Trichotillomania

Hair pulling can have significant and persistent effects on hair loss. Trichotillomania instigates an impulsive reaction that is aggressively taken out on significant parts of the head, including the scalp, eyelashes, and eyebrows.

What is Trichotillomania?

Trichotillomania is hair loss initiated from repetitive urges to pull or twist the hair until it breaks off. Typically, an individual is unable to stop this behavior, even as hair becomes thinner.

Trichotillomania is currently defined as an impulse control disorder. It is designated in the family of "body-focused repetitive behaviors" (BFRBs) along with skin picking and nail biting.

Elaen offers the perfect solution for those who are affected by this disorder and have visible hair loss on their scalp.

Symptoms of Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania disorder results in round patches or loss of hair across the scalp. It can also involve the need to pluck other areas, such as the eyebrows, eyelashes, or body hair.

Trichotillomania is often linked to an uneven appearance to the hair, constant tugging, pulling, or twisting of hair, denying the hair pulling, and increasing sense of tension before the hair pulling, sense of relief or gratification after the hair pulling. Many individuals with Trichotillomania also suffer from depression, anxiety, and lack self-confidence.

Causes of Trichotillomania

The exact cause of trichotillomania is unknown; however it is widely linked to both biological and behavioral elements.

Advanced research links impulse control disorders, such as trichotillomania, and certain brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters aid nerve cells in transferring messages to each other. An imbalance can affect how the brain controls impulses. It also is believed that stress can trigger the impulsive behavior.

Trichotillomania is often seen in patients with depression or anxiety.

Diagnosing Trichotillomania

If symptoms of trichotillomania are present, your Elaen hair transplant doctor will begin with a complete medical history and physical exam. There are currently no specific tests to diagnose trichotillomania; only ruling out any medical cause for the hair loss.

If trichotillomania is suspected, your doctor can refer you to a psychiatrist or psychologist, experts who are specially trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses.

Physical exam includes examination of your skin, hair, and scalp. A piece of tissue may be removed as a result of a biopsy to determine the cause, such as a scalp infection.