Traction Alopecia means hair loss (alopecia) due to pulling on the hair (traction).  It’s caused by a variety of hair styles which require traction.  It’s much more common in women than men, and in adults than children, simply because it’s adult women who tend to style their hair as such. The first sign, usually beforeContinue reading "Traction Alopecia"

Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disease.  It usually occurs alone, by itself, but may be a manifestation of Lupus (SLE).  It presents as one or more patches of complete baldness surrounded by normal hair (pictures below).  If we look carefully we might see some “exclamation point hairs,” for which the shaft near the skin is narrower thanContinue reading "Alopecia Areata"

This is the most common cause of hair loss.  It may involve from 5% to 15% of hairs.  Upon close examination, the patient’s overall hair appears to be thinning.  Casual observers are rarely aware, because about half of ones hairs need to be lost to be noticeable.  But patients themselves see large quantities of hairContinue reading "Telogen Effluvium"

Sudden cramps in a calf at night are very common, and may occur in almost half of all adults.  They’re more common with older age, and also occur in children.  They last seconds to minutes.  The best treatment is to stretch the knee straight, and stretch the foot upwards and back (“dorsiflex”).  This may requireContinue reading "Leg Cramps"

Clinicians often tell patients that the cause of their symptoms is "just a virus." For example, there are all sorts of viruses that can make a patient suddenly feel fatigued, or simply not well. Maybe there's a low-grade fever; more commonly, the person feels like they have a fever, but the temperature is normal (that'sContinue reading "“Just a Virus”"

Bulimia is a condition in which a person uncontrollably binge eats an enormous amount of food.  They feel guilty and ashamed, often make themselves vomit, and may try to exercise hard & diet to extremes until it all happens again (at least weekly, usually more often).  Patients express an abnormal concern about weight and bodyContinue reading "Bulimia"

Lymphoma is essentially a cancer of Lymphocytes, a type of White Blood Cell (WBC).  Leukemia is also a cancer of WBCs, sometimes involving lymphocytes, which begins while the cells are still immature, newly made in the bone marrow.  Lymphomas usually begin once cells have matured and left the marrow. Since lots of lymphocytes reside inContinue reading "Lymphoma"