Infections and Hair Loss
Ring
Worm
The most common infectious agent that causes hair loss is the ring
worm. Although it might sound like a worm that infests you, ring
worm really is a sort of fungal infection which can develop in
different parts of your body having a distinct name for each
location. If the ringworm infection happens on your feet it’s
called “athlete’s foot” etc.
Problems occur
when ring worm develops on the scalp which is almost a guarantee
that you will loose your hair in that area of the scalp. Some
people like to scratch it and transfer this infectious fungus all
over their scalp causing unsightly patches of bald spots where the
fungus has taken hold and given a chance to multiply.
The first signs
of the ringworm infection on the scalp are small pimple like
formations which over time will start increasing in size. The
infection will then progress to make the hair in the affected area
dry and flaky before temporary baldness occurs. What happens is
that the actual fungus will act on the hair making it extremely dry
and brittle and much easier to break. The fungus will also act on
the actual hair follicles in the area disrupting their functions so
the hair produced during the time of infection aren’t as “healthy”
as normal hair and are also much more susceptible to falling
out.
The area affected
by this fungal infection if often very itchy, rather scaly, and is
very easy to blister and ooze if it is burst. A tell-tale sign that
you have this fungal infection is that the red patch is often
redder at the extremities and almost skin color at the middle thus
the descriptive name “ring worm”.
Folliculitis
It is basically just a fancy name for the inflammation of the hair
follicles. Unlike other forms of infectious agents we name here,
Folliculitis isn’t actually the name of an agent, rather it is the
name of a condition caused by different types of bacterial of
fungal infections that creates inflammation of the hair follicles.
Sometime the inflammation can be so bad that the follicle actually
dies leaving bald spots where the infectious agents were. Generally
this type of condition can be determined by severe redness at the
root of the hair and a hair that is very easy to pull off the root.
The inflammation can be put right with the proper combination of
topical ointments such as anti-inflammatory creams or even topical
antibiotic creams.
Seborrheic
Dermatitis
As the name implies, this condition is firstly a skin condition and
only when it affects areas of skin that produce hair does it
contribute to hair loss. The exact agent that causes this infection
isn’t yet known but the symptoms can be easily identified. The skin
in the affected area will be inflamed and will be either scaly or
oily and be either itchy or painful to touch. The situation has
been linked to hormonal changes in the patient which can cause an
outbreak of this condition all over the body. If affecting areas of
skin that have produce hair the condition will cause the hairs to
be excessively oily and very easy to pull out of their
roots.
Peidra
Piedra is where the actual hair fibers are infected with a fungus
and has nothing to do with the hair root or follicles. What happens
is that the fungus will take hold in the little microscopic creases
of the hair and start growing and spreading creating a nodule in
the hair. It should be noted that if not contained the fungus will
release spores which will have no problem in taking up residency in
other surrounding hairs. It is important that when the situation is
diagnosed, the proper steps are taken or your hair will become
extremely brittle and break off very easily causing hair loss.
Treatment of this condition is through the use of medicated
anti-fungal shampoos and also at times the removal of affected
hairs by having a close hair cut. It should be noted that this
fungal infection can happen to any of the hairs on your body and
not only the hairs on your scalp.
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