In March of this year, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, started a project to support up to 200,000 won per year for treatment expenses for alopecia patients under the age of 39. Starting with this, local governments across the country are successively launching ‘youth hair loss’ treatment cost support projects.
Hair loss treatment is not covered by health insurance. It is classified as a ‘beauty treatment’. For this reason, there is a high level of criticism against this policy. They say that supporting cosmetic treatment costs when the support for incurable diseases should be increased is a waste of blood tax. The controversy is likely to intensify.
However, the pain of alopecia patients is not small. It causes depression and phobia of people. It is certain that it is a disease that needs to be treated. Currently, it is estimated that there are millions of hair loss patients in Korea. Of these, only 350,000 received treatment for alopecia last year. Most of them are not receiving treatment due to financial burden or other reasons. Kwon Oh-sang, professor of dermatology at Seoul National University Hospital, said, “Alopecia is a disease that needs to be treated, and the earlier it is treated, the better the effect.”
Alopecia, starting in the early 20sHair loss is largely divided into △Alopecia areata, which is an autoimmune disease, △Androgen-induced male pattern baldness and female pattern alopecia.
Alopecia areata usually occurs in people in their 20s and 30s who have the strongest immunity. hair falls out in circles It usually occurs on the head, but it can also occur on the eyebrows and beard. The condition can get better and then get worse. It is a disease that affects 2 out of 100 people at least once in their lifetime. There was no clear medicine, but recently a global new drug with improved treatment effect was developed and is being used in Korea.
Generally, ‘hair loss’ refers to male pattern baldness and female pattern baldness. 80-90% of all alopecia patients are of this type. Men’s bangs fall out first in an M shape. Subsequently, the crown of the head falls out, and the two hair loss areas meet to form a bald head. Women often lose hair on the crown of the head, not the forehead. DHT
, a hormone produced during the metabolism of the male hormone testosterone, causes hair loss. In the West, 50% of men and 25% of women suffer from this alopecia by the time they reach their 50s. In Korea, men are 25% and women are about 12%, about half of Western countries. However, as hair loss increases in Korea after the age of 50, it becomes similar to that in the West. By the time they reach their 70s, 70% of the entire population, both in the East and the West, suffers from alopecia.
Alopecia is a dominant genetic disease. Even if only one of the parents has alopecia, the child can develop alopecia. If both parents have alopecia, the child’s alopecia may start earlier or progress faster. Hair loss occurs around 10 years after the onset of puberty. Recently, as puberty has accelerated, the onset of hair loss has also been accelerated.
Eating vegetables and protein prevents hair lossTo prevent hair loss, it is good to eat a lot of vegetables. Antioxidants contained in vegetables, including anthocyanins, play a role in preventing hair loss. Broccoli, beans, sesame seeds, tomatoes, and curry are examples of these foods. However, fruits with high sugar content can cause hair loss by rapidly raising blood sugar after eating, so eat in moderation.
Fatty, high-fat foods should be reduced. Excessive intake of saturated fat sticks to the hair follicles surrounding the roots of the hair. As a result, the function of the hair follicle is weakened and alopecia occurs. It is also good to reduce carbs. Excessive carbohydrates turn into fat in the liver. Professor Kwon said, “The ‘delicious bakery pilgrimage’, which is a recent trend among young people, can be negative for alopecia.” It’s because you eat a lot of carbohydrates and saturated fat, butter, all at once.
It is also not good to plan a diet that is too vegetarian. Hair is made up of a protein called keratin. Low protein intake can lead to poor hair quality. This is also why a lot of hair falls out when you go on a diet without eating enough food. Professor Kwon said, “A lot of hair loss among vegetarians is due to lack of protein.”
Lack of exercise and being overweight can also cause hair loss. Avoid overeating and exercise appropriately.
Scalp care is also necessary. Sebum is secreted vigorously even up to the age of 30, so wash your hair twice a day. However, after the age of 40, when the skin becomes dry, washing hair four times a week and using a scalp moisturizer can help prevent hair loss. However, on days with a lot of fine dust, be sure to wash your hair after going out.
Gently patting the scalp or stimulating it with a massage can also help prevent hair loss. Do not scratch the scalp with your fingernails at this time. It is best to brush it lightly with your fingers or comb it through with a blunt-tipped comb.
Take a good look at the early symptoms of hair lossIf hair loss has started, early action is needed. First of all, you need to look carefully for the initial symptoms.
If your hair is thinning and losing color, it could be an early sign of alopecia. Usually, when hair loss begins, the hair follicles become smaller and the sebaceous glands enlarge. As a result, more sebum is secreted, and the hair feels more greasy. If your hair, which used to be stiff, has recently become softer and easier to comb, this could also be an early sign of hair loss.
Look in the mirror and observe the shape of your hair. M-shaped hair loss, which is a typical early symptom of male pattern baldness, can be identified.토토사이트 Take pictures of the front, crown, and back of your hair and compare the thickness and density of the hair. If the hair on the front and top of the head is thinner and less dense than the hair on the back of the head, it means that hair loss is progressing.
On the other hand, if you lose a lot of hair when you wash your hair, it does not mean that hair loss is progressing. Even under normal circumstances, 50 to 100 hairs are lost every day. When you are stressed or sleep poorly, more hair falls out. However, if this condition continues for a long time, it can lead to alopecia. The same goes for drying your hair with a hair dryer. Hair on the floor is not hair loss. The heat broke her hair.
15% increase in hair after 6 months with good treatmentHuman hair repeats growth (anagen phase) and rest (telogen phase). Hair that has gone through the telogen phase is shed from the hair follicle, and hair grows back in its place. Normally, 90% of hair is in the anagen phase and the remaining 10% is in the telogen phase. During the telogen phase, about 1% of hair follicles lose hair. Usually 50 to 100 per day. As hair loss progresses, the telogen ratio increases to 20-30%, and up to 300 hairs fall out per day.
There are two types of hair loss treatments, oral and topical. Topical medicines containing minoxidil dilate the blood vessels around the hair follicles and directly stimulate the hair follicles. This helps them transition from the dormant phase to the growth phase. The medicine that you eat is the principle that suppresses the enzyme that makes the hormone ( DHT ) that causes hair loss.
In general, in the early stages when hair loss is not severe, topical medications are used. If hair loss progresses further, additional medications are used. Women mainly use topical medications, but after middle age, when there is no possibility of pregnancy, they often add oral medications.
Food or scalp massage alone does not have a therapeutic effect. These methods should be limited to auxiliary therapy, and medications should be taken or applied on time according to the doctor’s prescription. With proper treatment, hair grows about 1 cm per month. It takes about 2 months for the hair to break through the skin. If you use the drug consistently for 6 months, you will see an effect in 90% of patients. In this case, the number of hairs increases by up to 20% and an average of 15%.
Surprisingly, there are many people who decide that their symptoms have improved and stop taking the medicine. In this case, hair loss proceeds again. Do not arbitrarily stop taking the medicine. It is wise to adjust the dose after consulting with your doctor. Professor Kwon said, “Treatment of hair loss is like cultivating a garden on your head. If you don’t water the flower just because it has grown a little, won’t it dry out? You need to take care of it for the rest of your life,” he said.