Hirsutism

There can be unwanted or abnormal hair growth in women on chest and face areas. This condition is called hirsutism. Excess of hair growth is seen on face, back and chest on women causing embarrassment. These women will have more of androgen hormone (male hormone) than healthy women. It can occur due to hereditary reasons also. But it is easy to cure this condition by effective treatment and therapies.

Symptoms :

The affected women will have rapid hair growth on unwanted parts of the body like face and chest. She may have increased muscle mass due to masculine character and deepening voice. The breast size can become smaller than regular size due to excess secretion of male hormone. For some women the size of the clitoris will get enlarged.

Quick hair growth is seen on the upper lip, chin, and neck areas and sometimes on the inner thigh areas. These women will not have regular menstrual cycle. If you observe these symptoms you should consult your doctor for taking effective therapy to manage the symptoms.

Causes :

The main cause for hirsutism is increased androgen level. Normally our body is covered with thin hairs until puberty. After attaining puberty these hair mature in size and become thick and coarse. Excess of androgen level in women can be caused due to many diseases and factors.

Fiver out of every 10 women recognized with hirsutism will have excess of androgen secretion in their body. Cyst in the ovary is commonly seen in women who have imbalanced sex hormones and irregular menstrual cycle. They are prone to be obese and infertile due to ovarian cyst. Polycystic syndrome is the condition in which multiple cysts develop on the ovary delaying fertility or conception. This can be cause for the condition of hirsutism.

Cushing’s syndrome occurs when there is increase in cortisol hormone in the body due to stress. Adrenal glands are responsible for releasing cortisol to manage stress and emotions. Cortisol is taken in the form of medicine by some women. This increase in hormone will interfere with the normal secretion of sex hormone resulting in hirsutism. Tumor on the ovary, intake of certain drugs like danazol and congenital adrenal hyperplasia can cause excess of hair growth on cheeks and face areas in women.

In rare cases, no root cause will be recognized for hirsutism and this condition is known as idiopathic hirsutism.

Who are at risk ?

Women with family history of hirsutism and women with congenital hyperplasia, women with ovary cyst and women of certain ethnic group like Mediterranean and South Asian regions are prone to get hirsutism symptoms.

Diagnoses :

The doctor will collect the history of affected women after performing physical examination. He may request for blood testing for detecting the level of testosterone. In rare cases, CT scan and ultrasound is done for ruling out ovary cyst or tumor like growth inside ovaries.

Treatment :

Variety of treatments is available for hirsutism.

Therapeutic Methods :

Electrolysis : In this procedure tiny needle is inserted into the hair follicle for creating electric current that would destroy the damaged hair follicles. By this process the unwanted hair can be removed permanently from the face or neck. This process can cause little discomfort and pain and for reducing the discomfort local anesthesia is injected on the affected area. This procedure can cause darkening of skin and scarring.

Laser Therapy : Powerful laser beam is passed into the affected skin area for destroying the hair follicles completely. There will not be further growth of new hairs on the area. The skin may become dark red and look swollen for some time. The laser therapy is expensive but effective in producing results.

Medical Methods :

Oral contraceptive pills are given for inducing the secretion of female hormone estrogen and progestin in affected women. This would prevent the growth of fresh hair on neck and face. These pills are effective for women who wish to become pregnant.

Drugs that block androgens are administered for women with unwanted hair growth on face. Aldactone is the most common anti-androgen given for treating hirsutism.

Topical ointments like vaniga are used for removing excess of facial hair. It would take few months to work on the hair follicles and destroy it and you have to continue using the cream until you get positive outcome. You should not lose patience while taking any treatment for removing hair.

Pictures of Hirsutism :

Images, Pics, Pictures and Photos of Hirsutism

Home Remedies :

You can pluck the unwanted hair using tweezers. It is simple and cost-free method for removing unwanted hairs. Most of the women use this method for hirsutism. Waxing is another procedure in which melted wax is applied on the area of unwanted hair. You have to pull the wax after sometime which comes out along with hairs. This method is useful for removing large number of hairs quickly. Alternatively you can try bleaching for making the hair colorless and unnoticed.