Scalp paresthesias is medical terminology for tingling. Everything associated with the medical profession seems to stem from the Latin root meaning of a disease. In this case it is tingling of the head. The big question everyone is asking is if you do encounter these symptoms does this mean you will be losing your hair?
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That supposition will be discussed in this article as well as some other causes that scalp paresthesias can actually mean. Hair loss can follow tingling sensations in your head but the following causes can also evolve into scalp paresthesias.
I will go directly into some of the root causes that scalp paresthesias can pertain too.
Diabetes. This is one of the most silent diseases that are affecting millions of Americans each and every year. Basically diabetes happens because of your body unable to cope with the amount of sugar that you take into your body on a daily basis. Most people take in far too much sugar for your body to handle and digest. Because of this over consumption a lot of people end up with a type 2 diabetes symptom which does not require insulin to maintain your sugar level.
So in this particular instance a best bet would be to get a blood test drawn to see if you have any possible connection to diabetes issues.
Alcoholism...This is another disease that has been around our society for a long time. Usually symptoms of this type disease is liver related but scalp paresthesias can certainly be one of them as well. But going back to the matter of identifying alcoholism defining whether or not the need for alcohol becomes a dominant thought is certainly one for issue. If alcohol is needed and not wanted in situations in order to get through the day or to calm the nerves may certainly be the culprit in scalp paresthesias. If it is determined that alcohol is a significant factor then there are a lot of forums and help groups all around the country to help people afflicted with this disease.
Multiple Sclerosis...This disease is fore fronted by the scalp paresthesias flavors of itching, numbness, and tingling. Multiple sclerosis is a nerve or spinal cord affliction that can attack random parts of your body. One of those parts is your head and can cause the hair loss.
People afflicted with multiple sclerosis can be affected from minor inconveniences to complete paralysis. This disease is still under quite a lot of research and there are dedicated researchers still trying to find a cure and to relieve the millions of people that have it.
So to answer the question on whether or not scalp paresthesias and hair loss are related depends if you can eliminate some of the causes that was mentioned in this article. Hair loss occurs for many different reasons but you must make sure that you are leading a somewhat healthy lifestyle to eliminate other issues which may be hiding in identifying the root cause of your hair loss.
I recently received correspondence from someone who asked this particular question. I had to write back and ask if the person was talking about being dehydrated or using water with excess chemicals when washing or caring for one's hair. The person clarified that they were asking about being dehydrated because they'd been shedding and losing more hair than normal over the last few months and had recently read that you need to drink eight glasses of water per day. Since they didn't even begin to meet that requirement and could think of no other reason for their hair loss, they wondered if dehydration might be the cause. But, they were also interested in hearing more about the water quality issue, so I will discuss both concerns in the following article.
Dehydration And Hair Loss: First, I have to admit that there is a lot of differing opinions when it comes to determining how much water a person really needs in order to stay well hydrated. Medical advice differs on this. It used to be that it was thought that the minimum requirement for optimal health was 8 - 10 glasses of eight ounce cups of water per day. Lately, the medical community (or at least some members in it) seem to be backing off of these numbers by a little bit.
Regardless of the actual number of glasses that you consume, a good way to tell if you are getting enough water is to make sure that your urine is pale and / or clear and also to make sure that you are regularly going to the bathroom. If this is happening, then it's a pretty good bet that you're well hydrated no matter what the actual amount of water that you've consumed might be. (Also, you get water in other ways besides drinking it. Many foods (in particular fruits) contain a decent amount of water.) And what you're drinking doesn't have to be water. Juice and other drinks count too.
In terms of hair, like all of the systems that the body has to support (organs, skin, etc.) water is going to be an important component of this. Think about this. Hair strands themselves are 1/4th water. Generally speaking though, it's more likely to see hair that is brittle, dry, and breaking off, or not growing properly as the result of not enough water consumption rather than hair that is falling out. Normally, with mild dehydration, your hair, skin, and nails just won't look as shiny or as healthy as they should. They might also grow slowly or not at all.
However, with severe dehydration, you can see does ketosis cause hair loss circulation to the skin, scalp, and hair roots shut down as a measure of preserving the body's reserves. This severe state can cause some hair loss and shedding. It can also make other problems that can contribute to hair loss (like dandruff, psoriasis and androgens) worse. But, with a relatively normal diet that includes beverages, it's relatively rare to see this level of a problem. That's not to say that it can't happen. But, it is somewhat rare from my own experience and research.
As far as poor quality water or a high amount chemicals when washing your hair (like chlorine,) you will generally see the same types of aesthetic problems - dry hair that easily breaks or is not manageable. You'll typically see it breaking off rather than falling out.
If you suspect that this may be a problem for you, it's very easy to fix this issue. Drinking more water is easy, free, and worth a try to see if you obtain any relief. If this doesn't work, you may want to look at other causes for your hair loss like telogen effluvium (TE,) other medical issues, or other common hair and scalp concerns like AGA (androgenic alopecia) which is by far the most common cause of hair loss.