If you have a diabetes condition & suddenly start losing your hair, there is a possibility that you may be experiencing a diabetes-related hair loss. A careful look at the basic information & facts about hair loss & diabetes may help us understand better why there might be an actual connection between the two.
Hair Basics
Before we look into the diabetes & hair loss link, it’s important to first understand both diabetes & hair loss basics. Head hair may seem to have no functional use other than as an appearance enhancer. Nonetheless, it’s still very much a part of the human body. Your hair will therefore stand to benefit or suffer from whatever you put in your body & whatever is going on in your body in general.
The hair actually has a root & a hair follicle located in the scalp from which hair strands grow & are nourished. The best way to naturally nourish the hair is through the bloodstream which transports hair nourishing nutrients to the scalp. Insufficient intake of nutrients or poor blood circulation may therefore affect hair growth & health.
Hair Loss Basics
Not all cases of hair loss in diabetic persons may be attributed to diabetes alone. It’s only a possibility. It’s therefore important to seek out the real cause of hair loss in your condition through the process of eliminating other possible causes before tagging diabetes as its cause.
One other factor of hair loss is through genetics & heredity. 95% of people suffering from hair loss have androgenetic alopecia. This is a hair loss condition brought about by genetic make-up & hormonal activities in the body. Because both conditions have their sources in genetics, it may be more hard to identify which condition is causing your hair loss.
Hair Loss & Diabetes
The connection between diabetes & hair loss can be established best by looking at the nature of diabetes & what it does to the body. Diabetes is a condition in which people either can not produce insulin or can not respond properly to it… When this happens, glucose can not always enter the body cells to provide energy. Since glucose has nowhere else to go, it will start collecting in the bloodstream. With high blood sugar levels, fat deposits may also begin to attach on blood vessel walls, effectively clogging blood passageways. There is more. This results in improper blood flow & poor circulation.
As previously explained, the hair’s source of primary nutrition is the blood. Poor circulation may mean poor hair health. Poor blood flow can also result in infections & skin irritations among diabetics. There is more. The scalp is of course still a part of the skin which may be infected too & result in hair loss.
Dietary Conditions
People with both diabetes & hair loss may have a tougher time dealing with hair loss. Usual cases of hair loss are treated with nutritional supplementation & proper diet. Those with diabetes & hair loss however have to take into consideration the graver condition of diabetes. Eating an unregulated amount of even the most nutritious foods may result in drastic glucose spikes. Consult your doctor first before dealing with your hair loss.
Are hair loss & skin irritations the only effects of diabetes Find out more diabetes care FAQs from Andy Rowde.
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