Why Your Hair Smells Burnt: Causes, Solutions
A dermatologist explains what can cause hair to smell burnt and what the treatment is for this most unpleasant problem.
Does your hair have a burnt smell to it? What can cause this and what can be done about it?
“Burnt hair is a condition that relates to a burning smell in hair,” says Dr. Joel Schlessinger, MD, board certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon with a private practice in Omaha, NE.
“This is generally due to over-processing of hair, combined with too much heat on the same hair.
“Once hair has been damaged by either heat or chemicals it becomes thinner and open to further damage.
“Once this damage occurs it is easier for a ‘burnt smell’ to set in and be retained.”
Shutterstock/Vladimir Gjorgiev
Solutions to a Burnt Odor in Your Hair
Dr. Schlessinger explains, “There are many things to avoid if hair has a burnt smell, but the most important of these to avoid is being too close to a curling iron or wand.
“If and when hair needs to be dried it is important to avoid too high of a heat on the drier and always hold the drier away from the hair.
“Certain oils and nourishing shampoos will offer benefits to regain the natural smell of hair, but in the worst case scenarios it will simply be months until the damaged hair has the chance to grow out (usually, hair grows about an inch per month).
“During this growth time it is essential to avoid trauma and heat/chemicals.”
If a curling iron is used on hair that isn’t completely clean or dry, this can cause a problem.
When the heated device comes into contact with hair that has oils, hair products or residue, it can produce a burnt or unpleasant odor.
The heat can cause these substances to actually burn slightly, releasing a smell.
Additionally, if the curling iron itself isn’t cleaned regularly, any buildup of product or residue on the iron can contribute to a smell that transfers to your hair.
To minimize this issue, ensure that your hair is clean and dry, rather than “oily and grimy,” before using the curling iron, and regularly clean the iron to remove any buildup on it.
Dr. Schlessinger, founder of LovelySkin.com, has 25+ years of experience treating many skin conditions including melanoma. He’s founder of the Advanced Skin Research Center, a clinical facility that investigates new medications and treatments.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: ©Lorra Garrick
Cure for Flaky Itchy Scalp Caused by Minoxidil: Simple Remedy
Does Your Hair Smell Like a Wet Dog?
A dermatologist explains why your hair smells really bad, like a wet dog, and how to get rid of this problem.
Peeuww ! Does your hair’s smell remind you of a wet dog? The natural scent of hair should be pleasant, almost sweet.
Its natural fragrance originates from the sebaceous glands — there’s one of these glands in each hair follicle.
The glands secrete an oily substance called sebum, and it makes its way to the surface of the scalp.
James Heilman, MD, CreativeCommons
Once there, it then makes its way onto the visible hair shaft and down the length of the hair as you brush it; the brushing (or combing) distributes the beneficial sebum all over your hair.
But a certain problem can override the scent of your hair’s natural oils, making it stink like a wet dog or just be plain smelly.
Shutterstock/Marian Fil
Cause of a Really Bad Smell in Your Hair Despite Frequent Washings
“Smelly hair is a problem that occurs after bacteria (or fungus) becomes present in the scalp,” says Dr. Joel Schlessinger, MD, board certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon with a private practice in Omaha, NE.
“While antibiotics can treat and/or cure infections on the body, the scalp and hair remain incredibly resistant to antibiotics, as the hair can act as a reservoir for these organisms.
“Regular shampoos can do quite a bit to calm frizzy hair, preserve luster or clean off oils, but the last thing (and perhaps the ‘never’ thing) they do is to deep clean bacteria and other organisms.”
How to Get Rid of the Stink in Your Hair
Dr. Schlessinger continues, “This means that it is perfectly possible to wash hair thoroughly and miss the main thing in a situation of ‘smelly hair’ — the bacteria! For this reason, a different approach needs to be taken.
“For one, a sulfur-containing shampoo can help. There are many of these over the counter in drugstores.
“I recommend a bleach-containing shampoo, CLn (lovelyskin.com/o/cln-shampoo), that not only cleans but disinfects.
“Apocrine sweat glands magnify the problem, as they contain microorganisms that, when excreted, have a smell.
“These aren’t something that can be switched off easily, and are the same cause of armpit smells.
“In the worst of cases it may be worth considering Botox injections into the scalp area if the smell isn’t contained with the treatments mentioned here.
“But these are expensive and would not be covered by insurance for the scalp area.”
Washing
“It is important to note that hair should be washed daily,” says Dr. Schlessinger.
“In the case of ‘smelly hair’ it is necessary to wash daily and preferably prior to leaving for the day.”
Wet dog odor still persists?
“If these measures don’t work, it may be wise to see a dermatologist, as there may be a role in antibiotics or antifungals.”
