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Baldness.In some individuals there is congenital absence of the hair; that is certain parts of the scalp are bald from birth on. In some other cases these bald patches first appear in the early years of life. Such congenital baldness is usually only partial, there being in most cases one or more spots of limited extent on which no hair grows. Baldness is, however, in most cases acquired usually in advanced life. The hair begins to fall out first on those parts of the head bordering upon the temples and around the crown of the head. In many cases there is a hereditary tendency to early baldness, which is distinctly marked in several generations. Several of the infectious diseases are usually accompanied by a falling out of the hair ; among these are typhus fever, scarlet fever, measles and syphilis. In most of these cases the hair grows again so soon as the individual has recovered from the acute attack. The hair may also fall out when the vital powers are diminished from any cause ; it is a not infrequent occurrence in nursing women. In all these cases the treatment should be addressed to the general health; the hair requires no special attention, provided it be free from the various diseases which have been enumerated on previous pages as causes of baldness. It is interesting to know that baldness is far more common in men than in women. Many explanations of this familiar fact have been advanced ; a popular one, especially with the male sex, is the idea that excessive use of the brain is accompanied by interference with the growth of the hair. This idea has, however, but little support in fact, though it is true that baldness is more common among those engaged in intellectual pursuits than among hand laborers. Yet this fact can be explained more plausibly by the fact that brain workers rarely have the same degree of physical health as those whose occupations keep the body in a state of robust vigor. It has been supposed, also, that men have less fatty tissue underneath the scalp than women ; and that in advanced years the scalp becomes tightly stretched over the skull, so that the supply of blood is to a certain extent cut off from the hair in men, while in women the excess of fat still secures ample circulation of the blood to the hair. This seems a more plausible explanation, though still lacking several facts for its support. Another form of baldness is one which often occurs in childhood and youth, and is called alopecia areata. In this disease the hair begins to fall out at one or more spots, and the scalp underneath is found to be very white and dry. It will be found that although there is apparently no disease of the skin on these bald spots, yet the hair follicles are very small, or have perhaps entirely disappeared. When first discovered, these spots are usually half an inch or more in diameter ; they usually increase in size, slowly but surely. After a time, the spread of the baldness may stop spontaneously, or it may progress until the greater part of the head is quite bare, only a few tufts of hair scattered over the scalp remain ; the rest of the head may be as smooth and soft as the skin of an infant. This affection is most frequently met with in children who are somewhat naturally delicate, or whose vital strength has been broken down by prolonged disease. Such children are especially apt to suffer from the " green sickness" (chlorosis) or scrofula. Treatment.-The treatment of baldness will in every case be determined by the supposed cause. In the form last described - alopecia areata - the baldness is supposed to be due to a disease of the nerves. Treatment will therefore include attention to the general health. If the patient be evidently debilitated, provision must be made for nourishing food, air and exercise. If there be evidence of chlorosis, the following prescription may be given : Fowler's solution, - Two drachms. Tincture of nux vomica, - - Four drachms. Syrup of the iodide of iron, - - Ten drachms. Syrup of orange peel, - One ounce. Water, - ----- To make four ounces. Mix and take a teaspoonful four times daily; if the child be under 12 years of age the dose must be diminished correspondingly. Locally the treatment consists in the application of blistering fluid to the bald spots. The hair around the spots may be shaven, and the spot should be painted every day or two with the tincture of cantharides (Spanish flies). After a time, which may vary from a few days to weeks, there will be observed a slight growth of short soft, downy hairs, which are apt to be of a lighter color than the surrounding hair. The treatment should be persevered in, however, until the hair on the bald spots becomes so long that the application of the fluid to the skin is no longer possible. It is surprising to observe what can be and has been done in this way in the restoration of the hair ; the writer saw in a London hospital a woman, 27 years old, who possessed a beautiful head of thick, long hair ; this individual had at the age of 12 years become almost completely bald, only a few tufts of hair remaining on the head; and this condition had lasted for six years. For some weeks after treatment with the blistering fluid was begun, there was no appearance of hair to encourage further effort. At the end of two months there appeared a few thin, downy hairs, but it was not until six months of treatment had elapsed that the growth of the hair was at all satisfactory. There are, however, cases in which the hair follicles are quite destroyed, and in such cases no mode of treatment can hope to produce hair. In these instances it will be observed that the scalp does not present the usual appearance ; that is, it is not studded all over with minute openings or " pores;" the skin is smooth and glistening. When this condition exists it is rarely possible to procure the growth of the hair ; and if after a few weeks' trial with the blistering fluid there be no appearance of hair on the bald spots, the attempt should be abandoned. But first, if you want to come back to this web site again, just add it to your bookmarks or favorites now! Then you'll find it easy! Also, please consider sharing our helpful website with your online friends.
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