Telogen Effluvium: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Regrowth

Table Of Content

• Forms depending on interacting mechanisms
• What are common types of hair loss?
• What are the clinical features of acute telogen effluvium?
• Sign of another condition
• What’s the difference between acute telogen effluvium and chronic telogen effluvium?
• What is the prognosis for people with telogen effluvium?
• Health News

Without medications or treatment, hair loss due to androgenic alopecia is permanent. CCCA and LPP fall under the umbrella of lymphocytic scarring alopecia. The telltale signs of  these conditions are chronic inflammation of the scalp and the scarring of hair follicles, which can result in irreversible hair loss, Agbai notes. As if my self-diagnosis wasn’t unsettling enough, my first appointment only confirmed my hair loss into undisputed existence. My dermatologist mentioned female pattern baldness and a temporary condition called Telogen Effluvium as possible explanations, and did my bloodwork for further analysis. He prescribed me over-the-counter Rogaine—a product that sparked tears and sent reality crashing down on me—and asked me to come back in three months.

Forms depending on interacting mechanisms

One must distinguish this form of hair loss from other conditions affecting the scalp. When significantly more than 10% of the scalp hair follicles are in the telogen growth phase, this will manifest in certain patients as a rather dramatic hair-shedding event. Effluvium simply refers to the shedding of excess matter (in this case, hair). Patients will report hair shedding, usually without other symptoms, with a relatively abrupt onset.

What are common types of hair loss?

Often, though, the hair loss is subtle, and other people may not notice anything different about your hair. However, persistent excess hair shedding may be caused by iron deficiency or an underactive thyroid gland. Your doctor may do a blood test to check for these if you have any other symptoms of these conditions. Nonspecific reaction pattern in which the main symptom is the increased shedding of telogen hairs developing 3-4 months after the causing event. Alopecia would occur only when about 40% of hairs have been shed. Severe protein, fatty acid and zinc deficiency, chronic starvation, and caloric restriction can lead to telogen effluvium [11].

What are the clinical features of acute telogen effluvium?

Managing stress related hair loss - WSAW

Managing stress related hair loss.

Posted: Mon, 15 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Corticosteroid creams are in general declined by the patients because they make the hairs dirty and lotions are difficult to be dosed. Systemic corticosteroids are usually unadvisable for TE needs to be treated for a long time and because of the unavoidable side-effects that are disproportionate to the severity of the original disorder. In fact, the treatment must last at least three months, and the patient should be informed not to expect any improvement before and invited to monitor the severity of her shedding once a month by MWT. It may be, however, that a spontaneous recovery occurs before the canonical three months.

By definition, in acute telogen effluvium, shedding lasts less than six months; often the period of shedding is much shorter. A careful history will identify a causative event (see etiology section) occurring approximately three months before the onset of the shedding (range from 1 to 6 months). Quite often the patient has fully recovered from the acute illness and fails to see the connection between the illness with the hair loss. The effects of these drugs are very quick, and your hair will begin to fall out while it is still in the growth, or anagen, phase.

However, it should be taken into account that women take hair shedding problem more seriously than men and are likely over-represented in seeking medical treatment [1]. The association of telogen effluvium with age is unclear; however, elderly women are known to be more susceptible to acute telogen effluvium following fever, trauma, hemorrhage, or psychological stress [1]. Studies have reported the incidence of telogen effluvium in children to be around 2.7% [6]. It's often due to an event such as major surgery, chronic illness, or a high fever. Androgenetic alopecia (male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness) is a type of hair loss that’s more gradual.

The hair cycle appears to be reset so that the anagen period is shortened. In this stage of the cycle, the hair follicle is inactive and a white bulb of keratin forms at the root to keep the hair in the follicle until it’s ready to be shed. About 10% to 15% of hair is normally in the telogen phase at any given time. “Telogen effluvium (TE) is the most common type of temporary hair loss I see that happens after severe stress or a change to your body,” reports Oksana Bailiff, MD, a dermatologist at Geisinger. After the three- to six-month shedding period, you’ll notice new hair growth in your affected areas.

Hair Disorders: Finding the Root of the Problem - Medscape Reference

Hair Disorders: Finding the Root of the Problem.

Posted: Thu, 07 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Health News

“Female pattern hair loss, also known as androgenetic alopecia, is common and can occur at any age, but it's thought that 40% of women aged 70 or over experience the condition in some form. Women with androgenetic alopecia will usually experience gradual thinning of the hair, typically on the top of the scalp and some women notice their hairline receding. In a person with telogen effluvium, some body change or shock pushes more hairs into the telogen phase. Typically in this condition, about 30% of the hairs stop growing and go into the resting phase before falling out. So if you have telogen effluvium, you may lose an average of 300 hairs a day instead of 100.

If there are more than 100 hairs, this is compatible with telogen effluvium. If your doctor thinks a hormone problem, vitamin deficiency, or infection caused your hair loss, a blood test can help confirm the cause. If you have telogen effluvium, at least four hairs will come out with each pull. This treatment has been used for hormone-related hair loss (often in addition to minoxidil or finasteride) and is under study for telogen effluvium.

Patients who wish to take an active role in their treatment may choose to use minoxidil. They contain a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other substances. Telogen effluvium has many causes, often connected to a physical change or trauma. They can help determine what’s behind your hair loss and help develop an appropriate treatment plan for you.

This is because the “shock” of the environmental change causes your hair follicles to go into a resting state. When hair follicles are in a resting state, they don’t grow as they normally would. The main telogen effluvium symptom is an increase in the amount of hair a person sheds. It is a form of temporary hair loss that usually happens after stress, a shock, or a traumatic event. In most cases, your healthcare provider can diagnose telogen effluvium without any testing.

But if I had to guess, I think this will ultimately be diagnosed as telogen effluvium, with the triggers being stress, low iron, and maybe the birth control switch. It’s difficult to pinpoint a hero product since I attacked this from all angles, but I’d definitely say the Minoxidil made the biggest impact. Without it, I don’t know if my hair would have reentered the growth phase at all. The foam settled nicely into my problem areas, and I felt little to no discomfort upon application.

Thinning hair and hair loss can be stressful, especially for women who normally have a lot of hair, triggering feelings of shame or insecurity. Thinning hair in women can occur at any age and can take different forms, such as minor thinning on the crown of the head or complete baldness. According to Dr Shah, female pattern hair loss, also known as androgenetic alopecia, is common and can occur at any age. The most important aspect in the management of TE is counseling the patient about the natural history of the condition.

It should be distinguished from anagen effluvium, in which the hair shedding is due to interruption of active or anagen hair growth by drugs, toxins or inflammation (eg, alopecia areata). Telogen effluvium involves rapid shedding of hair over a short period. It typically happens a couple of months after your body goes through a physical or emotional stress.

If a measurable deficiency has been found, it should be corrected. Although the use of polyphenolic compounds such as those in green tea has been reported to improve hair loss in mice, no such controlled studies are available for humans [26]. There are various factors that can initiate disturbance in the normal hair cycle. Telogen effluvium is caused by an abnormality in the normal hair cycle, which is triggered by numerous factors. A good well-rounded diet is necessary for normal hair growth, and vitamin and or/mineral supplementation may need to be considered.

In chronic telogen effluvium, corticosteroids can be given systematically especially if telogen effluvium is the manifestation of underlying systemic disorder like SLE [28]. The major sign of course is the shedding of an abnormal amount of hair. One way to assess this is to avoid shampooing for 4-5 days and then shampoo and collect and count all the hairs that one finds in the sink before disposing of them down the drain.