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Hirsutism |
Details
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Hirsutism is a medical condition in which excess hair growth occurs. It is a common problem for women partly because there are many unrealistic social norms about the distribution and amount of body hair, and partly because of different ethnic groups that vary considerably in normal amounts of body hair. Native Americans and Asian women have relatively little body hair of any type, while women of Mediterranean extraction are most likely to have moderately heavy body and facial hair. It is normal for a woman to have dark hairs grow on the breast, upper lips, and on the linea alba. Also many women have coarse pubic hairs on the inside of the thighs. Symptoms of hirsutism in women involve an increase in the growth of coarse hairs in places where they would occur only in men; such as lips, chin, upper abdomen, upper back, and chest. A condition where hair growth occurs on the entire body including legs, scalp and arms is known as hypertrichosis. Hirsutism in women is usually due to an excess of androgens-hormones. Some women, who have this condition, may develop other symptoms such as obesity, acne, and irregular menstrual periods. Taking different types of medications such as progestins, danazol, and norgestrel may cause an increase in growth on a big amount of hair. Treatment of hirsutism depends on the cause. If there are no serious conditions involved such as tumor of the ovaries or adrenal glands the condition is usually treated cosmetically with bleaching, shaving, tweezing, laser therapy or electrolysis. A new topical cream called Veniga can prevent hair growth as well. In some cases, hirsutism is treated with a drug called Aldactone, which must be used at least for a period of half a year until any improvements are seen. It takes up to 1.5 years for the hair to disappear while using this drug. Another antiandrogen drug Proscar (finasteride; Propecia) may also be used to treat hirsutism. Those types of antiandrogen drugs however may cause male fetuses to develop with female enitalia, therefore the drug should not be used by sexually active women unless they are taking birth control pills.
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| Category |
Women's Health
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| Related Searches |
hirsutism pictures, hirsutism treatment, causes of hirsutism |
| Date Submitted |
02-Aug-2005
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