Baldness

Many drugs can cause baldness

Hair loss in men and women can be a traumatic event. When there's no family history of either male or female pattern baldness, other causes should be considered.

Many people don't realize that several commonly prescribed medications can cause temporary baldness. They also can trigger male or female, in severe, cases cause permanent hair loss conditions.

A doctor may not tell a patient that some drugs can cause it, so it's important to read the complete drug manufacturers' instructions that come with most prescriptions. If more research is desired, a pharmacist can give advice on specific drugs or recommend drug information resources such as pill and medication guidebooks. Online databases also can indicate whether a certain drug can cause hair loss.

Remember, it's always appropriate to ask a doctor to substitute a medication if hair loss is one of the side effects of a proposed drug. There are typically many drugs to treat any medical condition and a good selection doesn’t have possible side effect. If, however, a patient's particular situation requires a drug where hair loss can occur, then it's good to research what some co-therapies might be possible to reduce this conditions temporary.

Some examples of drugs that might caused baldness in sensitive individuals include:

* All acne medications made from vitamin A including Accutane (isotretinoin);

* Certain blood thinners including several brand names of warfarin sodium, and Heparin;

* Cholesterol-lowering drugs such as Atronid-S (clofibrate) and Lopid (gemfibrozil);

* Chemotherapy for cancer;

Antidepressants, including many of the most commonly prescribed drugs such as Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride), Zoloft (sertraline hydrochloride) and Paxil (paroxetine);

* Many of the drugs used to treat indigestion, stomach difficulties, and ulcers in both over-the-counter dosages and prescription dosages such as Tagamet (cimetidine), Zantac (ranitidine) and Pepcid (famotidine);

* Many heart and high blood pressure medications known as beta blockers, including Lopressor (metoprolol) and Inderal and Inderal LA (propanolol).

* Many anti-inflammatory drugs, including those prescribed for localized pain, swelling and injury such as arthritis drugs and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Finally all medications prescribed for both male and female hormone-related, conditions can cause baldness, because for both male- and female it is influenced by hormones. These drugs include birth control pills, hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) for women (estrogen or progesterone), male androgenic hormones and all forms of testosterone, anabolic steroids and Prednisone and other steroids.