Hirsutism is when the woman has hair on her face, chest and belly, in an exaggerated way, as occurs in men. Hair usually starts to become easier to identify from puberty, but this condition can arise after menopause.
This situation is more common in women, but it can also affect men, although in their case it is easier to disguise, in addition to being more embarrassing for women.
Signals and symptons
The signs and symptoms of excess hair in women are:
- Emergence of hair on the side of the face, fluff, back and buttocks; Thick and often joined eyebrows; Acne, dandruff, hair loss; Clitoral enlargement, increase in muscle mass, change in voice tone; Irregular menstruation; Infertility.
In addition, many women have increased weight, being considered obese and with insulin resistance.
The diagnosis must be made by the doctor when observing the areas where it is possible to identify the excess hair of male characteristics. In light cases the hair is fine and appears especially on the side of the face and on the eyebrows and in these cases there is no need to carry out exams. When hair is seen in other areas of the body, the doctor usually orders tests to evaluate testosterone, prolactin, FSH, TSH in addition to transvaginal ultrasound.
What can cause excess hair in women
The most common causes of excess hair on the face are excess male hormones in the bloodstream and polycystic ovary syndrome, but other possible causes include thyroid disorders, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, secondary hirsutism, certain medications such as phenothiazines, danazol, metyrapone, cyclosporine, valproic acid, in addition to Cushing's syndrome and tumors.
How the treatment is done
The treatment aims to eliminate the hormonal excess, if its increase is proven. In most mild cases and when the cause cannot be discovered, because the test results are normal, you can use the birth control pill that helps a lot to control the situation, but you can also resort to aesthetic treatments that eliminate hair definitely as is the case with laser hair removal, which despite not eliminating hair once and for all, greatly reduces its appearance and growth, after about 10 sessions. Find out all about laser hair removal.
