To study the effect how telogen effluvium is triggered, it’s important to understand the hair growth cycle. At any given time, each strand of our hair is in some phase of hair growth cycle. This cycle is divided into three parts, which is the anagen phase, catagen phase and the telogen phase. In a healthy scalp, 85 % to 90 % of your hair is in anagen phase, 5 % in catagen phase and 10 % in telogen phase.

Understanding  the Phases

Anagen phase- This is the live phase which allows the hair to grow. Due to this phase, the scalp looks healthy, thick and grows to almost a centimeter every month. It’s also the longest phase and lasts for 2 to 8 years. People who have a healthy hair growth usually have long anagen phases.

This phase is followed by the catagen phase where the hair shrinks in size and stops receiving blood supply. These hairs make way for the new hair follicle to grow. This is a short transitional phase and lasts for 2 to 4 weeks.

The last phase in hair cycle is the telogen phase which is the resting phase. In this phase there is no growth as it involves the regeneration of new hair follicles which grow out of the scalp. The phase lasts for three months in which the hair follicles are replaced by new ones. At this stage of the cycle, the hair follicles are weak and keep falling.

Telogen effluvium

This condition occurs when the anagen phase is shortened and the hair directly enters the telogen phase. Due to this sudden transition, 50 % or more of growing hair follicles suddenly enter the telogen phase and start falling. After the end if the telogen phase, which could last for three months, there is sudden increase in the hair fall.

Cause of Telogen effluvium

In most cases, doctors are not able to define the cause that triggers telogen effluvium. Some of the causes that seem related to telogen effluvium are:

• Sudden illness- Acute illness such as fever, severe infection, major surgery and severe trauma can trigger severe hair fall.
• Chronic illness – Illnesses that have lasted for a long time such as cancer, systemic lupus erythematosus, last stage of kidney (renal) diseases and liver diseases can trigger telogen effluvium.
• Hormonal changes- Women undergo hormonal changes during pregnancy and delivery or due to medical reasons that leads to hypothyroidism which can lead to this condition.
• Diet- Sudden change in diet to loose weight can cause anorexia, chronic iron deficiency and protein deficiency. All this can lead to sudden hair fall.
• Metal poisoning- exposure to heavy metal such as lead, arsenic and thallium can cause metal poisoning which can lead to severe hair fall.
• Medication- severe medications for treatment of such as anti cancer drugs, beta- blockers, anticoagulants and retinoids can cause severe hair fall.
• Excessive traveling- traveling can cause sudden change on climate which affects the hair. Also jet lagging can cause hair to fall as the person may be stressed and may suffer from lack of sleep.

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