Diffuse hair loss (telogen effluvium)

In dif­fu­se hair loss the hair thins even­ly across the who­le scalp wit­hout bald patches deve­lo­ping. The cau­se is that too many hair roots enter the res­t­ing pha­se at the same time. Shed­ding typi­cal­ly starts two to three months after the trig­ge­ring event.

Cau­ses

Com­mon trig­gers are febri­le infec­tions, ope­ra­ti­ons, child­birth, mark­ed weight loss, emo­tio­nal stress and a defi­ci­en­cy of iron, zinc or vit­amin D. Thy­ro­id dis­or­ders and cer­tain medi­ca­ti­ons are also pos­si­ble. In many cases the trig­ger can be iden­ti­fied retro­s­pec­tively by its timing.

Sym­ptoms

Pati­ents noti­ce more hair in the brush, the drain and on the pil­low, as well as a thin­ner pony­tail. The scalp shows through more cle­ar­ly, but the hair­line is pre­ser­ved. Unli­ke andro­ge­ne­tic hair loss, the thin­ning is not limi­t­ed to the crown or temples.

Tre­at­ment

The focus is on iden­ti­fy­ing the cau­se, usual­ly with blood tests and an assess­ment of the scalp. Once the trig­ger has been remo­ved, hair nor­mal­ly regrows within six to twel­ve months. Sup­port­ively, nut­ri­ent defi­ci­en­ci­es can be cor­rec­ted and topi­cal agents or pro­ce­du­res such as meso­the­ra­py can be used.

Rela­ted tre­at­ment at Swiss Der­ma Cli­nic: Hair loss treatment