Finding a few hairs in the drain is normal. But now there's a way to find out if it's leading down the path to baldness. It's a simple D-N-A test, and with just one swab, you can find out whether you should worry about losing your locks.
Derek Smigiel is 21. Not the typical age to worry about hair loss. "I didn't really notice much in the shower or anything like that, a few hairs falling out here and there."
The few hairs he did see, and his family history, worried him, "Mine's always just been a little thinner."
Derek decided to get a D-N-A test called HairDX. It searches for the androgen receptor gene on the x chromosome, the hair loss gene on your mom's side of the family. "The actual test is a cotton swab that's put in the inside of the mouth and just scraped the inside of the mouth for cells and then put into a medium and that's sent to a laboratory," says Dr. Shelly Friedman.
The lab then tests for the hair loss gene. Derek's came back positive, meaning his follicle future isn't bright. "Then you have a 70% chance of having hair loss or being bald by 40. Or on the other side, if you have a negative test, then you have a 70% chance of not having hair loss by 40," according to Dr. Friedman.
She says the earlier you treat, the longer you keep your locks, "By the time somebody notices that they're losing their hair, they've already have lost 50% of all the hair in that area."
That's a scenario Derek doesn't want. After his test results came back, he went on medication to keep the hair he has, "Definitely is nice to know that I can look later on into the future and know that I'm doing something."
There's one clinic in Wisconsin offering this right now. It's Krueger's Hair Loss Control Clinic. They're at 19 Sheboygan Street in Fond du Lac. You can call them at 920.923.5058 or 800.923.5058. Here's a link to their website, www.foxvalleyhair.com
