Does Bulimia Cause Hair Loss?
When we see someone suffering hair loss, we mostly think that aging must have caused it. Or perhaps it could result from the treatment process with chemotherapy, some stressors, and different types of alopecia. Maybe as different from others, it is trichotillomania (which we refer it as compulsive hair pulling). But we don’t think that it might result from eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia, etc. We consider these disorders when only we experience the same symptoms. In fact, people of all ages and both men and women who might suffer from eating disorders usually experience hair shedding. And in some cases, they also experience thinning hair and balding areas in their head.
Let’s start with what hair loss is. Everyone could experience hair shedding in certain aspects of their lifespan. You could be a rich, poor, woman, man, famous or regular person, it doesn’t matter. Apparently, hair loss does not discriminate against any men and women. Although it is considered natural, when it reveals at an early age, it might be very stressful for people. Imagine how life would be if you lost a huge amount of your hair at the beginning of your 20s.
Alopecia is the medical literature name of hair loss. It is an autoimmune condition, which makes your hair shed. This shed is usually in small patches, or it begins with coin-sized partial losses. Some of these lost areas are noticeable, and some of them are not. Loss amount changes among people. However, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) says that it is normal to shed 50 – 100 hairs in one day. These numbers become significantly more in people who suffer from alopecia. In normal conditions, you shed your with washing, brushing, or laying your finders among your hairs.
How Bulimia Causes Hair Loss
There are several different types of alopecia. And the dynamics of each of them are different as well. How about the causes of hair loss? When your body does not get enough nutrition, it starts to use protein stores. Of course, it does not occur during the normal living period. Mostly, it is likely to occur when you have an eating disorder. So, what happens when the body starts using proteins? In order for the body has to maintain the function of organs and keep muscle tissue safe, it skimps. Because it wants to make sure you are able to keep going with your vital functions.
Hair consists of keratin, which is one kind of protein. Due to it is vital for your daily functions; your body could easily make it left behind. So, to keep you alive, it infers hair follicles to stop growing new hairs. Truly, in this kind of situation regrowth of hair depends on your age, genetic structure, or developmental agents. Once you get the appropriate treatment, your nutritional balance gathers itself from 6 months to more. So it turns back its normal process. But it is not a guarantee. Some people need further treatments.
Side Effects
Usually, anorexia, bulimia, or other types of eating disorders does not come alone. They also bring plenty of side effects, like low resistance to cold weather, exhaustion, imbalanced posture, and so on. It might also bring dehydration. Especially it is very important because it might cause kidney loss. Of course, these are side effects, not the main effect. The main effect is a huge amount of weight loss, as well as hair loss. When you consider all troubles in internal organs and physical weakness, hair loss might be extra difficult. Also, people with anorexia nervosa or bulimia are in the risk group. Studies suggest that their mortality rates differ from 5 percent to 10 percent. Indeed, it is not surprising. Because eating disorders usually have more mortality rates than other disorders.
Oftentimes people who have anorexia nervosa and bulimia go to treatment when their body reaches its limit. Moreover, in order to they lost a great amount of protein, they might also suffer from many other drawbacks. Physical, emotional, and cognitive side effects are just a few examples of this. Of course, hair shedding is a result of one of these effects: physical. Perhaps you might realize these people in your close environment, family, and friends. Look for when you decided to eat together, or in family dinners. If there is someone who doesn’t want to show up at these events, be careful. It would be a good idea to invite them kindly to be with you. These people probably suffer more than you see from outside. Still, it is important for you to support them without a condition. Be patient with them.
There is always a Cure
People with eating disorders generally don’t go to treatments just because they experience hair loss. They are likely to go treatments when their body starts to alarm. It could be said that their motivation to seek treatment would be other symptoms. So treatment would focus on primarily their viral symptoms. They would probably start with changing their eating habit. Then, it continues with rebuilding their relationships with food and their close environment. Surprisingly, many of them might not accept or realize that their appearance looks unhealthy. But in fact, eating disorders harm the body in many ways. One of the great examples of this harm is hair loss. You can understand even looking at their hair how much damage they had until then.
Like we indicated above, returning to a normal hair growth cycle is not guarantee. Therefore it would be better to go see a dermatologist after eating disorder treatment. Because in case the damage in your hair would be returnable, your dermatologist would give you the best options. On the other hand, if you lose some parts of your hair permanently, don’t worry. Because in addition to a huge amount of medicines and treatments, there is one permanent treatment: hair transplant. Especially with Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) method, you can gain your old, strong hair. Depending on your hair structure and dynamics of loss, you might be a good candidate for this operation.
Check our other contents to get more information about hair transplant and other methods. Also, you can reach using Whatsapp, telephone call, email, or face-to-face. Please, find our contact information on our main page, https://www.tecnifue.com/.