HAIR TODAY GONE TOMORROW

I recently had surgery with general anesthesia and upon returning home and recuperating I started to notice a lot of my hair by the drain of the shower. At first I didn't think much of it until it kept happening every time I took a shower. So, at my post-op check up with my doctor I informed her about my hair loss. She calmed my anxiety by telling me that surgery and general anesthesia can cause temporary hair loss and not to be concerned because your hair will grow back. And you know what? She was right.

This experience caused me to look into women's hair loss. We all hear so much about men's hair loss, well what about the ladies? I did some research on Web MD and this is what I have found out. There are real medical conditions that cause hair loss and those should be treated by a doctor and then there are some issues that cause temporary hair loss and these are the ones I am going to mention.

The issues:

• Hormone havoc. Post-partum and post-menopausal women can experience hair loss due to changes in hormones.
• Being anemic (iron deficiency)or having thyroid disease can cause hair loss.
• Watch what you eat. Crash diets, bulimia, protein and calorie deficiencies can also cause your hair to fall out.
• Stop stressin'. Stress, you know we all have it, whether it's emotional stress or the stress placed on a body from surgery and general anesthesia can cause hair loss.
• Also, some prescription medications can cause you to lose hair.

Just the facts ma'am; because you notice your hair at the bottom of the shower doesn't mean you are losing too much hair. Hair usually grows about 1/2 an inch a month. The normal growth phase of a strand of hair is 2-6 years. Once the hair completes this growth cycle it falls out and a new strand begins to grow. Average hair loss is 100 hairs per day! (Yes that is correct, 100 hairs per DAY).

So, don't do what I did and panic that all my hair is going to fall out. We all lose some hair and that is normal but there are some people who suffer from real hair loss and those individuals should be seen by a doctor. Please keep in touch and let me know about if you have experienced temporary hair loss. Till then! B.