Medications Causing Hair Loss

 

Are you interested in hearing about some common medications causing hair loss?  

 

Life is so fragile, there are so many things that endanger life, not excluding our hair’s life.  Not only because diseases can cause hair loss but the medications to cure these diseases as well.

 

In pharmacology, there is an existing basic rule that states, “any effective drug has some side effects in some certain situations”.  While hair loss as a medicinal side-effect is unusual, the possibility is true for more than 300 known prescriptions, over-the-counter, including illegal drugs/medicines.

 

List of Medications that Cause Hair Loss

Here are some of the most frequently prescribed medications causing hair loss that we should be aware of.

 

You may also refer to your country’s institute of health for the complete list of medications that cause hair loss side effects.

• Wellbutrin - is a branded medicine for the generic drug “bupropion” that is prescribed to cure depression and promotes smoking cessation. This kind of psychiatric drug has many side effects and has the most number of complaints on forums all over the internet.

• Avastin - is a trade name for Bevacizumab, a drug that identifies and prevents the creation of new blood vessels that grows wildly in cancer cells.

• Arava – a branded name for the generic drug, Leflunomide, is an anti-rheumatic medicine used in the treatment of arthritis.

• Troxidone – has a generic name, Trimethadione, it is an anticonvulsant drug that serves to control seizures. It is only prescribed in extreme cases due to its toxicity.

• Prolopa – with common name Levodopa-Benserazide, is prescribed to treat and aid in the management of symptoms of Parkinson’s disease by correcting the chemical imbalance in the brain.

• Virazole – is a branded name for Ribavirin, is indicated for the treatment of severe lower respiratory tract infections due to respiratory viruses.

 

Any drug that is used to kill cancer cells like chemotherapy have unlikely side effects that include nausea, vomiting, restraining the bone marrow function and loss of hair.  Also, any drug that is taken to treat gout, arthritis and heart problems may also distress the hair follicles.

 

Hair loss as a side-effect from medications may not be easily identified.  The only way to prove it is to stop taking the drug and see if any recovery occurs.  While some drugs are liable for causing hair abnormalities, it may also depend on the patient’s present physical disposition and tolerance to treatments.  

 

Prevent Hair Loss Due to Medication

 

However, we need not suffer from these medications.  We can always consult our doctor to change our prescription.  At an early stage, given the normal condition, the damage can still be undone after discontinued use.  So you can avoid medications causing hair loss if you find it possible to switch to a new medicine that offers the same results for the medical problem that you're experiencing.