Burning scalp

[wantmyhairBack]

I am a 22 year old female that has an autoimmune disease and has suffered from severe hair loss for over 6 years now. On and off I have the intense feeling of a burning scalp. I have had the run around with doctors and no one seems to give me an answer. Just curious if anyone has experienced this and most importantly gotten relief
Thanks
bklemen@gmail.com

 

[fallicule]

Hello,

I'm a guy but maybe I can help you out because my scalp has been a hassle, too.

Well I had a sensation of a burning scalp for a while also, but I believe mine was associated with the overuse of scalp shampoos like nizoral and t-gel. It was a wierd uncomfortable burning sensation, but when I stopped using these for a few days, and limited how often I used them thereafter, the burning siezed.

I still get a itchy irritated scalp though and here's what I do to combat it:

Nizoral Shampoo 3 times a week
Lasercomb 3 times a week (a big investment for something that's not proven to work, so i'm not suggesting you buy one)
Hydrocortizone lotion (this is a steroid lotion prescribed to me by my doctor) but it really calms my itch down if it flares up.
I also (as funny as this sounds) dunk my head in really really really cold water at night. This is supposed to help with circulation, and it feels pretty awesome.
I give myself scalp massages, too. This is supposed to help circulation.

... tee tree oil, johoba oil, and emu oil are also good for moisterizing your scalp if dryness is an issue.

I know none of this really applies to your burning scalp sensation, but it's all the advice I have to offer. Best of luck to you; you should browse through the guys forum's there's a decent amount of us suffering from this "burning" you experience.

 

[wantmyhairBack]

Thanks

Thanks for your reply.
I dont use any type of medical shampoos or anything. Infact I use a lot of natural products-organic even.
I still think its tied to my autoimmune disease somehow.
Thanks!
Beth

 

[pleasegodno]

search for "trichodynia" and "burning scalp syndrome". your burning scalp may be due to your emotional state (chronic anxiety, stress, depression). it may also be exacerbated by alcoholic topicals (it was in my case, but anxiety was still the main culprit).

 

[wantmyhairBack]

Stress

I guess it may be some kind of stress link- but not emotional -especially to last for over 6 years- since I was 15-now 22.

 

[kat]

Are you on birth control or an SSRI? This could contribute to your loss. What type of autoimmune disease? Often thyroid, adrenals, ovaries are all connected and if your system is out of whack you can shed.

I have shedding from taking Paxil for only 6 weeks. I just started seeing a applied kinesiologist/chiropractor to ease the anxiety that got me to go on Paxil. Hopefully the treatments of the anxiety will also cure the shedding.

I hope if you haven't already that you find something that works!

 

[deepsouth]

I've had the burning scalp problem, too. It's a nightmare! I got mine under control after much searching. Here's what I found out:

Normally, around 1/3 of the hair on the head is in a resting state with the other 2/3 in growth mode. For various reasons--surgery, thyroid, iron deficiency, etc. etc. the hair goes into a high resting phase where considerably more than 1/3 is in that mode and serious all-over shedding starts. There is a cycle to this and, as a result, your scalp begins producing too much "substance P". I have no idea what that is, however, it causes the hideous burning.

If you can get your doctor to prescribe 20-25 mg. Doxepin (to be taken nightly) you can get the burning to stop within a couple of weeks.
This is a very low dose of a drug normally used for depression. This dosage is not enough to address depression, but it sure works with this "substance P" problem.

Let me know what happens.

DeepSouth