Irishman Settles Claim for Hair Lost in a Horse Riding Accident

Alopecia can appear as patches but sometimes leads to total hair loss

News of an unusual case of hair loss has hit the headlines this week, in the form of David Jameson from Dun Laoghaire near Dublin in Ireland, whose hair fell out “in clumps” after being involved in a horse riding accident. Mr Jameson was holidaying with his wife and children in Morocco when he was cajoled into a riding excursion with his daughters. However, the experience was soured when Mr Jameson was thrown from his horse, injuring his neck, shoulders and lower-back in the fall. In addition to this, eight weeks after the incident, Mr Jameson noticed that his hair was starting to fall out in patches. As a result, Mr Jameson sought compensation from the tour operator involved.

Not just horsing around

In court, Mr Jameson argued that the hair loss could have been caused by a condition known as Alopecia, and that it may never grow back. Alopecia Areata is a hair loss condition which has been known to be caused by severe emotional stress brought on by a traumatic experience - like an accident.

Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disorder which causes a person’s own immune system to attack their hair follicles, at which point the attached hair falls out. This then results in patchy hair loss or, in extreme (and rare) cases, total baldness.

Stallions, stress and Telogen Effluvium

However, there is a second known stress-related hair loss condition called Telogen Effluvium, which can also be caused by a sudden, stressful occurrence. People losing hair as a result of this condition find themselves in a situation whereby their hair follicles incorrectly enter a resting phase, causing the attached hair to fall out around 3 months after the event that caused the hairloss.

This resting phase is perfectly normal (around 10% of a person’s hair follicles are in “telogen” at any given time), but when additional follicles enter telogen early it results in large patches of hair falling out.

What hope for Mr Jameson?

Mr Jameson’s hair may begin re-growing naturally, regardless of whether the original balding was caused by Telogen Effluvium or Alopecia Areata. However, should the hair regrowth prove to be stubborn, he might want to obtains a full and proper diagnosis of the underlying condition.

Here at The Belgravia Centre our patients receive a complete clinical diagnosis, along with a bespoke treatment plan designed to deal with their specific hair loss condition. Our on-site pharmacy makes our unique hair loss treatment medications, which have yielded impressive results for our many thousands of satisfied patients. You can take a look at some of our patient success stories in our online archive.

If you are experiencing hair loss, whether it is as a result of an accident, or any other condition, we recommend a one-to-one consultation with one of our hair loss experts to discuss potential treatments. Call us today on 0800 077 6666 or contact us online to arrange a free, no obligation session. If you can’t make it into our London clinic, you can still fill out our online diagnostic form, which allows us to send you a home use treatment programme in the post.

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