GynoFiles

Hair pattern distribution is a reflection of our hormonal state. Various conditions of hormonal imbalance can cause gradual or rapid hair distribution changes. If there is excess hair growth it is called hirsutism, and that is typically excess hair on the upper lip, face, earlobes, lower abdomen, between the breasts or elsewhere on the trunk, arms or legs. The true medical diagnosis also refers to 'terminal hair' not the fine downy hair that is also possible to get in these same regions but has other causes. The extent of hirsutism is measured by a measurement system the Ferriman-Gallwey score. To the extent that you have hair loss is measured by the Savin scale . Dieting can alter hair growth patterns. Hair needs nutrition, and hair loss can occur if the diet is too rapid. Tumors of the ovary or the adrenal gland or some cases of PCOS can produce so much extra male hormone that instead of just hirsutism there is virilization with receding hair line, hair loss, and clitoral...

Females can have excess fine hair, on their trunk or their arms and legs that is genetic; or they can have the excess hair of virilization. The best way to measure the amount of hair you have on your body is to grade 9 body areas with scores of 0 to 4. Those who score low have no excess hair problems, those who score very high, closer to 36 have significant excess hair. The Body areas are 1. Upper lip, 2. Chin, 3.Chest and breast area, 4. mid abdomen, 5. Lower abdomen, 6. arms, 7. legs, 8. Upper back, 9. Lower back and buttock area. Now these hair scores may or may not correlate with abnormal hormones, irregular periods, and/or infertility. But for those with changing scores, or abnormal scores, a gyno discussion may be in order.

Women who go to their gyno with complaints about hair growth need to tell us three things: where is the bothersome hair, is it thick hair or thin hair, and how fast did this hair appear. Hair growth in unwanted places that appeared suddenly should be addressed promptly so the cause can be identified.  Excess hair growth around the lip, the chin, the upper neck, the chest, on the back, around the nipples, between the breasts, down the inner thighs and other unwanted places is possibly due to male hormone excess, such as with PCOS or adrenal gland disorders. These conditions can be detected by a few simple blood tests. Usually one round of testing will reveal the cause, but it may take a few times to check on the range of your hormone levels. Excess of the fine downy hair that is primarily on face and arms that we call peach fuzz is not usually due to excess male hormones. This fuzz may be genetic, or possibly due to either medication or your diet, and this is treated very differe...

PCOS: The Syndrome of Hormones, Hair and Havoc of menstrual cycles Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) The doctors Stein and Leventhatal in 1935 discovered why some women had big cysts on their ovaries, extra hair growth and troubles getting pregnant. Their original series of patients had 7 cases, ,they performed their now abandoned practice of ovarian wedge resection (their thought was to help eggs ovulate by allowing them to get to the surface of the ovary) on all 7. Out of these 7 women, all began to have regular cycles and 2 did become pregnant from the treatment. And though we recognize their work as the beginning, their name long left the condition of Polycystic Ovaries. After it was called Stein and Leventhal's disease this has been called a disease, a condition and now a syndrome. The definition has been changed so that almost 1/10 women can meet the definition and in fact many women with perfectly regular menstrual periods are surprised to learn upon visiting their g...

Male hormones are made by the ovary, and they are important for good health, but can get out of control as well. Male hormone levels can cause acne and unwanted hair growth. We like to think in simple terms of what to do and what to not do for controlling unwanted hair or unwanted hormonal side effects. For women who have excess and undesirable hair, a number of new studies have been undertaken to look at how we can best control the unwanted hairs in places like on your lip, chin or chest. There are a few simple 'dos' that can help you combat this. When it comes to overall treatment for women with hormone imbalances, especially PCOS the gynos will have to think about cycle control, control of infertility, control of your weight as well as control of unwanted skin effects like chin or lip hair. Controlling hormones and controlling our metabolism are the two most important 'dos.' Knowing if your hormones are imbalance, getting an actual diagnosis (such as PCOS) are two...

Excess hair growth where it doesn't belong on our lip or chin or upper chest is annoying. And while the hair on your legs and under your arms may be getting more sparse, overgrowth in other body areas is sometimes a medical problem. What now you ask? Suddenly you are seeing more excess hair, and you want to know what has changed. Your first thought is that you now have a hormone imbalance? Perhaps? Perhaps women who now notice they have excess hair have a missed diagnosis of polycystic ovaries called PCOS? Maybe, and we've discussed that condition in several other posts. But excess hair growth is affected by glands other than just our ovaries. So you wonder if you have adrenal gland abnormalities, adrenal gland stress? Perhaps as well. It can't be aging, we think PCOS might actually get a bit better with age. But a hidden source of abnormalities was pointed out by Dr. Elise Olsen a Merck & Co consultant and an Investigator for Eisai Pharmaceuticals and a Dermatopharm...

 Orchids at the Washington Botanical Garden Why are you getting chin hairs? There may be a variety of reasons, but what you may want to know more is how you are going to get rid of them. There are several possible solutions, and to consider in the treatment is your age, the cause of the hair growth, the hair type, the hair color, whether you also have other side effects of male hormones such as acne breakouts, changing hair distribution or increased oilyness to your skin. And finally your goals are strongly considered. There are no chin hair FDA approved treatments other than laser hair removal, but some medications are effective, and often solutions have to be managed with more than one technique. One medication that is less frequently used for women is Flutamide (marketed as Eulexin) which blocks the receptors of the male hormone and is actually approved as a chemotherapy treatment for prostate cancer. The potential side effects of dry skin, dry scalp and green pee is usually t...