
Common Drugs That Cause Hair Loss
While male- and female-pattern baldness can result
in permanent hair loss, other factors can cause temporary loss of
hair. For instance, the drop in the level of estrogen at the end of
pregnancy can cause a woman's hair to shed more readily. Two or three
months after a woman stops taking birth control pills, she may
experience the same effect, since birth control pills produce hormone
changes that mimic pregnancy.
It is well known that many cancer chemotherapy
medications cause baldness. Most people are willing to put up with
hair loss when accepting treatments for life-threatening diseases.
But a large number of popular medications can cause hair loss while
neither pharmaceutical industry nor your doctor will tell you about
this side effect.
Here is a list of drugs that are known to
cause hair loss in some patients:
Cholesterol-lowering drugs:
clofibrate (Atromis-S) and gemfibrozil
(Lopid)
Parkinson Medications:
levodopa (Dopar, Larodopa)
Ulcer drugs:
cimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac) and
famotidine (Pepcid)
Anticoagulents:
Coumarin and Heparin
Agents for gout:
Allopurinol (Loporin, Zyloprim)
Antiarthritics:
penicillamine, auranofin (Ridaura), indomethacin
(i\Indocin), naproxen (Naprosyn), sulindac (Clinoril), and
methotrexate (Folex)
Drugs derived from vitamin-A:
isotretinoin (Accutane) and etretinate
(Tegison)
Anticonvulsants for epilepsy:
trimethadione (Tridione)
Antidepressants:
tricyclics, amphetamines
Beta blocker drugs for high blood
pressure:
atenolol (Tenormin), metoprolol (Lopressor),
nadolol (Corgard), propranolol (Inderal) and timolol
(Blocadren)
Antithyroid agents:
carbimazole, Iodine, thiocyanate,
thiouracil
Others:
Blood thinners, male hormones (anabolic
steroids)
Next time your doctor prescribes any drug for you,
ask if it will cause hair loss. You doctor may not realize this side
effect. You can ask him or her to look it up in the Physicians' Desk
Reference, which lists the side effects of all prescription
medications. If the drug is linked to reversible alopecia, ask if
another can be substituted. And just to make sure your physician has
given you accurate information, when you get the prescription filled,
ask your pharmacist as well.
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