Imagine becoming so sick that your hair falls out. Is that even possible? Hair loss or hair shedding can happen for many reasons. Sometimes it occurs as a result of high levels of stress on the body. When this is the case, you can count on a variety of factors influencing your hair loss and whether or not it improves. Every situation is different. Take a look at what can happen in some situations, but be sure to speak to your doctor about any hair loss you experience if you’ve been sick.
What Does a High Fever Mean?
Your body is under attack by a virus or a bacterial infection. When this happens, the body does everything it can to fight back. That includes raising your temperature as it works harder to fight off the invading germs. Sometimes, a fever can get very high when this occurs. While medications are often used to reduce that fever, the reason for it may still be playing out in your body.
For example, if you have a very bad cold, medications can help to bring the fever down. However, it is still up to the immune system to continue to work to get rid of the germs causing your illness. That fever is a sign of just how hard your body is working.
As it does this, the body is pulling energy from other functions that are deemed less important for health and function. That includes growing hair. When that happens, it can cause a sudden and sometimes significant amount of hair shedding to occur. Your hair follicles will not grow hair, which can cause some to fall out before it should within the normal hair growth cycle.
There may not be anything worse than starting to feel better from this type of illness just to have yourself losing hair. Yet, that can happen. It is not the most common occurrence – not everyone with a fever will experience this type of hair shedding.
What Happens When You Lose Your Hair?
Your body will work to overcome the illness over time. Your immune system will get it back in control. Healing takes place at the cellular level. Throughout this healing process, other systems turned off or turned down during the illness come back online. That means your hair will start to grow back in most cases.
Keep in mind that having a high fever and hair loss does not automatically mean that the fever is the underlying cause of that hair loss. New medications and stress on the body, in general, can cause it to occur. Most people will see a return to normal, though, after some time.
The problem here, though, is that it will take time. Your hair will restart, but it will go back to the normal three-month growth cycle. That means it could take some months before you start to see hair coming back in at your normal levels. It takes that long for your body to get back on track.
What to Do If You Notice Hair Shedding?
If you notice clumps of hair falling out, it is important to speak to your doctor about it. He or she may need to ensure this is not due to the disease or illness itself nor due to the medications or treatments that you are undergoing. In some cases, your doctor may tell you it is a side effect. However, what is most important for you to remember is that hair shedding is most often a side effect, not the cause of your illness. That means that as long as you recover, you should see your hair growth return to normal.
You may be able to help this to happen. Improve your diet so that you are consuming more healthy nutrients such as a higher level of greens and fruits. You also want to work to boost your immune system, if at all possible. This can also help to reduce the overall complications on your hair growth cycle.
Over time, most people should see a return to their normal hair growth. If you do not see this after two to three months, be sure to speak to your doctor about this, too.
Contact the hair specialists at Unique Hair Concepts to learn more.
