Apple Valley, CA
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About 30 million men and 20 million women in the United States experience significant balding or thinning of hair. Most balding is related to age, gender, and genetic factors, and there is little to be done to prevent it.

In many instances, however, the hair loss is a temporary, normal response to a life event, such as the thinning many women experience following pregnancy. In other instances, it may be related to mistreatment of the hair or scalp. And in a minority of cases, hair loss may be a symptom of an illness.

Causes of hair loss

Alopecia areata
This condition, which is believed to be an autoimmune disorder, occurs most often among children and young adults. Hair comes out from the roots in one or more patches, which may enlarge and merge, leading to total baldness. In mild cases, however, the hair may grow back.

Dietary factors
Certain nutritional deficiencies can cause a thinning of hair. Vitamin A, for example, is needed for healthy hair growth. The typical American diet provides adequate vitamin A, but deficiency may occur among people with certain malabsorption disorders or those on extreme fat-restricted diets. Crash dieting, particularly in young women, is a more common nutrition-related cause of hair loss. Anorexia nervosa, a serious eating disorder characterized by self-starvation,

also results in hair loss. Consumption of an adequate, nutritionally balanced diet usually reverses the balding.

Fever
High fevers and severe infections can interfere with the normal growth cycle of hair. Typically, a person who has had an extremely high fever for more than a day or so will experience sudden hair thinning 3 to 6 months later. AIDS, meningitis, malaria, and blood poisoning are among the many diseases that cause high fevers. Certain types of cancer, especially of the blood or lymph system {leukemia and lymphoma) can also cause high fevers, resulting in hair loss.

Fungal infections
Fungi are microscopic organisms that often infect the skin. Various types of ringworm (tinea) axe the most common fungal skin infections in humans. Ringworm of the scalp causes round bald spots. At one time, treatment entailed shaving the scalp and applying turpentine or other potent, often dangerous chemicals. Today, ringworm is easily treated, with either pills or topical antifungal creams and lotions. Once the fungus is eliminated, normal hair growth usually resumes.

Male-pattern baldness
This accounts for about 95 percent of all hair loss in men. It is thought to be caused by a combination of age, heredity, and abnormal sensitivity of hair follicles to a chemical the body makes from the male hormone testosterone. Female-pattern baldness, although far less common and severe, is believed to be caused by similar mechanisms.

Medications
Birth control pills, excessive vitamin A supplementation, and chemotherapy for cancer can cause temporary hair loss due to interference with the normal hair-growth cycle. Hair loss related to oral contraceptives is similar to that associated with pregnancy, usually causing nothing more than a loss of normal hair density. Excessive vitamin A also produces minor hair thinning. By contrast, chemotherapy and radiation treatments may result in complete, although temporary, baldness.

Thyroid disorders
A deficiency of thyroid hormones causes a general slowing of all metabolic processes, including normal hair growth. Hair loss accompanied by constipation, fatigue, intolerance to cold, menstrual irregularities, and a variety of other symptoms indicates a thyroid disorder.