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jimlad0407
| | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 10:53 am: | 
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Hi, Im hoping someone can help me here. I know i cant get a diagnoses from the internet but some pointers would really help!
Im a 25 year old male.
Over the last 2 months i started to have a burning scalp that had a shiny look to it. The burning was unbearable. With this i started to look at the hair i was losing, and it seemed an awful lot.
I kept trying different shampoos and after shampooing my hair would be bright pink and sore. It was also sore to touch and could barely brush my hair. I had to resort to either conditioner or baby shampoo.
Since then, it has gradually got better, still soreness but not as intense, my scalp is not shiny, but im beginning to see a lot of flaky skin and still a slight tingly burning sensation at the top of my head and now intense itching at the back and crown area. I also seem to have some sore hairs at the shaft, which tend to feel like someone is pricking me with a needle if i touch.
My hair is still falling out rapidly, and have noticed some considerable thinning. The hair that falls out seems to have the 'white bulb' and also has a blunt tip, which i presume means it has been cut.
I have also noticed some tiny tiny hairs falling out of my head, some of you can hardly see and are really wierd (similar to if i find an ingrowing hair on my leg)
There is no real MPB in my family, my dad has a slight recession at the age of 56, and my mothers dad had a perfect full head of hair when he died at 76.
Ive been to the doctors who has tested my blood. Thyroid all ok, iron perfect, and blood sugar spot on. I have slight temple recession which hasnt changed since i was 18 (i can keep tabs on it by a scar which is close by!)
Sorry for such a long post, but i wanted to give as much info as i possible could. Any of your thoughts would be grately appreciated as i know a lot of you seem to have more knowledge than dermatologists........again, i know i cant get a diagnoses off the internet but your views would be great!!
Thanks in advance |
Paulz
| | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 05:46 pm: |
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jimlad0407: Sorry to read your story about burning scalp and associated hairloss. I have been through the same thing with almost identical symptoms.
At age 18 I began with Burning Scalp Syndrome which is inflammation directly related to MPB. It is hard to treat and many derms dismiss it as a psychological problem because it is not well understood.
At times it is extremely painful and there is little that helps other than trying to relax the scalp muscles with an electric massager, or heat treatments such as a hot pulsating shower head, heat lamp treatments and hot sauna. You can try giving the burn the "cold shoulder" with a large ice pack and see if that helps to numb it out. I've also found that the mentholated sensation of Denorex Shampoo helps with this problem and reduces shedding levels. If your hair isn't too long try rubbing icy cold gels onto the scalp such as Mineral Ice.
I don't know if the scalp Exercises would be helpful in the early stages of hairloss but you might try Tom's approach in trying to keep the scalp elastic. What eventually happens in MPB is that the scalp tightens and thins out, and that can be very uncomfortable for some people including myself. Others don't even know they have scalp atrophy. It's just not well understood.
You might want to try an anti- inflammatory such as Advil. Other meds that can help during your worse flareups are antihisamines like Benadryl.
Derms might want to try topical meds and sometimes antidepressant drugs. Antidepressant meds have mutiple uses. They can help control pain by increasing the production of your own natural pain killing chemicals made in the brain.
Sorry for this long post,lol, but I know what your experiencing and these Ideas might give you a "head start" in controlling this problem, especially if it becomes debilitating. |
Downunder
| | Posted on Thursday, October 13, 2005 - 06:24 pm: |
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Jimlad,
The answer is just too simple for most and I can guarantee you will not accept it. Sorry if I am short in explanation (a lot on).
Intense burning is just that your scalp has deteriorated to a very bad state in a short period of time (numerous reasons). Also as your mind stresses it changes blood flow that can intensify the problem.
The immediate solution is to continually massage your head. When you feel the burning, massage it and the sensation should be relieved for some time. It will come back, repeat massage again. People say "But it is only temporary", yes, but the cycles shall slowly get longer and the burning less. You need to decrease inflamation, get the flexibility back, blood flow restored etc and this is a slow process.
As you start to gain some control over your scalp you can bring in SE's if you wish.
Fingers/hands stationary on head, do not rub. |
daver
| | Posted on Friday, October 14, 2005 - 09:31 am: |
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I get a hot scalp too, but it actually felt like it "burned" right after i shampood. So i stopped shampooing and it stopped burning. that was easy..
d |
jimlad0407
| | Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2005 - 02:19 pm: |
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Thanks very much for you responses. I am very thankful to you all for even just reading my long post!!!
I also forget to mention that i had this same condition about this time last year which went away.....but i dont know how!! I also used hair gel last year which i put on everyday....could this have masked the pain? I now wear my hair natural (no styling products) ever since i felt the pain this time......dont know whether this is relevance. Any question is could me using hair gel everyday have caused problems with my scalp.
