Women have got more substantial psychological investment in their looks then men, and therefore are very likely to behave more adversely to situations such as hair loss that they can regard as transforming their looks for the worse.
Women are extremely responsive to a social expectation that “a woman’s hair is her crowning glory”. Whenever she interprets that hair loss detracts from the look of her “glorious glory” a woman is probably going to feel a loss of self-esteem.
Women who possess hair loss often see that it is not given serious attention by family and friends. Women have a lesser support system for hair loss as compared to to men. Family and friends may commiserate by a man regarding the loss of hair as well as help him find humor in it. Hair loss (balding) in typical male-pattern alopecia is an occasion which is agreed on as “normal” in males. Female hair loss is not broadly considered “normal” although it happens normally in both genders. The commonly diffuse pattern of hair loss in women is not as well known as typical male-pattern baldness. The psychological impact of the loss of hair in women is under-appreciated, perhaps due in large measure to insufficient public awareness of hair loss in women.
Some women say they are actually unsatisfied with all the reasons they have now been given for their hair loss. They admit they do not believe doctors perform enough tests in order to find a reason for their hair loss because it is considered mostly as a cosmetic issue or not a tremendously crucial health concern, and therefore they go no beyond the scalp – lf they even can look at the scalp.
If a woman also has a wide range of underlying physical problems, like having had a hysterectomy, there are possiblities of hormonal imbalances or links to a surgery that might be affecting her hair. Thyroid testing should also be done. Infact there are many women who do not sense that conditions that may be pushing up their hair loss have been ruled out.
Ana, thirty-three, first observed her hair loss at age nineteen but didn’t seek medical treatment until recently. She has seen many doctors, including her primary care doctor, an endocrinologist and three dermatologists. The tests which are run expressed her iron and thyroid hormone levels were borderline, but she says not one of the doctors looked interested enough to follow through with more tests or to check out her situation further, One of the dermatologists “took one examine my current hair loss pattern” refused to do blood work handed me a pamphlet on hair loss and, a box of topical minoxidil (Rogaine), and told thank my father for the genes.”
She is worried that the doctors are not listening to her ,or considering various other symptoms, such as long menstrual periods, MID only two weeks in between , and hair loss over her entire body, not just on her head. “I want solutions. in relation to my Symptoms and my hair loss… I need the doctor to pay attention to me,’ she says;,
Cindy, fifty-three, experiences “used and abused’ by one dermatologist who treated her alopecia areata for two years with a range of treatments=-including painful cortisone shots to the scalp which often helped for a time, but soon after they stopped working, expensive, cosmetic options were suggested “to help my self-esteem.”
She feels as if the doctor just wrote her off,’ and more painful, she said to me that the doctor she was finding admonished her for not adhering to the program better! He advised her she was not being ambitious enough, and he even suggested that the steroid shots and the topical minoxidil weren’t working because of stress, Cindy was quit feeling that she was somehow to blame for her hair loss. Stress indeed!
Michelle, forty-one, first began identifying her hair loss in her mid-twenties. Her story is identical to several others, The investigation of the cause was not crystal clear, with one doctor’s views contradicting another’s.
One thing is clear: Finding out why hair loss is happening is difficult at best, and at worst, many women who, are given a defined diagnosis are not convinced the diagnosis is appropriate.
Because hair loss, especially women’s hair loss, is regarded as a cosmetic issue because the handful of treatments available do look to be working “OK” for men-the issue isn’t on the front lines of medical exploration or even considered a lot throughout regular office visits. This is required to change.
A lot of research has noted how hair loss affects a woman’s quality of life. Not surprisingly, one study from the Netherlands assessing women with FPHL, found that 75 % of them portrayed negative self-esteem, and 50 percent said they experienced social problems. Another study from Toronto that got down to assess their quality of life found that 40 percent of the women are not satisfied with the way their current doctor managed their hair loss.
A very recent study, published in the British Medical Journal also looked at the psychological impact of alopecia. Their clinical overview of thirty-four studies led these to report that not only do the psychological aspects of hair loss need to be taken into consideration by practitioners, but the efficiency of mental treatments should be assessed for helping people cope.
• We’re having just one option: to get hair solutions by ourselves and perhaps fall prey to those “hair specialists” who peddle unapproved treatments and interested in only growing something their bank accounts, not our hair.
‘. We remain victims of self help books offering untried cures that may have worked for some but won’t work for all.
It is a perception among many women that physicians who provide treatment that is likely to be ineffective may do more psychological harm than medical good. Even the so called hair loss experts can be low on the sensitivity scale.
The response of women to investigators questions show that women are often devastated by loss of hair in any degree from slight to severe:
“I think about my hair loss all the time.”
“I wish I had more hair.”
“I worry about losing even more hair.”
“I feel frustrated and helpless about my hair loss.”
“I feel self-conscious about my looks due to hair loss.”
“I worry about how my hair loss will affect my career/marriage/dating/sexual activity.”
“I worry that I am unattractive.”
Men can often cope with hair loss better than women. Women are more likely than men to:
• Try to hide hair loss
• Discuss hair loss with a hair stylist
• Try to develop a hair style that disguises hair loss
• Spend more time on other aspects of physical appearance to divert attention from hair loss
Even slight hair loss may be psychologically unsettling for a woman. With whom should she discuss her concern?
Consultation with a board-certified dermatologist may be the most effective way to (1) discover the cause of hair loss, (2) learn the treatment options that are available based on the diagnosis of the cause of hair loss, (3) weigh treatment options based on discussion of procedures, costs and any other concerns, and (4) undertake a treatment program agreed upon after full discussion. After consultation with a dermatologist, a woman with hair loss might then choose to meet with a physician hair restoration specialist to determine if she is a candidate for surgical hair restoration. Often the combination of surgical hair restoration and medical treatments provides the most satisfying result.
Unless a woman mentions it as a concern, hair loss may not be discussed by a woman’s personal internist or gynecologist as part of a regularly scheduled physical examination. Thinning hair may be regarded as a “normal” phenomenon associated with conditions such as pregnancy or aging.
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