Do you have a bald spot in your pubic hair? What could be causing it?
Itching and losing pubic hair is not something you would want to tell people and ask for their opinion. But a clue you should consider on the culprit is a thyroid disorder. Could you be suffering from thyroid problems, or is it menopause in women?
The loss of hair in the pubic area is rarely talked about. When it is talked about, it is considered mysterious. It takes place both in males and females, and the symptoms occurring are evident.
- Pubic hair growth is part of the normal growth of the human body, especially at puberty.
- The loss of hair can come so untimely and unexpectedly because of some conditions and happenings in your body.
- In females, hair thinning is more apparent as compared to males.
- The reason is that women are at a higher chance of suffering from changes in hormones as compared to men.
Most people would prefer shaving pubic hair. There are cases where the situation is worrying when you encounter loss of hair that doesn’t seem normal. In this case, this should cause alarm, and you should contact your medical professional.
Causes of pubic hair loss
The loss of hair in your pubic area could be very frustrating and could occur suddenly or slowly over time. Some factors could contribute to this. The following are just some of them:
Hormone changes
In case you encounter any conditions that alter the balance of hormones in your body, this could lead to the induction of loss of hair. The hormones, in essence, affect the immunity of the body, your fertility, your behavior, and growth, including hair.
Your body has a specific hormone called dihydrotestosterone. This hormone is derived from the male hormone testosterone whose effects include making the hair follicles shrink and eventually fall out and thus baldness. This hormone has the same effect on the pubic hair.
Normal aging process
Your cells age as you age. The rate at which the cells secrete the hair reduces as you get older. Age could make you have changes with how you look and make you lose your height and eventually make your pubic hair begin to fall out. For the case of women, the loss could be related to changes in the hormones.
This is because as you approach menopause, your secretion of hormones changes, and this could make your pubic hair to begin dropping. During this time, the levels of estrogen, which is essential for the growth of hair, drops drastically.
Medications
There are some medications that, when you take, could make your hair to begin falling off. The medications that have been reported with this condition include those medications that are used to treat conditions like depression medications, medically known as psychotropics induce hair loss. The other category is the medications that are used in chemotherapy have also been shown to induce loss of pubic hair.
Addison’s disease
This condition is also known as adrenal insufficiency and is brought about by the low production of hormones by the gland called the adrenal gland on top of your kidneys. It has been found that besides the fact that the disease causes loss of pubic hair, it also causes reduced libido and loss of hair in your armpits. It is only through proper diagnosis by the examining doctor that this condition can be established as the cause.
Genetic factors
The likelihoods of you suffering from pubic hair loss are high if there is someone in your family who has the same condition. You are likely to inherit the genes that are responsible for pubic hair loss.
Liver cirrhosis
This is a condition that presents with symptoms of inflammation of the liver. It is brought about by among other factors; alcoholism, hepatitis B or C, infections, and the accumulation of fat in your liver with time. The onset of the condition comes with other symptoms, among which loss of hair in your pubic area is one of them.
Hypopituitarism
When a gland known as the pituitary gland stops functioning, you get this condition. This gland affects the functioning of other organs, including the adrenal gland, that is responsible for producing thyroid hormones. The symptoms that come with this condition are several, and loss of hair in your pubic area is one of them.
Alopecia Areata
In this condition, your white blood cells attack your body’s hair follicles, and thus hair falls out. It is believed that this disease has a genetic bearing. However, other factors, including environmental factors, can be responsible for this.
Werner syndrome
This is a condition that is associated with appearance and increased aging of hair. It becomes more prominent at the age of around 25 years, where you begin to lose hair on your scalp and even the pubic area.
Lice and itching
The infestation of your pubic area by lice could make your hair to begin falling off because they will cause irritation and then make you uncomfortable. Consequently, you will be prompted to scratch, and thus hair will start falling off.
Cancer
If you contract cancer of the blood and in this case, leukemia makes the hair to begin falling out. Besides, the treatment options available, including chemotherapy, could induce the falling out of your pubic hair.
Losing pubic hair after pregnancy
When you are pregnant, your hair is likely to grow at once because the growth cycle is likely to go on immensely. The fall out of hair is also likely to take place suddenly. This development is likely because there is a variation in the hormones estrogen and progesterone that play a significant role during pregnancy.
When you are pregnant, the levels of estrogen are high, and this could facilitate the fast growth of hair, of which pubic hair is part. On the other hand, when you give birth, the levels of this hormone drop, and this, therefore, means the hair growth is reduced. As a result, the hair follicles are weak, and hair begins to fall out.
Treatments
For you to treat hair loss in your pubic area, you are supposed to ascertain the real cause of this. After that, you can obtain the ideal prescription from the chemist or your prescribing doctor. The treatments include:
Use of corticosteroids.
You can use the medication as a cream or go for injection for mild cases. The use of this alternative for treatment should be accompanied by close monitoring for the possible side effects.
If your case is severe, you could increase the dose but avoid using it continuously because of the likely effects like skin thinning.
Skin sensitizing chemicals
These chemicals are applied to the skin, which then gets sensitized. As a result, there is an allergic reaction, which, in the long run, promotes hair growth. There are groups of drugs called biologics that have been tested and found with these effects because they have proteins that affect the immune cells.
Hydrocortisone cream
This is an anti-itching agent. It will relieve you of the need to scratch your pubic area. Scratching your pubic area could make the hair to fall off. What you have to use is a 1 percent solution. This solution is, however, temporary and could not work if there are other probable causes.
Home remedies
The use of home remedies has also been shown to reverse pubic hair loss or even reverse and stop the progression. They are easy to find and use. You should be cautious and observe for any likely side effects that may come by. The following are just some of them:
Take iron supplements
The deficiency of iron in your body is, at times, responsible for hair loss. You should, therefore, discuss with your doctor about the possibility of getting supplements so that you replenish the loss. You can also get iron from food products.
Shampoo
According to the National Institute of health, shampoos are useful in killing lice that cause itching and pubic hair loss. All you have to do is rub some of the shampoos in your pubic area for about 5 minutes. After that, comb the hair using a comb with fine teeth to remove the eggs.
Take more vitamins
Vitamins play a role in making the hair stronger. The vitamins, especially vitamin B, C, and D, could improve the growth of hair in your pubic region.
What vitamin B supplements do we recommend?
- Biotech Pharmacal B2-400 Riboflavin (Check price on Amazon)
- GNC Vitamin B-2 100 MG (Check price on Amazon)
Vinegar
If lice are the case of fall or loss of hair in your pubic area, then vinegar is ideal. When you wash the hair and then lightly comb, the lice eggs loosen, and then you can easily remove them. What you have to do is to soak a cloth in vinegar and then wipe the pubic hair. After that, leave the vinegar on the area for some time.
Increase omega-3 fatty acids in your diet
The omega-3 fatty acids have been found to have the potential to increase the hair strands. This is, therefore, important to combat the loss of pubic hair. You can obtain them from soybeans, eggs, flaxseed oil, and walnuts.
We recommend Pure Alaska Omega-3 Wild Alaskan Salmon Oil (Check price on Amazon)
