Hair Loss and Thyroid Problems

There are many reasons why a person could be losing their hair even at a young age. Some of these are because of hormonal changes taking place in their bodies, for others it may be to do with their dietary habits. Whilst for others it may be caused by severe stress (whether mental or physical) and for others it could be caused by a medical condition. Certainly, there is a connection between hair loss and thyroid problems.

In this article, we explain a bit about the way in which thyroid problems can affect the growth of a person's hair. In addition, we also look at ways of tackling any kind of hair loss that is associated with such medical problems.

Both forms of thyroid medical conditions (hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism) can be responsible for a person losing their hair prematurely. When a person suffers from either one of these then, in many cases, the process that allows a person's hair to grow begins to shut down.

This is because when a person's thyroid begins to malfunction it forces the hair follicles to remain in the dormant phase of the hair growth process for much longer than normal. This in turn results in growth of new hair being halted and so leads to the person eventually starting to lose their hair.

Luckily, there are things that a person can do which can help to tackle this particular problem. Below we offer a couple of tips that should help you if you suffer from any kind of thyroid problem and find that you are starting to lose your hair.

Tip 1 - Before you start any course of treatment in order to rectify your hair loss problem you should first get the right diagnosis for what is the cause. It is best if you arrange an appointment with your doctor, a dermatologist or a hair loss expert, as they will be able to carry out tests to find out what the underlying cause is.

Tip 2 - If you do have a thyroid problem and are already taking medication in order to help treat the condition, it may be wise to check out what side effects if any are associated with the drug you are taking. For example Synthroid, which is taken by many today, has one known side effect, namely hair loss. If you are taking this, or a drug that is similar, it would be wise to go back to your doctor and explain the situation and they may provide you with a different course of treatment.

Not only have we provided you with an explanation as to what the connection between hair loss and thyroid problems, but we have also shown you a number of things that you can do which may help to prevent your hair loss problem from becoming any worse than it currently is.