As it’s known, any damage directly done to the skin of the scalp can eventually cause hair loss by damaging the hair follicle underneath. Thus, guaranteeing the physical integrity of the scalp should safeguard the hair follicle.
However, it is possible to start hair shedding from the scalp itself, and any other hairy part of the body, without even having to touch it at all. Body trauma-induced hair loss refers to any intense trauma the body withstands that causes it to shed hair without an obvious connection to it.
Any traumatic damage to the body can cause this due to the fact that it is affecting it physically. Thus, the body, conforming to one integrated, complex system, produces a reaction to defend and heal itself.
The result of many of these self-defence mechanisms is that hair sheds, even though hair might not even have nothing to do with what triggered it. Most of the time, body trauma-induced hair loss is not even hair loss at all; it’s technically hair shedding.
The difference between both terms is that hair shedding implies that the loss is reversible. Thus, once the underlying causes are under control, the hair should grow back, though there are some exceptions to this.
Understanding body trauma-induced hair loss requires getting to know some of the deeper ways our body works. Knowing the series of precise mechanisms behind it makes its reasons clear enough to allow us to anticipate when it could happen.
Why Body Trauma-Induced Hair Loss Happens
Hair grows out of the structure we know as the hair follicle, located underneath the skin, and most of them are underneath the scalp. The hair follicle doesn’t magically grow the hair out of itself. Rather, it relies on nutrients to do so. Said nutrients come to it through the bloodstream.
Our blood flow is responsible for supplying the hair follicles with all that it needs to grow hair. This includes both proteins and oxygen. There, any disruption on the blood supply of it can disrupt the hair growing process, and this can happen in many forms.
Situations In Which Body Trauma-Induced Hair Loss Happens
Following are all of the situations that might result in body trauma-induced hair loss listed.
Shock Loss
A type of hair loss that happens when sudden trauma occurs to the body. It is a broad term that can include the stress from a surgical procedure or due to aggressive chemicals in medications.
Inflammation
It happens as a result of an infection or due to blunt physical trauma. When the body swells, it’s because white blood cells are releasing chemicals to heal it from the damage. The healing redirects blood flow to the affected area, which deprives the hair follicle of nutrients.
The hair growing process is then put on hold, and the hair on your head enters the resting phase where it will ultimately fall.
Immunological Disorder
Happens when the immune system gets confused and thinks that it is under attack. It is not; it just can no longer distinguish between your own healthy tissue and diseases. Thus, it will attack any group of rapidly dividing cells, thinking it might be a virus.
And your hair follicles constantly have rapidly dividing cells in them for the production of new hair, making them a prime target. The hair falls as a result.
Chemotherapy
Similar to the situation with immunological disorders. Chemotherapy chemicals do not distinguish but attack groups of rapidly dividing cells which your hairs are. It is a specific type of shock loss.
Weight Loss
Considerable weight loss is a physical shock to the body, which requires many internal adjustments. One of which is simply to shed hair due to changing hormonal levels. The more sudden the considerable weight loss, the more hair will be shed.
Psychological Stress
Consist of a more broadly defined phenomenon. Extreme and continuous psychological stress causes a surge of the hormone ‘cortisol’ within the body.
High levels of it distort the hormonal balance of the body and, with it, the follicular stimulating hormones that aid hair growth. It constitutes body trauma-induced hair loss since psychological stress does have physical effects within the body.
Traction Alopecia
It occurs when using hairstyles that put tension to the hair, pulling it constantly. Using them for prolonged periods of time results in damage to the hair follicle from which it grows. Hair loss this way it’s permanent.
In Conclusion
Besides traction alopecia, most body trauma-induced hair loss is reversible once the cause it’s under control. Consult a physician to identify the definitive cause of your hair loss before taking any course of action to correct it.