Understanding hair loss symptoms

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of hair loss include:

• In men, thinning hair on the scalp, a receding hairline, or a horseshoe-shaped pattern that leaves the crown of the head exposed.
• In women, thinning of the hair in general, but mainly at the crown. Complete balding is rare.
• In children or young adults, sudden loss of patches of hair; known as alopecia areata.
• Complete loss of all hair on the body; a rare disease called alopecia universalis.
• Especially in children, patches of broken hairs and incomplete hair loss, usually on the scalp but sometimes involving the eyebrows; the child is probably rubbing or pulling out hair, a condition called trichotillomania.
• Excessive shedding of hair, but not complete baldness, after various illnesses and drug treatments, rapid weight loss, anaemia, stress, or pregnancy; a condition known as telogen effluvium.

Call your doctor if:

• You suspect that you or your child has alopecia areata, or that your child has trichotillomania; both conditions should be evaluated by a doctor.
• You suffer an unexplained loss of hair on any part of your body; your doctor may want to check for an underlying disorder.