How concerned do I have to be that my hair is falling out?

It could be anything from poor nutrition to a serious medical condition. I can pull out a bunch of strands by running my fingers through my hair a few times. Probably ten or twelve strands, and I’m fine. :)

If you’re concerned, talk to your doctor.

You should have some blood work done and let a doctor diagnos you. It could be nothing or it could be some type of illness. Better to know for sure.

You should talk to your doctor. @asmonet @chyna already beat me to it, but it could be harmless, it could be serious. Better safe than sorry.

I’d go to the doctor…could be stress, too. Are you stressed?

@Dutchess12 Im always stressed its nothing new so I dont think stress is it. But I dont know could be

Well, excessive stress over a long period of time still could have caused it. Either way, I’d have it checked out.

Stress can definitely have that effect.
Go to your doctor, maybe he could help with the stress, and the hair loss all in one go? :)

‘Mo, why aren’t you at the bookstore? >:(

Son of a…. Leaving!

That’s what I thought you said. ;)

Doctor time.

It could be just hair breakage which happens a lot this time of year. The winter always does a number on my hair, I just had to go buy some new shampoo for breakage defense because I seem to be seeing more hair coming out when I brush it.

Kelly has a good thought…..can you tell if it’s entire strands of hair?

@Dutchess12 My hair is fairly long so yeah I can tell . . .they are full strands

Doctor time. You might touch base with Benny too….

You should PM Michael/shilolo… he’s a doctor, so he might know. ;)

I have hypothyroidism which causes hair loss and my hair to be very thin. Maybe you should check that out with your doctor. A few other symtoms of it are being tired, cold, and being forgetfull.

@lrhar487 Though those symptoms might be perceived as vague I can relate to them. I’m not sure how thin is very thin but i have to look into that.

If you’re worried that it may be a medical condition, see a doctor.

If you’re concerned about losing hair as a natural part of aging, there are a number of treatments available.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic Im 18 . . .well Ill be 19 in 2 weeks so I dont think my hair is falling out/ thining in old age.

How’s the history of hair in your family. Some men start losing their hair very early due to genetics. Mine is purely a layman opinion but if you feel it’s unusual, get it checked out.
I worked with a guy in his 20s that had a medical condition that made all the hair on his scalp fall put remarkably quickly but other than baldness, there were no other effects from his condition.

@The_Compassionate_Heretic Im a girl so I dont know how genetics works into that. My boyfriend and his brother balded younger.. . .but im not balding but very . . .shedy

I made an assumption that you were a man. I apologize for that.

My hair is doing the same thing right now, Everytime run my fingers thru my hair I end up with at least a couple of hairs in my hand, but when I comb it out after a shower, there are at least like 20 strands in the comb.

@cheebdragon do you know why thats happening?

You lose hair everyday, it’s normal.
If there’s a dramatic increase or you’re worrying….See your doctor.

@live_rose, no, but I have dyed my hair a lot in the past 10 years and that could have something to do with it, but these are full length hairs, and not just breakage. I’m going to pick up some Nioxen shampoo, a lot of people use it when going thru chemo to keep their hair from falling out.

Ok well put it this way when I was 18 is when I was diagnosed with a thyroid problem. I was overly tired all the time no matter how much sleep I got. I went 2 days with only getting up to go to the bathroom and eat. As far as the cold thing, everyone around me would be hot and I would be cold, and the memory I will always forget things like I will go to do something and forget before I get there. The thin hair I have from it is basically theres not long large spots of hair missing but over the course of 10 years since i first got it at 18 now if i dont part my hair on a certain side you can see my scalp cause its that thin. Also very dry skin and weight gain are also symtoms. Hope this is a little more info than last time

@mangeons does that mean shilolo’s name is michael?! i’m shocked! lol

@casheroo Um… yes.

Mangeons, no one knows! Shhh!

@asmonet like yours is supposed to be a secret but you said it in chat and twitter! you name spreading whore

I used to make it a super secret, I don’t want it on Fluther proper, but chat and Twitter is fine, I choose who views that. ;)

I’m not concerned anymore. None left. You should be.

Patrick Stewart has no business in this thread.

Where is he?

Gee, I wonder.

It’s an avatar, @asmonet. Are you the Painter Monet’s ass?

This has happened to me a few times before, once because of a vitamin deficiency, another time because I was really stressed and losing weight too quickly, and once when I dyed my hair at home.

It was a joke, are you without humor?

I am humourless, Sir.

I notice if I go too long without showering, that my hair tends to fall out a LOT more after I finally take a shower. Like, a startling amount. But when I go back to showering once a day or every other day, it’s normal again.

Also… echoing what others said about hitting up a doctor if the rate of hair loss has ramped up recently. My aunt thought her diet was a raging success when she dropped 20 lbs, but when her hair started falling out she went in. They almost didn’t catch her cancer.

@3or4monsters: That’s cause all the hair gets stuck in there, you’re not losing more, you’re just playing catch up and removing debris. I get it too, especially when it’s been in a ponytail because it’s slightly greasy.

The real question is, how concerned do you want to be? There may be medical reasons for this or it’s just your genes, but either way, I urge you not to keep it in perspective rather than make it a crisis. I speak from experience. My brother started losing his hair in his 30s and for the past 30 years has bored everyone he knows by bitching and moaning and railing against God for his “misfortune.” he looks great, but he refuses to believe it.