Compulsive hair pulling is known by the medical term trichotillomania. It is an impulse-control disorder that affects six-to-eight million people in the United States. Compulsive hair pulling can include pulling out hair from the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes or anywhere else on the body. However, the scalp area is the most common part of the body for people to pull hair from.
Signs
Trichotillomania can be detected in most patients due to bald areas on the scalp. Other areas of the body may also have bald spots. These areas are usually significant enough to be noticed by other people. Patients will tend to make excuses for the bald or thinning area of hair to try to avoid embarrassment. People who suffer from this disorder tend to avoid social interactions in order not to bring attention to themselves.
Symptoms
The symptoms of trichotillomania are generally the same for most of the people that suffer from the disorder. There is a strong urge to pull hair that results in a buildup of tension before pulling the hair. The tension is released, and the patient immediately feels better once he or she acts on this urge and pulls hair out. Patients who are diagnosed with trichotillomania usually do not suffer from any other disorder or condition. They simply are unable to control the impulse to pull out their hair.
Medications
Psychiatric medications can be prescribed for people who suffer from trichotillomania. Medications alone do not tend to work completely in being able to stop the hair-pulling tendencies and urges. The same types of medication that are used in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder are helpful in treating patients with urges to pull their hair out. Some patients are also prescribed antidepressant medication to help with the stress of the disorder.
Therapy
Therapy is an effective tool used to treat trichotillomania. There are several techniques that have been proved to help patients resist their urges. Cognitive-behavior therapy is used most often to treat the disorder. It helps patients learn resist their urges by finding other behaviors to engage in when an urge presents itself. Therapy also helps to identify the stress that causes the urge to pull out hair---and assists the patients in learning avoid these situations.
Considerations
Trichotillomania has no fast effective cure. It is a difficult disorder to treat and is likely to reoccur after breaks of no hair pulling. Following up with medications and especially therapy will help patients maintain their urges. Women tend to have the disorder more than men. If left untreated, it can cause low self-esteem issues. Studies are now showing promising outcomes in a amino-acid supplement, N-Acetylcysteine. Patients were shown to have significantly lower instances of the urge to pull hair while taking the supplement.
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