Cooling caps are the latest innovations which could help people suffering from hair loss induced by chemo to keep their hair. Those breast cancer patients who needed chemo treatment may require help to maintain their hair. New studies have proved that these cooling caps are indeed revolutionary. More than half of women who used these caps were able to keep their hair during the treatment.
- Breast cancer patients who need chemotherapy usually lose their hair due to the powerful drugs.
- Scientists have developed some revolutionary cooling caps which will prevent hair loss.
- A trial proved that two-third of the women who wore the cap lost half or less hair than usual.
Dr. Julie Nangia, the lead author of the research, is also an assistant professor and breast cancer expert with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She claimed that the trial was stopped due to the fact that the product proved to be efficient. In the trial developed, half of the women who wore the caps were able to maintain their hair.
The control group indicated 0% hair retention. Every woman who did not wear the cooling cap lost her hair. Another study which was later developed revealed that the cooling devices can reduce hair loss. Researchers reported that only two-thirds of the patients lost half or even less hair during chemotherapy.
Both types of research were published on February 14 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The first study, as well as the second, received funding from the developers of these cooling devices. Approximately 50% of cancer patients characterize hair loss as one of the most terrible aspects of chemotherapy.
Eight percent of them claimed that they would refuse to do chemo to avoid losing their hair. Nangia stated that generally, every woman who finds out she will lose her hair would start crying. This implies a very emotional aspect. As a woman, losing your hair is like losing a part of your body image and sexuality. Not having hair will place you outside the anonymity zone, no longer having privacy when out in the crowd because everybody knows that you are sick.
The strong drugs used in chemotherapy determine the hair follicles be weak, and then they break. What is more, this treatment damages the hair growth cells in follicles. Thus, they can stop the cycle of hair growth or can even cause new hair to shed.
Scalp cooling caps were developed to limit this damage, constricting scalp’s blood vessels and reducing the amount of the drug which is usually delivered to the hair follicles.
Image source: flickr
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