Hairloss and RA: Why and How to Cope


RA comes with friends, a.k.a. comorbidities and this medication side effects. These are not always that visible, but one, usually rare, "friend" is: hair loss. Like we don't have enough to deal with.

In my new post for HealthCentral, I look at the causes of hair loss related to RA and what you can do to cope:

"Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) can cause pain and fatigue and you might come to accept that. But hair loss? Yes, unfortunately it’s true that hair loss can affect people with RA. This article will look at the causes and how to cope.

RA and hair loss

 RA is a systemic autoimmune disease. It doesn’t just affect the joints, but also other systems in the body, such as tendons, the vascular system, and internal organs. It can also affect your skin and because this is where the hair follicles are located, it may have an impact on your hair.

When you have one autoimmune disease, you are more likely to develop additional autoimmune diseases. One of these is alopecia areata, which causes loss of hair centralized on the scalp, or all over the body. Corticosteroids, steroid shampoo, or minoxidil may help alopecia localized on the scalp, but treatment is more challenging when it affects the whole body."

Read the rest of the post about hair loss and RA on HealthCentral.

Comments

Rick Phillips said…
It is too late for me. But it might not have been RA. it might be that I come from a long line od men who lose their hair. Still, perhaps I have an excuse now. PS: I just consulted with Sheryl. Nope, she says not the RA.
8:37 PM
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