Issues with my long hair

[leo]

I'm a dude with long hair and recently noticed that most of the hair that falls out has these white spots on the ends of the hair and was wondering what these white dots were? Also, when I don't wash my hair often say 2 or 3 days my scalp begins to get these red rashes. I feel that i been loosing more hair than usual but I still have growth coming in as I can see baby hairs all over. I just dont know what these white spots and rashes are. Does anyone know?:confused::confused::confused:

[Anje]

Can you tell whether the white end that comes out is the scalp end (that is, the root bulb is what you see), or a little split on the old end of the hair? Some shedding, where you see that root bulb, is normal, but it should be under about 100 hairs/day most of the time.

The rash thing concerns me a bit. It could be a fungal infection or something like that, but it's hard to say anything for sure. You probably ought to have a doctor take a look at it -- there may be a fairly simple solution.

[WaitingSoLong]

Are the white spots on the root end or the long end? First thing that came to mind is lice. But the spots would be more likelittle white bumps. Easy enough to diagnose, look at the white spots under magnification. If they are ovoid shaped, they could be lice eggs. Lice infestations can cause rashes, too.

I found out the hard way that a lice infestation may not be noticed for weeks or months after it has started.

[leo]

the little white bulb that comes out are at the long end where the hair ends. I been meaning to go to a doctor and see whether I have something on my scalp. Does fungal infection cause more than normal shedding?

[little_cherry]

Yes, fungal infections (or any condition of the scalp) can cause excessive shedding.

I hope you figure this out soon!

[leo]

yeah i need to find a doctor to help me see with my condition. I am just very frustrated because i have no health insurance and need to figure out how much it would cost me to see the doctor. I also get these thick white flakes that come out of my scalp, there big like you can see them on my hairs.

[christine1989]

If the dots are at the end that comes out of your scalp then it is a root. I shed quite a few hairs with roots attached- its nothing to worry about. If it is lice as WaitingSoLong mentioned it would be much more noticable. My cousin had lice and she said she could feel them crawling around and there were TONS of eggs and egg casings in her hair :puke: If it is lice I hear that covering your hair in oil then putting a shower cap on for 48 hrs will suffocate and kill them.

[akuamoonmaui]

I don't reccomend self diagnosis but you probably have Seborrhoeic dermatitis, and can try Neutrogena's T-Gel shampoo. It smells horrid but works for this.

I got this off wikipedia.
(also Seborrheic dermatitis AmE, seborrhea) (also known as "Seborrheic eczema"[1]) is an inflammatory[2] skin disorder affecting the scalp, face, and trunk causing scaly, flaky, itchy, red skin. It particularly affects the sebum-gland rich areas of skin.

[WaitingSoLong]

I don't reccomend self diagnosis but you probably have Seborrhoeic dermatitis, and can try Neutrogena's T-Gel shampoo. It smells horrid but works for this.

I got this off wikipedia.
(also Seborrheic dermatitis AmE, seborrhea) (also known as "Seborrheic eczema"[1]) is an inflammatory[2] skin disorder affecting the scalp, face, and trunk causing scaly, flaky, itchy, red skin. It particularly affects the sebum-gland rich areas of skin.

I have this condition. I do not get the white things, maybe they are unrelated. I found out I was allergic to T-gel (badly) and my Dr. told me to use Nizoral instead. It works.

Lice infestations must go undetected for a LONG time before they are so bad you can see a lot of eggs/egg casings (called nits). Lice are hard to get rid of as reinfestation occurs if proper care is not taken. I would definitely get someone to look. Do you know a medical professional that would look for free? A friend that is a tech or something?

[leo]

this is driving me crazy, its so irritating. Its messing my hair up!!

[bumblebums]

If you have lice, you should feel a kind of stinging, pinching sensation every now and then, when one bites you. At least that's my recollection from when I had them as a kid. My head itched like crazy all the time, not just a few days after a wash. And my hair felt really thick from all the nits. Ok, that was probably TMI.

Anyway, if you don't want to go to the doctor, you could try Neutrogena T-Gel for a while and see if that helps with the potential fungal infection. It cleared up my scalp problems splendidly a few years ago.

I want to raise a possibility that nobody has brought up yet: your scalp issue might not have anything to do with the hair loss. Since you are a guy, you could be losing hair independent of any infection or skin condition, just due to androgenic alopecia. If you want to be sure, you need to go to a dermatologist.

You can call a few doctor's offices and ask what they charge for a consultation visit. They should be able to give you an estimate.