You probably think about your hair on a daily
basis-whether you’re having a good or a bad hair day or maybe wondering whether
you should try a new style from the pages of your favourite magazine. But you
might be missing clues that your hair is revealing about your health. Changes
in your hair’s look, texture, or thickness can be signs of underlying health
conditions.
Here’s how you can tell whether your hair changes are due to
a health problem or genetics, starting with clue number one: Sudden changes,
such as a lot of hair loss, are more likely linked to a treatable health
problem than are gradual changes, such as thinning. The next time you look in
the mirror, look out for these hair symptoms.
Grey hair
Stress turns hair grey. Oxidative stress may affect pigment
producing cells, and dermatologists do not know exactly why trauma and stress
turn hair grey for some individuals and not others, but when your hair
greys is dictated in part by your genes.
Brittle hair
Brittle hair is one symptom of Cushing’s Syndrome but there
are many other more obvious symptoms of this rare condition caused by excess
cortisol, including high blood pressure, fatigue, and back pain. Treatment for
Cushing’s syndrome may include changing the dose of medications that could be
causing the condition.
Hair shedding
If you are suddenly noticing a lot more hair in your
hairbrush or on your shower floor, this could be a sign that your body has low
iron stores, or anaemia, and may warrant testing. Iron supplements or a change
in diet to include more iron-rich foods can help you keep your hair. Hair
shedding can also happen (temporarily) with sudden changes in estrogen levels
and is often noticed after pregnancy or stopping birth control pills.
Hair thinning
Protein is essential to building your hair, so if you don’t
get enough, you may notice hair loss or thinning. Most hair thinning, even in
women, is likely due to genetics.
Yellow flakes
Yellow or white flakes in your hair, on your shoulders, and
even in your eyebrows are a sign of seborrhoic dermatitis or dandruff.
Over-the-counter specialty hair shampoos and prescription cortisones can help
manage this condition. Dandruff, which can be caused by yeast on the skin or an
inflammation of the skin, is usually worse in cold weather.
Damaged hair
Although hair can tattle on your health conditions, people
more commonly complain about the damage done by colouring and heat-treating
hair to within an inch of its life. Both heat and colour leave you with
brittle, dry hair that’s hard to maintain. But perhaps most importantly, highly
treated hair just can’t tell you what you need to know about your health.
