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The general feeling on hair is that it grows at a constant rate, and nothing really can influence its growth. I have not found that to be true personally, though. There seems to be two things to consider: how fast the hair grows and how much you lose each day, as far as the overall appearance goes.
What I have noticed affects both is stress, both physical and emotional. There seems to be much faster hair growth and much less hair loss during low stress times. The hair loss especially seems to be caused by physical stress such as illness, pregnancy/delivery, and injury. It is almost as though the body is using all of its energy for other things and the hair is a lower priority.
Very poor diets (especially very low protein diets) can cause hair loss as well, but I am not sure if any special diet improves the hair growth (although there are lots of people out there selling "hair growth supplements" and making lots of money. Whether these supplements actually do anything is questionable.)
There are some hairstyles that predispose to hair loss: tight braiding, or styles that pull at the hair excessively. You would want to avoid these. Also, it is not necessary to do the "100 strokes" brushing of the hair. Be gentle with your hair, not using harsh chemicals or too much heat on it.
There is a medication called minoxidil which is over-the-counter in America, which works well to promote hair growth. The only problem with it is when you stop using it, the hair falls out....
What I would recommend is reducing the stress in your life: make sure you are eating as well as possible, getting enough rest, seeing a counselor if emotional problems or serious conflicts in your family exist, making sure your spiritual side is cared for (prayer and/or meditation are great stress-relievers!), and making sure you are getting daily exercise. This will do the most for your hair.
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I have been diagnosed with porphyria cutanea tarda. I was told to avoid alcohol, certain prescription drugs that I have been taking for pain & avoid the sun as much as possible, wear sun screen & sun protection clothing. I have done whatever the doctor has told me. I really don't understand what the disease is. The alternative treatment was to drain out some of my blood 1 or 2 times a month but that was ruled out because my blood test shows that I am on the high side of being anemic & if they drained blood it would make me anemic. The other treatment was medication they treat malaria with & I opted not to take it because of the possible side effects. I would really like to know what this is & what conditions this could lead to & how serious it is. I am an outdoor type person, it is hard to avoid the sun. My hands are scarred from this & they bleed & cut easilly.
Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT) is a skin condition that is caused by an abnormal enzyme in the liver. This enzyme would normally work on the breakdown of old blood hemoglobin, to recycle the iron, but in PCT, the breakdown is not complete. This condition causes an abnormally large amount of a substance called porphyrin (say: POOR-fear-in) to be in the body, which collects in the skin. This causes the skin to deteriorate, as you have described. PCT is thought to be genetic, but usually starts after exposure to various chemicals, such as alcohol, estrogen, and polychlorinated aromatic hydrocarbons (found in some pesticides).
The reason for the blood donations is that the faulty hemoglobin breakdown causes a lot of iron to be in your system, and if not withdrawn from the body can cause damage to other organs. It is only done if iron levels are high.
Other problems that can occur in PCT are abnormal function of the liver in other ways, diabetes (from too much iron in the blood), and lupus. Sometimes scarring or hardening of the skin, excess facial hair, or permanent baldness can occur if the condition is ignored. So it is important to follow your doctor's instructions carefully and get regular checkups.
A site you may want to look at is: http://www.dermnet.org.nz, look in the skin conditions section, there is a good article on PCT. The direct link seems to keep kicking you back to the home page, so start here first.
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What is scabies and what are the symptoms? How do you know if you have them?
Scabies is a parasite infection of the skin. It causes itching and a rash, usually on the hands, but it could be on the groin area or over the body too. Babies tend to get it under the arms. The best thing to do is to see your doctor. There is prescription medication available that easily cures it.
This page last modified February 2001
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