Dr. Schlessinger, founder of LovelySkin.com, has 25+ years of experience treating many skin conditions including melanoma. He’s founder of the Advanced Skin Research Center, a clinical facility that investigates new medications and treatments.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Benefits of Having a Shy Child: Nothing Is Broken!
Trying to “fix” your child’s shyness may cause more harm than good.
I recently read in an advice column of a woman who complained that her husband would make his child sit in the laps of people the boy hardly knew, in an attempt to get the youngster to overcome shyness.
This is outrageous. The blaring reason is that it sends the message to the child that he has no say-so or domain over his body, and that if adults want to physically handle him against his will, he must allow them to do it without a fight.
This mental conditioning will prime this child for being a very easy victim of sexual abuse or molestation, should the town pedophile ever catch him alone.
Many parents are overly concerned when they realize their child is shy.
Now, if your child is so shy that he or she runs for cover whenever a friendly stranger appears within 100 feet, then this is a problem that needs attention.
But if your kid is showing signs of simple typical shyness, then relax and don’t panic.
Did you know that kids who grow up to be extroverted, gregarious, very social teens are more likely to do drugs?
The extroverted, social child is more likely to be influenced by peer pressure and following the crowd.
You may think that the shy kid will want to do anything to be popular, and this may be true in some cases.
But that extrovert will be in far more contact with many more people, and the more people, the more likely she’ll encounter ones of bad influence, and extroverts tend to worry a lot about what other people think.
Kids who keep to themselves, on the other hand, often don’t give a rip what other people think. Now again, who is more likely to be swayed by peer pressure to do the wrong thing?
Introverted, shy teens are rarely the ones smoking in the john with a group of friends between classes.
I know that in my junior high and high school, the “bad” kids usually had a lot of friends. The shy child would rather be in the library reading or listening to music in solitude.
Who is more likely to be lured into a car by a sex offender?
Well, this is a very interesting issue to look into. “An extrovert may have a lot of self-confidence and wouldn’t go with a pedophile,” says Carole Lieberman, MD, a forensic psychiatrist and author of Bad Girls: Why Men Love Them & How Good Girls Can Learn Their Secrets.
“But, a child who has a psychological problem that makes her gregarious because she’s needy for attention would be vulnerable to a pedophile. Similarly, a shy child who is simply very cautious, would be extremely hesitant to go with a pedophile.
“But, a child whose shyness is actually reflective of an underlying depression or mental illness would be vulnerable to a pedophile.”
Just using common sense, you might see that a child who runs over to meet unfamiliar strangers on the street (e.g., steam cleaning man, neighbor’s new housekeeper, exterminator, movers) is anything but shy, and could easily be talked into entering a stranger’s van to view the puppies in the basket (which really aren’t there, if you know what I mean).
Have you yourself ever tried to get a shy kid you don’t know to follow you? Good luck. Pedophiles don’t like to work hard; they go after kids who smile warmly at them and who easily approach them.
What kind of message do you send your shy child if she knows you are trying to fix or correct her shyness? She’ll feel defective and she’ll think you’re not happy or accepting of her.
If you want to “bring out” your kid or get him out of his “shell,” then don’t order him to say “Hi” to every stranger.
He is simply obeying your command and this will not produce an internal ease with strangers.
Do not make her kiss or receive hugs and kisses from strangers or people she hardly knows, including relatives.
Instead, enroll them in martial arts school, encourage them to develop inborn skills and show value to their opinions.
Dr. Lieberman says that shy children tend to be more reflective than their outgoing counterparts.
She also explains, “Shyness can be a plus, when it directs a child towards serious career goals, for example.
“But, parents should try to help their children become more comfortable with others by involving them in playdates and after-school activities from the time they are very young.”
PS: It’s not the shy kids who talk nonstop in a loud, annoying voice and constantly interrupt and act pushy and spoiled.
Dr. Lieberman analyzes the psychological impact of world events, as a guest and/or host on all major media outlets. Her appearances include “Larry King Live,” “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Entertainment Tonight,” CNN and Fox News.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik
Benign Causes of Bilirubin in Your Urine
If bilirubin has been found in your urine, is there ANY reassurance that this might have a benign cause?
“Bilirubin is not normally found in the urine,” says Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
“A positive test for urine bilirubin confirms that any raised plasma levels are from conjugated hyperbilirubinemia.
“Causes of bilirubin in the urine include hepatocellular [liver] dysfunction and any cause of bile duct obstruction [which, unfortunately, can include cancer of the bile ducts, gallbladder, liver, pancreas and metastases from distant primary cancers].”
What is meant by “benign”? To some people, this means anything but cancer. To others, it means not only that, but also non-serious.
With that said, some individuals, then, will consider the following as benign causes of a bile duct obstruction—which can lead to bilirubin in the urine:
Bile duct inflammation
Cysts
Trauma
Abnormal narrowing of the biliary ducts
Pancreatitis
Parasites
But most causes of biliary obstruction are from the presence of gallstones.
