Your hair is not just an accessory – you shouldn’t just be worried about whether you having a good hair day or the latest styles in a fashion magazines – your hair does a lot more that decorates or covers your scalp. Research has shown that there a lot of things your hair says about your health.
The texture of your hair, the thickness, how it looks can be used to determine if you have a condition like thyroid disease. With this in mind, let’s look out for the various clues that shows what your hair says about your health.
1. Flakes and Dandruffs
When you see white or yellow flakes on your hair either in your scalp or eyebrow, it is a sign of a disease condition called seborrheic dermatitis, which we all know as dandruff. Some of the causes of dandruff includes inflammation on the skin and yeast. You can easily take care of it by making use of shampoos and cortisone prescription. During the winter, it is advisable to take extra care of hair because it easier to get dandruff during this period.
2. Hair Thinning Signifies Protein Deficiency
For your hair to grow properly, protein is very essential. When you suffer from protein deficiency, your hair grows stuntly and grows very thin and light. Getting the required amount of protein needed for proper hair growth isn’t difficult -all you need is a high protein diet that would equate in size to about that of a deck of cards.
Individuals who suffer from gastric inflammation or have gone through a gastric bypass surgery most times find it difficult to digest protein. If you suffer from this condition, you would have to take professional help from a doctor.
Sometimes hair thinning can be genetic, especially in women.
3. Hair Shedding Signifies Anemia
In this article on what your hair says about your health, you would see one of the most common symptoms we face daily especially females. Do you comb or brush your hair and notice that there is ton of hair that has been left on the brush? This could be a sign that your blood is low in iron which leads to anemia.
Vegetarians and women who have heavy period are more likely to have a low blood count which can lead to hair shedding. When there is a change in estrogen levels as seen during pregnancy or during intake of birth control pills, iron count can also be affected. A simple solution would be to take iron supplements and iron rich foods.
4.Dry, Thinning Hair Signifies Thyroid Disease
A symptom of people that suffer hypothyroidism is excessive hair shedding and change your appearance.Some other symptoms of hypothyroidism are tiredness, cold intolerance, joint pain, muscle pain, a puffy face, and weight gain. If you are not very sure, you can take a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) test which would diagnose the condition and the suitable treatment.
5. Brittle Hair Signifies Cushing Syndrome
One of the common symptoms of Cushing symptom is having brittle hair. This disease condition is very rare and is caused by excess cortisol. Some of the symptoms include high blood pressure, fatigue, and back pain.
You can cure Cushing syndrome by changing administration of drugs that might be causing the condition. In serious cases, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy might be necessary to correct the over production of cortisone by the adrenal gone.
6. Gray Hair Signifies Stress
I remember watching former President Obama on TV and noticing that his hair was gradually turning gray – the stress of governance and campaigning was gradually turning his hair gray. Dermatologist Paradi Mirmirani, MD says “oxidative stress can affect the pigment producing cells in the hair follicles.”
Although dermatologist cannot give the exact reason why stress turns some people’s his gray and do not for other. It is believed that genes has a role to play here.
7. Hair Loss Signifies Infection
A variety of infections can trigger hair loss. A good example of such infection is ringworm which is fungal. Ring worm affects your scalp and causes your hair to fall off. Another is a bacterial infection known as folliculitis. It is the inflammation of the hair follicles which eventually leads to them falling off.The most popular of all of them is “hot tub folliculitis” which is caused by a bacteria that is found in poorly chlorinated water.
8. Hair Falling Out Signifies Psoriasis
Certain skin conditions can cause your hair to fall. Psoriasis is an example of one of such condition. A symptom of this condition is having scalps on your skin. The resulting effect of the scalps is the hair falling off. A doctor already knows what your hair says about your health, so it makes it easier for them to diagnose such conditions.
9. Thinning Hair Can Signify Menopause
During menopause, a woman’s body would go through a lot of changes – both physical, mental and hormonal. One of the physical changes includes the hair getting thinner and even falling out. The hormones that are responsible for hair growth are progesterone and estrogen. During menopause, their production is reduced which leads to hair loss. Also the stress and anxiety of going through menopause can also contribute to hair loss.
10. Sometimes its just Genetics
Sometimes, you can’t just do anything about hair loss because it is genetic. In your family tree, you might be predisposed to your hair turning gray at a young age. The exact gene responsible for your hair turning gray has been identified.This gene is responsible for the color pigmentation in the eye, hair and skin. It produces melanin. A reduction in melanin production causes gray hair. How fast this melanin production reduces depends on your gene.