Is compulsive hair pulling treatable?

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Trichotillomania, also known as a compulsive hair-pulling disorder, is a type of disorder that involves frequent, tempting urges to pull out hair from your scalp, eyebrows or other areas of your body, in spite of trying to stop.

Hair pulling from the scalp often leaves bald spots which are patchy and causes substantial distress and can interfere with social or work functioning. People with trichotillomania can go to any lengths to pluck out their hair and disguise the loss of hair.

Trichotillomania can be mild and generally manageable for some people. But For some others, the compulsive urge to pull hair can be uncontrollable and overwhelming. However, there are other treatments as well that have helped many people reduce their hair pulling or stop entirely.

Symptoms

  • Recurrently pulling your hair out, usually from your scalp, eyelashes or eyebrows, but sometimes from other body areas
  • A growing sense of tension before pulling or trying to resist pulling
  • Feeling pleasure or relief after the hair is pulled
  • Noticeable hair loss, such as reduced hair or thinned or bald areas on the scalp or other areas of your body, including thin or missing eyelashes or eyebrows
  • Preference for precise types of hair, rituals that complement hair pulling or patterns of hair pulling
  • Chewing, biting or eating pulled-out hair
  • Significant anguish or problems at work, school or in social situations related to pulling out your hair

Many people who have trichotillomania also chew their lips, bite their nails or pick their skin. They also sometimes pull hair from dolls or pets or materials, such as clothes or blankets.

Most people with trichotillomania pull hair secretively and usually try to hide the disorder from others.

Causes

The cause of trichotillomania is uncertain. But like many complex disorders, trichotillomania perhaps results from a combination of environmental and genetic factors.

Factors that increase the risk

These factors tend to increase the risk of trichotillomania:

  • Stress- Severely stressful situations or events can also prompt trichotillomania in some people.
  • Age- Trichotillomania typically develops just before or during the early teens, mostly between the ages of 10 and 13 years and it’s often a problem that goes on for a lifetime.
  • Family history- Genetics plays a key role in the development of trichotillomania, and the disorder may occur in those who have a close relative with the same condition.
  • Other disorders- People who have trichotillomania may also have other disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression or anxiety.

Treatment

The two methods of hair fall treatment that have been scientifically researched and found to be effective are behavioral therapy and medications, which are generally used in combination.

Medications- Even though medications help some people temporarily, symptoms are expected to return when the medication is stopped except behavioral therapy is integrated into treatment. Medications may help to decrease the depression and any obsessive-compulsive symptoms the person may be undergoing.

Therapy- In behavioral therapy, patients learn a structured method of keeping track of the symptoms and linked behaviors. This therapy increases awareness of pulling, substituting mismatched behaviors and several other techniques intended at reversing the habit of pulling.

EndNote

If you are looking for hair treatment in Gurgaon to your hair problems, then book your appointment with Advanced Hair Studio today. With more than 45 years of experience, Advanced Hair Studio has been providing effective hair treatment to people from all around the world.

Can a Balanced Diet & Vitamin Supplements Enhance Hair Growth Post Hair Transplant?

Hair transplant has come out as a savior of hair, confidence, personality & charm of people who were suffering from baldness or acute thinning of hair. It is undoubtedly the best baldness treatment & restoration procedure that guarantees the reversal of baldness but at the same time, is it just the surgery that will guarantee hair regrowth for men, or are there other factors to be taken care of?

The factors that will impact hair growth post hair transplant aren’t any different from what is otherwise needed for normal healthy hair. To be a proud owner of voluminous, lustrous mane one needs to have a balanced diet that provides complete nutrition to the follicles.
A balanced diet which includes green vegetables, fresh fruits, poultry, dairy products, fish & cereals will undoubtedly fulfill the requirement of our hair. It will supply all the vitamins, iron, zinc, minerals & proteins and it is a proven fact that our body absorbs them best from the food we intake.

Here are some foods that contribute to healthy hair growth by providing the required nutrients.

  1. Eggs- A well-known source of protein & biotin, enhances hair growth as the follicles are made mostly of protein.
  2. Spinach- A bunch of green, leafy spinach provides vitamin A&C, folate, and iron; all of which boosts hair growth.
  3. Fish- Fishes are a marvelous source of omega 3 & 5 fatty acids and antioxidants, have seen to have benefitted & increased hair density in women suffering from hair thinning.
  4. Avocado- Super rich in vitamin E incorporating such fruits in your diet will spurt the growth of hair.
  5. Nuts- Nuts have been declared as a health booster from ancient times. It provides vitamin B, E, Zinc and fatty acids. Their consumption arrests hair loss.
  6. Meat- All of us are aware that meat is a very rich source of protein and should be included in your daily diet.

Conclusion

In case, you are suffering from hair loss and in the process of hair loss treatment, you are diagnosed with a deficiency of a particular vitamin or protein than its advisable to take supplements as prescribed by the expert. The dosage & duration will also be specific and may vary from person to person. Once the desired level is achieved these supplements need to be discontinued.

An overdose of the supplements may lead to an excess of the vitamin, in return, harming instead of benefitting the hair growth. Health & nutrition experts are concerned & warn against overdoing supplement intake. For example, Biotin is undoubtedly crucial for the health of the hair and its growth but too much of it leads to hair loss along with other health problems. The same goes for vitamin A, zinc, etc. and if the approved doses are exceeded regularly it can aggravate hair loss.

It can be safely concluded that there is no need to take supplements randomly as they may cause more harm than good if an overdose occurs. A balanced diet combined with other factors like exercise, stress-free life, etc. will be sufficient for healthy hair growth even after hair transplant.