Web sites that target hair loss sufferers with promises of miracle treatments and solutions should be reviewed with a critical eye. Here are three key points to remember when conducting hair loss research on the Web:
• Anyone can claim to be a professional or an expert.
• There are no laws against publishing false information online.
• Unfortunately, there are plenty of companies and individuals willing to take advantage of hair loss sufferers.
Even message forums and other community-based sites can be a breeding ground for false information. The Internet lends itself to anonymity. Phony postings and fake profiles are rampant. Patients posting on a hair transplant message board might not be patients at all; or they could be patients who are receiving incentives from a less than ethical hair transplant clinic or doctor.
Does this mean you should refrain from searching out hair loss information and services online?
There are many reputable resources on the Web that can be a great help to hair loss sufferers. Weeding out the phonies is a matter of determining credibility.
• Find out who the author is, and conduct secondary research to double check information presented on the site.
• Ask yourself whether an individual posting information, stories, or comments could be bogus or forged.
• Determine the site’s objective. Are they trying to sell you something? Why?
• If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
• Look for the American Hair Loss Association certification seal on the homepage of the site you are visiting.
• Check with the AHLA before you purchase any product or service to treat your hair loss.
The Internet can be a wonderful place for learning but it is not without pitfalls. It is increasingly important to use good judgment when determining the validity of online information. By practicing discernment, hair loss sufferers can protect themselves against sites and service providers that are questionable, unsound, or false.
Hairless Man Rallies Medicaid Support to Provide Hair Pieces for Hair Loss Sufferers
If you lose a limb, Medicaid will cover the cost for a prosthetic replacement. However, if you lose your hair, you are out of luck – even if you lose all your hair, including the hair all over your face and body.
Three years ago, Redwood City resident Matt Kelley lost every hair on his body over the coarse of six weeks. Forty-one-year-old Kelley suffers from alopecia areata, a relatively uncommon autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to attack hair follicles.
The experience brought on a deep depression and in an article on Inside Bay Area, Kelley explains that he was emotionally devastated from his hair loss.
Matt Kelley decided to take action.
He worked to raise awareness about his disease and eventually that awareness spread into the halls of Congress. On Tuesday, May 13, 2008, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto introduced a bill that would require Medicaid to provide alopecia areata patients with prosthetic hairpieces.
It’s a bipartisan bill, sponsored by Rep. Heather Wilson, R-New Mexico and would mandate that federal and state health care provider Medicaid pay for one prosthetic hair piece per year for patients with severe forms of alopecia areata.
Approximately 4 million Americans suffer from alopecia areata. The psychological effects of the disease are often devastating and can lead to depression and anxiety.
When Matt Kelley was in the throes of the disease, he felt “unattractive and as though everyone was staring at him.” Those who have experienced severe forms of hair loss explain that many people simply do not understand the psychological pain that it can cause.
Today, Matt Kelley is the founder of several sports memorabilia stores throughout the Bay Area. He chooses not to wear a wig and has found that humor and a positive attitude help him cope with his total body hair loss. Still, he believes that having access to hairpieces will help people with alopecia areata cope with the disease.
“Hair is kind of an integral part of our culture,” Kelley says. “It doesn’t help you walk like a prosthetic leg might, but it helps you get out the door and deal with society.”
Read the entire article
CoolPiece Offers Free Wigs for Children Undergoing Chemotherapy
In a recent press release, top online hairpiece retailer CoolPiece.com shared its offer to provide free custom made wigs to children undergoing chemotherapy.
CoolPiece has been providing wigs to children for the past couple of years, making free wigs available to all children in the USA and Canada who are experiencing hair loss as a result of chemotherapy.
CoolPiece’s offer reads:
Children in Chemotherapy! We will make a FREE CoolPiece wig to your specifications. Contact us for details. (USA and Canada only).
CoolPiece owner, Jeffrey the Barak explains that “there have been remarkably few who have even expressed any interest, let alone taken CoolPiece up on this offer.”
Families struggling with an illness and a child who is being treated with chemotherapy often end up with low quality wigs and hairpieces, or nothing at all simply because they lack the time or energy needed to shop for high quality children’s hairpieces. Many families simply can not afford to purchase a natural looking hairpiece for their child. CoolPiece provides customized, high quality wigs to these families at no charge and makes it easy for them to order these custom hair pieces online.
Jeffrey explained that about twenty years ago, he was a volunteer working with children who had potentially terminal conditions. However, the experience was devastating and Jeffrey found that he was “not the kind of person who has the strength to be so directly involved.”
By providing wigs to children who are facing terminal illness, Jeffrey has found a way to help that he is more comfortable with. He explains that “somewhere out there is a child who is upset about their hair falling out and for them, having their hair back might be the one little thing that makes it all a bit easier to handle.”
Visit www.coolpiece.com for more information about this generous offer to children undergoing chemotherapy and to learn more about purchasing high quality custom men and women’s hairpieces at a fraction of the price of conventional hairpiece retailers.
CoolPiece is one of a handful of online and conventional hairpiece retailers recommended by The American Hair Loss Association.
Look for the American Hair Loss Association certification seal before purchasing any product or service to treat your hair loss.
Technorati Tags: American Hair Loss Association, chemotherapy, children, children’s wigs, free children’s wigs, hair loss, hair replacement, hairpiece, wig, wigs
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