Why are Some Women More Hairy?

The term ‘unwanted hair removal’ is now a part and parcel of beauty treatment and normally we do not think of excessive hair growth as a serious medical problem. Our society likes its women to be well groomed and women with coarse or excessive hair growth are looked down upon. This causes anxiety and other more severe psychological problems.

Consequently, beauty parlors have a field day getting rid of unwanted hair as desperate women queue up for the expensive methods of hair removal.

Hirsutism: Hairiness or Hirsutism is a medical condition where a woman has an abundance of coarse hairs all over the body. More specifically these hairs are prevalent on the face, chest  or pubic areas of the body just like a male. Hirsutism is thought to be androgen or male hormone dependent and may be the manifestation of a much more serious disease.

Here are some of the reasons for hairiness in women:

In cases of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, the patient often shows acute Hirsutism as a symptom.

Excessive secretion of the Pituitary gland medically known as the Cushing’s disease is another reason for Hirsutism.

Malignant tumors of the ovaries or adrenal glands as well as taking of certain medications like cyclosporine, penicillamine, streptomycin or taking of oral contraceptives can also promote the male pattern of hair growth.

Certain recessive diseases resulting from the mutation of genes known as Congenital adrenal hyperplasia can trigger off the hair formation.

People having insulin resistance or thyroid gland problems also tend to be excessively hairy.

Apart from these, Hirsutism may  be seen after menopause in otherwise normal women. Extreme or Morbid obesity is another condition which may be associated with Hirsutism.

Fortunately most causes for Hirsutism, are benign or comparatively harmless, even then it is wise to go for a complete medical check up once a woman notices increased growth of hair on her body. Sometimes it may be much more serious than a mere cosmetic problem.