I'm starting to get really worried

by Brook
(Texas)

Hi, I am a 24 year old female. I started to notice my hair loss about 3 months ago when I was sweeping the floor and was surprised by all the hair that was there.

I moved abroad in late August and started to notice changes in mid December. I lose hair in the shower, when I brush my hair and even just sitting. It comes out by the bulb and seems to be everywhere! When I get up from my seat at work you can see where I have been sitting by all of the stray hairs on the ground.

No one around seems to understand how scary it is to have so much hair coming out a day. I have always had very thick hair but I can definitely tell that it has thinned out in the past few months...how could it not with all the hair that is coming out?

I finally went to the Dr. this week and she ran liver, thyroid, hormone, CBC, and anemia tests. My blood tests all came back in the normal range and she didn't really have any further advice to give me.

I haven't had any stress over the past few months except for the normal adjustments to another country/culture and my weight and eating habits haven't changed drastically.
If you have any advice I would really appreciate it.

Editor Comments,

Dear Brook,

I guess your condition should be just a mild case of Telogen Effluvium triggered by a sudden change in location. Sometimes it’s just a period of adjustments that your body needs to go through when you move to a new country. Maybe it could be the stress caused when you were moving the house or handling the paperwork? There are infinite reasons for this and you might not even notice it.

Since your blood test came back normal, there shouldn’t be anything else that you need to do for the meantime. Anyhow, some basic tips that I recommend are to observe the current hair fall to see whether the condition is improving or deteriorating, making sure that you are having a balanced diet and you are getting sufficient rest as well. If your condition does not improve (highly unlikely) then I advise you to ask your dermatologist to see whether there are any other issues like scalp conditions.

Sometimes hair breakages can be mistaken for hair loss too, so you might want to pay attention to the fallen hair to see whether the hair has the bulb at the end. If you are using a new shampoo, or just undergone a chemical hair treatment like straightening, hair dyeing then there are chances for damaged and brittle hair that can fall off easily as well.

In the meantime, you might want to take some Vitamin B supplements or Viviscal to help improve your hair growth rate for recovery.