You love the way your hair looks, but you've noticed changes in it. What you may be thinking, perhaps that you are just getting older or that you need to choose a better product, may not be what's behind these changes. Rather, it is very common for changes in hair, including hair loss, to occur due to medications that many people take. Medications can alter the body's hormone balance as well as provide a range of changes to your overall composition. When this happens, it can leave your follicles struggling to maintain your hair. What causes this? What can you do about it?
What Medications Can Cause Hair Loss?
The only way to know for sure if medication is behind your hair loss is to look at the side effects for the product you are taking. Keep in mind that both over-the-counter and prescription medications can often cause hair loss. Even some supplements can if you are not taking them properly. The following are some of the most commonly prescribed medications that can lead to hair loss or thinning hair:
- Medications for gout: This includes Allopurinol that treats gout, including Zyloprim and Lopurin.
- Beta-blockers used to reduce the workload of your heart and often to reduce blood pressure: This includes Metoprolol (Lopressor), Propranolol (Inderal), Timolol (Blocadren), Atenolol (Tenormin).
- Medications used as blood thinners, which can help to prevent blood clots and prevent complications from heart disease, stroke, and other conditions: Warfarin sodium (Coumadin, Sofarin, Panwarfarin) and heparin injections.
- Antidepressants: Amitriptyline (Elavil, Endep), Parozetine (Paxil), Dozepin (Adapin and Sinequan), Clomipramine (Anafranil), Amaapine (Asendin) and Trimipramine (Surmontil).
- Vitamin A: In large doses, such as in acne medications isotretinoin (Accutane).
- Anticonvulsants: Also known as anti-seizure medications, such as Trimethadione (Tridione) and valproic acid (Depakote).
- There are many others that can potentially cause hair loss in men and women. This includes female and male hormone medications, oral contraceptives, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors) used as a type of blood pressure medication.
What Can You Do About It?
The first step is to discuss your situation with your doctor. There are often steps you can take to improve the outcome of your situation.
- Discuss with your doctor if your dosage is right for you. Oftentimes, the lowest possible dose for a medication should be used and higher dosages can often lead to a higher amount of risk for additional side effects. Ensure you are on the lowest dose.
- Determine, along with your doctor's help, if there is an alternative medication that may work for you that has a reduced chance of side effects. Not all medications in the same treatment family, in fact, will have the same side effects.
- If you are having a serious side effect in which a lot of hair is lost, talk to your doctor about it right away. There may be an underlying factor contributing to your hair loss. Your doctor may want to change the medication - you should never stop taking a medication, though, without your doctor's consent.
- Start working towards improving your diet. In some situations, you can minimize the impact of the hair loss by improving the health quality of your diet. The added nutrients can help to give your hair the healthy boost it needs to remain healthy long term.
- Correct the underlying problem if possible. For example, if you are taking high blood pressure medications that are causing hair loss brought on by weight concerns, work to drop those pounds. This may not be possible in all cases, but it can help encourage a healthy lifestyle.
The fact is, you need medications and you should not stop taking them because of your hair loss. However, you can give your hair added nutrients through a boost in your diet. In doing so, you could see significant improvement in the way your hair looks and feels. You may even find that a healthy diet, exercise, and even better products can give you the added shine and healthy look you desire. Be sure to clue your doctor into what is happening, too, since hair loss can be a symptom of other health ailments. In addition, you may want to contact a hair loss professional to learn about hair loss prevention treatment options.
