If you suffer from hair loss, curling hair or even a change in the color of your hair, it’s possible that it isn’t your genetics acting up, but rather the medication you are taking. Some medication can damage the hair’s growing phases but the good news: it’s reversible. What medication can cause a problem and what can be done about it?

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Did you wake up with hair left behind on your pillow? Is your hair dry or unnaturally curly? Has the color of your hair faded? Don’t rush to blame your mother’s gene pool. It is possible that the reason for your damaged hair is actually the medication you’re on.

Any medication can cause side effects, some more common and some not as much. One of the side effects people tend to disregard is hair damaged, and apparently many medications are related to some extent. In most cases the damage is reversible, and maybe that is why that possibility is usually ignored.

In most cases, the medication affects the hair by intervening in the growth mechanism, which has three phases. During the initial phase, which lasts for about four years, the hair grows from follicles in the scalp at a rate of about 1 cm a month. This is followed by a “resting” phase, which lasts three months, during which the hair stops growing, and finally falls out. After three months, the hair follicle starts re-growing new hair; fortunately this event happens randomly all over the scalp – otherwise the hair would grow in patches while other areas of the scalp would remain bald. All phases are vulnerable to the effects of medications.

While chemotherapy to treat malignancies is well-known to cause hair loss, it is not the only cause for concern. Medication that treats blood pressure, acne, depression and even pain killers can all damage your hair. Other medications can change the hair color from brown to red, and some can cause hair to change from straight to curly. The hair damage can last up to a year after you’ve finished taking the medication. Fortunately, these changes are generally reversible, and in most cases, the hair goes back to the way it was.

So what medication can damage the hair? Below is a list of the common ones. And just before you start panicking, remember that in most cases the hair is only temporarily damaged, and it returns to the way it was with the end of the treatment. Note that it is unwise to stop any treatment without medical consultation – such a sudden disruption of the medical treatment, without medical observation, can be very dangerous.

1.       Antidepressants

Some types of these medications can stimulate hair loss during the “resting phase” of the hair’s growth. As stated earlier, this phase lasts three months. One of the common antidepressants associated with a high rate of hair loss is Prozac. The hair may keep falling out for about a year from the time the treatment starts, but it starts growing again when the treatment is stopped.

Another class that can cause hair loss comprises the tricyclic antidepressants (such as imipramine, amitriptyline and doxepin). With these medications as well, hair loss is temporary and the hair grows back when the treatment is stopped.

Lithium, used for bipolar disorder (manic depression) has been observed to cause hair thinning in studies. This phenomenon can happen 4-6 months after the treatment begins.

2.       Medications against epilepsy and migraines

Sodium valproate is an anti-seizure medication, often used in combination with other epilepsy medications, and after other treatments have failed. Research shows that that it can also prevent migraine attacks, and so during recent years this medication has also been used in individuals who suffer from highly frequent and very strong migraines.

The medication can cause hair loss at a rate of 3%-10% of the patients. In addition, the medication can cause curly hair.

3.       Psoriasis medications

It might not be lethal, but many people have it. This incurable disease causes a rapid division of skin cells, which causes itchiness and dandruffs. Today, there is a variety of medications that promise a certain amount of relief.

One of these medications, acitretin, might make the hair darker in some patients. Another medication, etretinate, actually lightens the hair color from a shade of black-brown to a red-brown within three months. Even the hair’s texture might change following treatment with these medications. Scientists believe that the medications interfere with the hair’s root structure, which is what causes the curly or even dented hair.

According to one theory, these medications affect the hair cells, damage its structure, and change the melanin pigment amount which accumulates in the hair and gives it its color. Apparently, this change causes the change of color and the hair to curl. In any case, the hair will return to its former state at the end of the treatment.

4.       Birth control pills

Hair loss has been reported frequently among women who take birth control pills over a long period of time. According to one of the theories, the birth control pills – especially those containing the hormone progesterone – diminish the male hormone testosterone, which lowers the chances of hair loss. However, when the treatment is stopped, a hormonal change occurs which causes an increase in the levels of testosterone hormone and risk of hair loss.

Fortunately, these hair changes are very slight, and even when the hair loss occurs, the hair grows back after a while.

5.       Acne medications

Retinoids, a medication group which caused a revolution in the acne treatment, are derivatives of vitamin A. These medications are very popular among dermatologists to treat many problems, especially moderate to severe acne.

However among some of the patients using this medication, it might cause hair loss. The risk of hair loss increases as the dosage grows. The hair loss can happen not only on the scalp, but in other bodily regions.

Vitamin A should actually protect the hair follicles from being damaged, but the high dose found in the medication can cause damage to hair follicles and eventually can lead to hair loss. These medications have such a powerful effect over the keratin creating cells – the same substance from which hair is made – that they can cause a change in the hair’s density, the way the hair looks, and even its color.

6.       Pain killers

A small number of studies found a link between hair loss and the popular medication ibuprofen, used to treat pain. This is an NSAID drug, which acts by diminishing inflammatory processes without steroids.

One of the studies showed that this is a rare phenomenon that affects one in every 100 patients. Another study revealed that among 21 users, 15 reported hair loss – nearly three-fourths. However, after the medication was stopped, the hair loss stopped as well, within about 9 months.

7.       Hypertension medication

One of the more popular class of medications for hypertension is beta blockers. The medications in this family (such as deralin and prolol) are effective both for hypertension and a rapid pulse, and even for prevention of migraines. However, in a small number of cases, it can cause temporary hair loss. Another popular family of antihypertensive drugs that can cause hair loss is the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (“ACE inhibitor”) group.

8.       Blood thinners

Blood thinners have revolutionized patient treatment and saved many lives. The medication delays certain processes in the complicated chain of blood clotting, and thus prevents the creation of deadly blood clots that can cause strokes and heart attacks and can block the blood supply to various other major organs and cause failure and death.

Using blood thinners as a treatment is not only for those suffering from clotting disorders, but sometimes for preventive treatment before and after surgeries, or for those bed bound for a long period of time. Due to poor blood flow, the blood thinners prevent blood clots from forming, and help maintain a steady blood flow to the organs.

There are several medications in the blood thinner group that are associated with hair loss. Some of the more common are low molecular weight heparins (LMWH), which can harm hair follicles and cause hair loss, according to various studies. In rare cases, the drug warfarin (coumadin) can also cause hair loss.

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What can be done? It is recommended to examine the problem with a dermatologist and see if any of the medications you take may be causing your hair problem. If necessary, it may be  possible to switch to drugs that won’t harm the hair, or to lower the dose you are taking to an amount that has less of a negative impact.

Get more health tips from the Trim Down Club.

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Comments 3

  1. I have always been the envy of full head of hair but now my hair is falling out!
    Read and researched everything about hair loss. Then I read pain killer ibuprofen, two months I suffered from
    back problem and then broke my big toe, all that time I was taking ibuprofen. I am ok now but my hair
    still dropping but not as bad but I was relieved to know this.

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