Can stress cause hair fall?

Question

Hi doctor,

My girlfriend is 20 years old. She recently started losing her hair. Now, within two and a half months you can see her scalp near the front of her head and the very back of her head. It happened suddenly. And now she is pulling her hair out in clumps throughout the day. I have also noticed that her eyes are very dark and she complaints of being tired. She does not sleep well at night either. Her job has been stressing her out lately. She is working as a teacher for the past two years and managing kindergarten kids. What I really want to know is, can there be such a rapid hair loss due to stress of her job? Or is it something worse? I have almost ruled out thyroid. She is perfectly healthy. I have a thyroid problem and her symptoms are not similar to mine. And it does not run in the family too. Please help with her problem.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Let me explain everything about hair fall.

100-150 hair fall every day is very normal. So, it should be considered as hair loss only if the number of hair falls more than this. Generalized hair fall in female is mostly due to stress, poor sleep, poor nutrition and excessive blood loss due to menstruation. Stress alopecia is also common in which female keeps their hair very tight in certain manner which creates tension in root and cause hair fall. Straightening and other procedure also cause weakness of root. Other conditions like fever, typhoid, malaria, thyroid, etc., can also cause hair fall, but these are less common.

Regarding treatment, have good sleep. Eat proper food with green vegetables and fruits. Take Iron and multivitamin like Follihair for at least three months. Check your blood hemoglobin. If it is less, then she should start iron and folic acid supplement. Also, check thyroid and diabetes to rule out other cause.

Thank you.