Drugs That Cause Hair Loss

Most cancer patients lose their hair when they have to take chemotherapy and radiation treatments but there are other medications, both prescribed and over-the-counter, that can be attributed to hair loss as well. One baffling cause of hair loss is alopecia, which is associated with autoimmune conditions. If the individual is taking drugs for autoimmune problems, there may be some difficulty in determining whether the hair loss is due to alopecia or the drugs.

• Vitamins and drugs that contribute to hair loss.

Alopecia Areata

• Alopecia is caused by an abnormality in which the immune system randomly attacks hair follicles, disrupting normal hair growth. Alopecia usually causes the hair to fall out in oval-shaped patches about the size of a quarter. There is no known reason why this happens, and because alopecia sometimes occurs within members of the same family the possibility exists that it is genetic. Normally, the hair will begin to grow back in a relatively short period of time but occasionally hair loss can be permanent.

Are Drugs Responsible for Your Hair Loss?

• A common saying among pharmacologists is "any drug that works comes with some side effects." One of those side effects is hair loss. It can be tricky to determine which drug is responsible for hair loss particularly if a person is taking more than one medication. Eliminating the questionable drugs to see if the hair loss stops is one way, but sometimes eliminating the suspected drug is not always an option. The prescribing doctor should be consulted to find out if hair loss is a side effect of one or more of the medications prescribed. Another method is to consult the circular from the pharmacy, which will outline possible side effects.

Prescription Drugs

• There are a number of medications that can be attributed to the loss of hair. The list is quite extensive, but here are a few that are commonly prescribed drugs used along with the conditions for which they may be prescribed: blood thinners such as Plavix, warfarin and heparin; seizure medications like Dilantin; blood pressure medications, including beta-blockers and diuretics; cholesterol medications, including statins Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor; antidepressants such as Lithium, Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil and amphetamines; birth control pills, especially those high in progestin.

Vitamin A

• An excess of vitamin A can cause hair loss. Taking supplements of vitamin A or drugs that are derived from vitamin A like acne treatments such as Retin-A can cause a toxic reaction which can result in hair loss. It is recommended that adults not consume more than 25,000 I.U. daily. Vitamin A overdosing is easy because it is contained in so many different types of foods such as fish, meats, eggs, butter, orange and yellow vegetables and broccoli.

Over-the-Counter Drugs

• Some over-the-counter drugs can be responsible for hair loss, such as stomach medications and their generics containing the same active ingredients like Pepcid with the active ingredient famotidine, Zantac (ranitidine) and Tagamet (cimetidine). These drugs were originally obtainable by prescription only but are now available in over-the-counter strengths. Even so, they still carry some risk of hair loss.