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We may be on medication for several reasons. Though our illness may be cured, we may fall prey to some unwanted side-effects. One of them is usually the loss of hair. While some drugs induce a spurt in hair growth, many others can result in hair loss. The reason this happens is because the drugs can be interfering with the regular functioning of the scalp. Hair goes through primarily three stages – the  anagen  one where your hair grows for around four years. Following this is the telogen phase where your hair is rested for about three months. The final stage is that of telogen where the hair falls out and in its place comes new hair.

When you are on medication, it can lead to hair loss of two types - telogen effluvium and Anagen effluvium.

In the first one, you will find that it is a very common affliction. It normally comes up around two to four months post the taking of the medication. Under the influence of this drug, your hair will go into the telogen phase without completing its growth and fall off because it has become weak. In such cases people will lose up to 150 strands of hairs a day.

In the case of Anagen effluvium, hair falls off during the during the anagen phase when your hair is still in the process of growing. There are matrix cells that constantly divide and give rise to new hair. The medication you take will prevent this from happening. This normally happens within a few days of you taking the medication. This kind of hair loss is often seen among people who are undergoing chemotherapy. You will see that they lose almost all of the hair on their head as well as facial hair.

How severe your hair loss is will depend on the sensitivity you have towards a particular drug. There are numerous other drugs that can cause hair loss. For example you have medicines for acne that contain Vitamin A or retinoids. This can work negatively on your hair. The use of certain antibiotics and antifungal drugs too can make a difference. When you are on medication to bring down your level of cholesterol-your hair can take a beating. Same is the case for drugs related to the treatment of high blood pressure, epilepsy, hormone replacement and even weight loss drugs.

What you have to take solace in is the fact that most of these conditions are reversible once your need to for the particular drug is done with.