Medical Questions » Hair Questions » Question No. 452
| Question: | What causes baldness? I' m only 18 now, but I don' t want to be like my father when I' m older. |
| Answer: | By far the most common form of baldness is that caused by hereditary tendencies in men. If your father or grandfather was bald, you have a chance of developing the same problem. There is no cure for this other than wigs or hair transplants. This type of baldness does not occur in women.
There are many other causes for patchy or diffuse hair loss including ageing, skin diseases, stress, male menopause, lack of iron or zinc, an underactive thyroid gland, drugs (particularly rhose used to treat cancer) and a dozen or more rare diseases. Because of this, it is important for anyone with rapidly thinning hair, or patchy hair loss, that is not obviously due to an hereditary tendency, to see a doctor for thorough investigation and treatment as soon as possible.
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