Again, any response would be greatly appreciated |
jimlad0407
| | Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2005 - 03:16 pm: |
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sorry, i forgot to mention, i have also noticed loads of black dots on my scalp. Are these regrowing hairs?? |
Downunder
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 12:43 am: |
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Could it have masked the pain? Well "Yes" it could have and "No" it may not have, who knows on this? It is more probable that hair gel causes a longer term sensation on the scalp and often people get used to it. It could be a mild tingling to burning, this may have masked such a sensation as you mentioned. But there is no way of knowing.
Could hair gel have caused problems? Oh Yes. It will depend on the hair gel, chemicals used etc. More often than not they are causing some damage, there are few natural products on the market in this area. There are a few sites on the web which outline many of the aggressive and damaging chemicals, SLS etc.
Black dots??? What the...
1)If you are talking about small dots that look more like a black-head, yes this may be a hair coming through, but it should not be too long to see it.
2) Could just be pores in the skin you are over-analysing.
3) Could be something serious which you would be advised to get someone to look at.
4) Some people who have hair chemically damaged and it is effectively burnt off. The re-growth (or continuation of growth) can look like black dots as the hair is part-way through the cycle. These can be quite black in appearance.
5) Something else? |
Anagen
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 01:17 pm: |
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"Could hair gel have caused problems? Oh Yes."
There is no correlation between hair gel use and MPB. Mechanical stress could only cause some minor temporary loss due to breakage.
Clogging pores is not an issue only a scam artist argument, ingrown hairs travel a long way into skin. Gel chemicals are probably not a lot worse than chemicals contained in everyday shampoos.
People tend to attribute their loss to factors they can easily control and feel a bit better. |
Anagen
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 01:27 pm: |
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jimlad:
Start using a ketoconazole shampoo and see if it helps. Inflammation is a cause/result of MPB. The fact that you cannot track MPB in your family tree says nothing. I can't either.
Visit a dermatologist asap.
Downunder:
Massaging will not reduce inflammation, it will probably exacerbate it and further irritate his already oversensitive skin. Inflammation in this case is not subclinical- he is talking about pain and red skin. Massage is not a panacea and is not proven to help with hairloss. |
Downunder
| | Posted on Sunday, October 16, 2005 - 08:24 pm: |
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Anagen
I enjoy different views, yours seems to be medical and chemical.
Where in the statement "Could hair gel have caused problems? Oh Yes." did I say MPB or a correlation with it? I did not say gels are the cause of MPB, I think this would be silly considering may suffers have never used gel.
I agree that "Gel chemicals are probably not a lot worse than chemicals contained in everyday shampoos.", but I disagree that all shampoo or gel chemicals are proven to be safe. In fact some shampoos use known carsenagens, known irritants, untested chemicals etc. Companies make shampoos for the appearance (body, bounce etc), not hairs health in many cases.
Considering jimlad said "I kept trying different shampoos and after shampooing my hair would be bright pink and sore. It was also sore to touch and could barely brush my hair. I had to resort to either conditioner or baby shampoo." Jimlad is saying he found a correlation with various shampoo use and irritation.
A person may experience pain in their legs due to let us say "laziness". A physiotherapist may start to mobilise it, each time a little pain is experienced, some time for recovery and then repeat it, the patient might rather not go through this. In the end it gets better, they can lead a normal life. Alternative, prescribe painkiller and anti-inflammatory "ABC" problem solved.
Depends on what is the cause and how you wish to solve it. |
Anagen
| | Posted on Monday, October 17, 2005 - 01:47 am: |
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Where in the statement "Could hair gel have caused problems? Oh Yes." did I say MPB or a correlation with it? I did not say gels are the cause of MPB, I think this would be silly considering may suffers have never used gel. >
I felt obliged to clear this up. People tend to freak out for the wrong reasons around here.
Companies make shampoos for the appearance (body, bounce etc), not hairs health in many cases. >
I couldn't agree more.
Depends on what is the cause and how you wish to solve it.>
joint and skin problems have a completely different physiology. |
Downunder
| | Posted on Monday, October 17, 2005 - 06:50 pm: |
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Anagen
Can you (anyone else welcome) give me your comments on:
1) Assuming the scalp deteriorates and therefore blood flow is restricted in some manner compared to the healthy condition. The blood flow in has a net restriction on it, increasing pressure slightly. Therefore couldn't swelling be a symptom? Why do you think not?
2) If the scalp environment deteriorates the ability to remove chemicals & toxins may be impeded. The consequence may be swelling. Please comment why not?
Also both could happen.
I am interested in your comments or any evidence you believe is important in relation to why this could not occur.
For others. This is NOT related to a surface skin problem, rash etc. As mentioned previously see an expert on such matters. |
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