Hair loss

This egg is bald. Metastic vaginal cancer has meant it needed chemo.

Epidemiology

Differential Diagnosis

• Alopecia areata - random hair loss (sometimes called "spot baldness") from the head. Can result in complete baldness. Cause is probably genetic though not been confirmed.
• Male-pattern baldness - blokes go bold. You only need to worry if you get this in women. Plus women shouldn't really go bald.
• Chemo/radiotherapy.
• Crazy stuff - systemic causes (thyroid, SLE)

Clinical and Associated Features

Of the three main diagnosis, the important one is alopecia areata. Hopefully, you'll be able to figure it out - spots of baldness and sometimes scarring. If not, consider one of the other causes which will have other symptoms. In the case of chemo, this will be a diagnosis of cancer. Don't miss diagnoses of cancer. It's a symptom of cancer.