Some degree of hair thinning and loss is a fact of life for the vast majority of us as we age. The older we get, the higher the chance is that you will be affected by hair loss. Many men, for example, start to experience signs of hair loss by age 30 with the majority experiencing some level of noticeable baldness by age 60.
Our hairline is not only adversely affected by our age, however. Multiple factors – including how we handle stress, our diet, sleep schedule, and overall health – can all affect our hair for better or worse. The medications we take can also impact our hair. As we know, many prescribed medications have varying levels of adverse side effects. Today we are going to focus on blood thinners (also known as anticoagulants) to see how they may affect our overall hair health.
How Does One Develop Anticoagulant-Induced Alopecia?
Firstly, it is important to understand that anticoagulant medications are often crucial to a person’s health when they are prescribed. If you are grappling with adverse side effects, talk to your doctor before stopping medication.
Not all anticoagulants are equal. Two anticoagulants that have shown some correlation to hair loss include heparin and warfarin.
Starting with heparin, this particular drug possesses some antimitotic activity. This means that it can interfere with the anagen, or growth, phase of your hair’s lifecycle where hair generation and extension take place.
Warfarin, on the other hand, has a different impact on hair. This drug has the potential of pushing your hair into the telogen, or shedding, phase early which can result in telogen effluvium.
What Can Be Done To Prevent Potential Anticoagulant-Induced Alopecia?
One of the best ways to avoid anticoagulant-induced alopecia is to talk with your doctor about the anticoagulant options available before being put on any particular medication. There are other medications (such as apixaban) that may be as effective for you but are not known to cause hair loss.
In the case of Warfarin, while telogen effluvium is a temporary form of hair loss, it can become permanent if not treated. By staying on a medication causing telogen effluvium, you run the risk of some of the hair loss becoming permanent over time.
RHRLI Can Help Restore Hairlines Impacted By Alopecia
Many medications that we may have to take in our lives, including some anticoagulants, can cause unwanted side effects that can include hair loss. Thankfully, we here at RHRLI have over a decade of experience and a proven track record to help restore your hair through the use of the FDA-approved ARTAS® Robotic Hair Transplant System to perform an FUE hair transplant procedure that is minimally invasive and will get you back to your day to day life quickly. We also provide a number of nonsurgical therapies, lifestyle advice, and dietary guidelines to help keep your hair healthy. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss the best approach to restoring your hair.