Gray hair

Introduction Whites are white hairs that are all or part of the hair white. Less whiteheads: congenital whiteheads, the most common people with such whiteheads often have a family history, often have white hair at birth, or hair is whiter than others, in addition, no other abnormal performance; acquired whiteheads There are many reasons for this: malnutrition, such as lack of protein, vitamins and certain trace elements (such as copper), will make the hair white; some chronic wasting diseases such as tuberculosis, due to lack of nutrition, hair is also better than the average person It should be whiter earlier; some patients with long-term fever, hair will be yellow and brittle or even white off; some endocrine diseases, such as pituitary or thyroid disorders, can affect the ability of pigment cells to produce pigment particles and cause hair to prematurely white Some young people have a lot of white hair in a short period of time, which is related to severe trauma or mental fatigue caused by excessive anxiety and sadness. Symptoms: When adolescents or young people develop symptoms, the first hair has a small amount of white hair scattered sparsely. Most of them appear first in the back or top of the scalp, and are white in the black hair. Subsequently, white hair can gradually or suddenly increase, and suddenly occurs, related to nutritional disorders. Senile white hair: Its white hair often starts from the two corners and develops chronically to the top of the head. After a few years, the beard and nose hair are also grayish, but the chest hair, pubic hair and mane are not white even in old age. The tyrosinase activity in melanocytes is progressively lost to cause the pigment in the hair shaft to disappear. The number of melanocytes in gray hair is normal, but melanin is reduced, and melanocytes are also reduced in white hair. Symptoms: Two white hairs appear, and white hair on the head appears one after another.

Cause

Genetics:

Early gray hair or white in the elderly has a family history, manifested as autosomal dominant inheritance, also found in certain syndromes, such as progeria, Rothrnund syndrome and Werner syndrome, Waardenbur syndrome, muscle Dystrophic myotonia (dystrophia myotonia).

Disease factors:

Severe diseases such as pernicious anemia, hyperthyroidism, cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, peripheral arterial disease, hypertension, tuberculosis, typhoid, syphilis, etc. may occur with white hair.

Physiological phenomenon:

Gray or whitening of the aged hair is a physiological phenomenon caused by the progressive loss of tyrosinase activity in melanocytes, which causes the pigment in the hair shaft to disappear. The number of melanocytes in the gray hair is normal, but the melanin is reduced. The melanocytes in the white hair are also reduced.

Decreased tyrosinase activity:

White hair is caused by the production of melanin due to melanocytes, less melanosome or decreased tyrosinase activity.

an examination

Related inspection

Hair mineral examination serum zinc blood routine

Mainly for the primary disease selection auxiliary examination. Blood routine (blood image) examination: Blood routine examination is one of the most basic laboratory tests in the clinic. Blood tests include red blood cells, white blood cells, hemoglobin, and platelet counts. The blood routinely collects the finger blood or the peripheral blood of the earlobe by acupuncture. After dilution, it is dropped into a special calculation disk, and then the number of blood cells is calculated under a microscope. Common symbols on blood routine tests are: RBC stands for red blood cells, WBC stands for white blood cells, Hb stands for hemoglobin (hemoglobin), and PLT stands for platelets.

Differential diagnosis

Modern medicine believes that white hair is mainly caused by decreased hair melanin formation, weakened melanin production by melanocytes, and reduced tyrosinase activity. Excessive emotional stress, excessive brain use, anxiety, panic, and nerve trauma may cause white hair. In addition, white hair may also appear in chronic consumptive diseases.

Congenital whiteheads: The most common people with such whiteheads often have a family history, often having white hair at birth, or hair being whiter than others. In addition, there are no other abnormalities.

Acquired less whiteheads: There are many reasons for this: malnutrition, such as lack of protein, vitamins and certain trace elements (such as copper), will make the hair white; some chronic wasting diseases such as tuberculosis, due to lack of nutrition, Hair is also whiter than the average person; some patients with long-term fever, hair will be yellow and brittle or even white off; some endocrine diseases, such as pituitary or thyroid disorders, can affect the ability of pigment cells to produce pigment particles and cause hair Premature whitening; encephalitis, neurological diseases, etc. can also whiten hair; whitening patients' skin, hair, eyebrows are white; skin whitening disease - "white hurricane", such as occurs on the scalp, hair It will also turn white; others believe that the more the brain is used, the sooner the hair is white; some young people have a lot of white hair in a short period of time, which is related to severe trauma or mental fatigue caused by excessive anxiety and sadness.

The material in this site is intended to be of general informational use and is not intended to constitute medical advice, probable diagnosis, or recommended treatments.