- With Mayo Clinic psychiatrist
Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.
Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.
Dr. Daniel Hall-Flavin, board certified in general psychiatry and addiction psychiatry, is a St. Louis native looking to the Internet as a way to help people improve their health and be more active participants in their own health care by learning from Mayo Clinic's experts.
Dr. Hall-Flavin has been a member of the faculties of Cornell University Medical College, New York Medical College, and The George Washington University Medical School before joining the Mayo Clinic staff in 1996. He has special interests in adult psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, and psychogenomics. He has served as medical director of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence from 1986 to 1999.
"With the advent of the genomics and proteomics revolution and the pace of advances in medicine, informed collaborative relationships between knowledgeable, capable health professionals and informed, proactive individuals and their families are more vital than ever," he said.
"I'm optimistic that our Internet health education activities will contribute to ever-improving health outcomes for all who participate and apply what is learned."
Stress basics (4)
- Stress: How do you control weight gain?
- Stress and hair loss: Are they related?
- Chronic stress: Can it cause depression?
- see all in Stress basics
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Question
Stress and hair loss: Are they related?
Can stress cause hair loss?
Answer
from Daniel K. Hall-Flavin, M.D.
Stress and hair loss can be related.
The most common type of stress-induced hair loss is telogen effluvium. In this condition, emotional or physical stress — related to a death in the family, pregnancy, severe weight loss or surgery, for example — pushes large numbers of growing hairs into a resting phase. Within a few months, the affected hairs may fall out suddenly when simply combing or washing your hair. The hair typically grows back when the emotional or physical stress is resolved, although this can take months.
For some people, intense stress may trigger a type of hair loss called alopecia areata. In this condition, white blood cells attack the hair follicle — which stops hair growth. Within weeks, the affected hair falls out. The hair loss usually starts as a small round patch but may eventually spread to the whole scalp, and sometimes to body hair as well. The hair generally grows back, but the cycle may repeat itself.
Talk to your doctor if you notice sudden or patchy hair loss or more than usual hair loss when combing or washing your hair. Sudden hair loss can signal an underlying medical condition that requires treatment. If needed, your doctor may suggest treatment options for the hair loss as well.
Next questionChronic stress: Can it cause depression?
- Goldstein BG, et al. Nonscarring hair loss. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 13, 2008.
- Messenger AG. Alopecia areata. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 13, 2008.
