Prescription: Hair Loss - Why You Should Always Read the Labels
April 7, 2008 | By admin
Did you know that many prescription drugs can contribute to hair loss? Some medications will even trigger early male and female pattern baldness. While this is well-known side effect of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, it’s not commonly understood that there are many other prescription drugs that will induce hair loss.
When your doctor prescribes any type of new medication, you should always check with the pharmacist and read all of the information on the label and in the packaging to find out what potential side effects the drug has. If you believe you are a contender for hair loss, you’ll want to specifically check for hair loss, alopecia, or male or female pattern baldness.
If a drug you’ve been prescribed does include hair loss as a possibility, you might want to ask the doctor or the pharmacist if there is an alternative medication that you can use. Sometimes this won’t be an option, so ask about undergoing treatment for hair loss simultaneously, keeping in mind that hair loss treatments have the most successful results when started as early as possible. Preventing hair loss is much easier than reversing it.
You will want to check with all doctors and specialists who you are seeing if you feel that undergoing hair loss treatment is the right option for you. Make sure the doctor who is prescribing medications and other treatments knows about all the drugs you are taking, including any for hair loss. You can read about clinically proven treatments for hair loss on The American Hair Loss Association blog.
The American Hair Loss Association also features a list of prescription drugs that are known to cause hair loss. This is a comprehensive and accessible resource. The medications are grouped together by conditions and for many brand medications, the generic names are included as well. Keep in mind this is not an exhaustive list. You should still check your labels and talk with your pharmacist about side effects of any medications that are prescribed to you.
Technorati Tags: American Hair Loss Association, drugs, female pattern baldness, hair loss, male pattern baldnessComments
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