Alopecia (Hair Loss)

Alopecia, although almost physically painless, can be a great source of emotional distress particularly for a lot of women. This is not surprising really because healthy, full lustrous hair has always been a standard symbol of youth and beauty. If your alopecia (hair loss) is caused by medications you are taking there are some steps you can take in order not to make the condition worse.

Unfortunately, if your hair is going to fall out "due to natural causes" then there's not much you can do "without medical intervention" to forestall the course of nature. If however, your alopecia (hair loss) is caused by any of the drugs listed below, it is usually reversible, as in, the hair loss stops once you discontinue the medication and regrowth of the hair also usually... not always, occurs. Here are some things you can do on your own to keep your hair healthy:

• Eat a balanced diet: be intentional about including healthy and nutritious foods packed with vitamins and minerals in your daily diet.
• Be gentle with your hair: avoid applying heat to your hair - let it air dry as opposed to using a hair dryer, but if you must use one then use it on a low temperature setting. Also, try to stay away from tight do's and styles that require you to pull and tug too much at your hair e.g. ponytails, braids, buns, chignons... etc. When you style your hair remember, combing is much gentler on the hair than brushing, and if you must brush, then avoid going all out "Rapunzel" on your hair... don't overbrush it.
• Be kind to your hair: avoid bleaching, perming, straightening, relaxing, coloring, hot combs, excessive sun exposure... and the list goes on.
• Leave your hair alone!: don't pull it, twist it, tug it, twirl it, etc. Whether you do it when you're nervous, anxious, or just without thinking, try not to... it's not helping.
• Make wise shampoo choices: stay away from alkaline pH shampoos and no matter how slick and promising the ads for those Hair Vitalizing Shampoos are, don't fall for it... Baby shampoo is a gentler, safer bet and unless they are medicated, those hyped up shampoos will not grow your hair back... sorry.
• Do your own "cosmetic procedure": try applying like-colored eye shadow or mascara to thinning spots to hide them. It sounds funny I know, but it works on minor thinning spots.

Drugs That Can Cause Alopecia (Hair Loss)

• Allopurinol (Zyloprim)
• Amitriptyline (Elavil)
• Amoxapine (Asendin)
• Aripiprazole (Abilify)
• Atenolol (Tenormin)
• Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• Buspirone (BuSpar)
• Carbamazepine (Tegretol)
• Carbidopa-Levodopa (Sinemet)
• Cimetidine (Tagamet)
• Clomipramine (Anafranil)
• Clonazepam (Klonopin)
• Doxepin (Sinequan)
• Esomeprazole (Nexium)
• Estradiol (Estrace)
• Etanercept (Enbrel)
• Ezetimibe + Simvastatin (Vytorin)
• Famotidine (Pepcid, Pepcid AC)
• Fish Oil
• Fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem Selfemra)
• Gemfibrozil (Lopid)
• Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, Motrin IB)
• Imipramine (Tofranil)
• Isotretinoin (Accutane)
• Lansoprazole (Prevacid)
• Levothyroxine (Synthroid)
• Lithium (Eskalith, Eskaltih CR, Lithane, Lithobid)
• Loratadine (Claritin)
• Methotrexate (Mexate, Trexall)
• Methylphenidate (Concerta)
• Metoprolol (Lopressor)
• Nadolol (Corgard)
• Naproxen (Anaprox, Naprosyn)
• Nortriptyline (Pamelor)
• Paroxetine (Paxil)
• Pregabalin (Lyrica)
• Propranolol (Inderal)
• Protriptyline (Vivactil)
• Ranitidine (Zantac)
• Sertraline (Zoloft)
• Simvastatin (Zocor)
• Sulindac (Clinoril)
• Timolol (Betimol, Blocadren)
• Valacyclovir (Valtrex)
• Valsartan (Diovan)
• Warfarin (Coumadin)

Cancer (Chemotherapy) Drugs

• Bevacizumab (Avastin)
• Busulfan (Myleran)
• Carboplatin (Paraplatin)
• Carmustine (BiCNU)
• Cisplatin (Platinol)
• Cladribine (Leustatin)
• Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)
• Cytarabine (Ara-C, Depocyt)
• Dacarbazine (DTIC)
• Dactinomycin (Cosmegen)
• Daunorubicin (Cerubidine, Daunoxome)
• Docetaxel (Taxotere)
• Doxorubicin (Doxil, Rubex)
• Etoposide (VePesid)
• Fludarabine (Fludara)
• Fluorouracil (5-FU)
• Gemcitabine (Gemzar)
• Hydroxyurea (Hydrea)
• Idarubicin (Idamycin)
• Ifosfamide (Ifex)
• Irinotecan (Camptosar)
• Lomustine (CCNU)
• Mechlorethamine (Mustargen)
• Melphalan (Alkeran)
• Mercaptopurine (Purinethol)
• Mitomycin (Mutamycin)
• Mitoxantrone (Novantrone)
• Paclitaxel (Taxol)
• Rituximab (Rituxan)
• Topotecan (Hycamtin)
• Trastuzumab (Herceptin)
• Vinblastine
• Vincristine
• Vinorelbine (Navelbine)

Joy and Temperance and Repose
Slam the door on the doctor's nose
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "The Best Medicines"



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June 30, 2009

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