Additional Benign Causes of Bilirubin in the Urine
“Urine bilirubin levels may be elevated by medications including barbiturates, birth control pills, steroids and diuretics, and reduced by medications including ascorbic acid and indomethacin,” says Dr. Alashari.
“Urobilinogen and etodolac [arthritis drug] may cause false-positive bilirubin results, while uric acid, nitrite and extended exposure to direct sunlight may cause false negative results.”
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/Guschenkova
Can Gallbladder Removal Cause a Noisy Stomach?
Have you had your gallbladder removed and are now experiencing strange, funny sounds that seem to be originating from your stomach?
“I am unaware of this condition. Have not read about it or seen it in the clinical setting,” says Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
So if your stomach is making noises that seem to have arisen only after you’ve had your gallbladder removed, perhaps it is just a coincidence.
Here is the link to an article that you will be interested in: Causes of Stomach Noises
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Top image: Shutterstock/ShutterOK
Is Gallbladder Removal Necessary for Only Pain, No Stones?
Wondering if your gallbladder pain warrants the removal of this organ even though you don’t have gallstones?
“Gallbladder dyskinesia [impairment of movement] is a motility disorder that affects the gallbladder,” explains Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
“Patients with this condition present with biliary-type pain, and investigations show no evidence of gallstones in the gallbladder,” continues Dr. Alashari.
“The diagnosis is made by performing a gallbladder ejection fraction, which is a radionuclide investigation.”
This procedure is called a HIDA scan. “An abnormal gallbladder ejection fraction has a value less than 40 percent.
“Patients with an abnormal gallbladder ejection fraction should undergo cholecystectomy [removal of this organ].
“This procedure has been shown to be effective in curing the symptoms in over 90 percent of patients.”
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/KDdesignphoto
Middle Back Pain after Gallbladder Removal: Causes, Solutions?
Are you suffering from back pain post-gallbladder removal and are wondering what’s causing this and what can be done about it?
“It is not unusual for people who have had laparoscopic cholecystectomy [gallbladder removal] to experience muscular pain in the region of their puncture wounds under the ribs,” explains Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, and author of “THE POWER OF PEAK STATE.”
“This pain can sometimes radiate to the back and can be confused with gallbladder pain in the early postoperative period.
“This usually resolves after five to seven days and can be treated with a local heating pad.”
The heating pad should be in the form of a water bottle that contours nicely to the curvature of your back.
Additional Pain Following Gallbladder Removal
Dr. Alashari adds, “Patients having had laparoscopic cholecystectomy occasionally experience shoulder pain which is usually due to the carbon dioxide used to inflate your abdomen during surgery.
“This typically resolves within a few days.”
Dr. Alashari was formerly with Grand Strand Regional Medical Center in SC as an abdominal and critical care surgeon.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik.com jcomp
Burning in Stomach after Gallbladder Surgery: Doctor Explains
Middle Back Pain after Gallbladder Removal: Causes, Solutions?
Severe Upper Right Side Pain After Eating: Causes, Solutions
Stem Cell Injection into Total Knee Replacement for Pain Reduction?
Can stem cell therapy work on a knee that’s had a total replacement?
An orthopedic surgeon who also uses stem cell treatments was asked this question by me, at his seminar, regarding my father who had a total knee replacement in each knee.
This was after the doctor presented information on stem cell treatments for painful joints—the injection would go into tissue, not hardware.
My father had seen many doctors to find out why both knees (post-TKR) were still so painful.
He got different responses from each doctor (including a diagnosis of peripheral neuropathy), and none were able to diagnose him with a failed TKR, though one said that the bone scan showed that they “might” be loosened.
The doctor at the seminar admitted that he had never administered stem cell therapy to someone with a knee replacement. He was touting SCT as an alternative to the knee replacement.
However, he was quite interested in my father’s situation and wanted to give it a try—he was so interested that he reduced the payment by 50 percent.
He is a board certified orthopedic surgeon who performs surgeries on knees, hips and shoulders, and he has performed the stem cell treatment on many patients including former professional athletes (with success), giving it about a 75 percent success rate.
My father, having tried everything, including electro-stim therapy from a chiropractor, endovascular back surgery (since the knee pain was blamed on spinal stenosis by a few doctors), massage and oral and topical painkillers, figured he had nothing to lose.
The doctor allowed me to observe the procedure, which involves injecting the patient’s stem cells into the painful joint.
Though my father has hardware in both knees, the doctor found a “soft” spot where there was tissue, and made the injection there.
The stem cells were harvested from my father’s pelvis, then centrifuged for 12 minutes to separate them from the rest of the blood matter (3,000 gees).
The actual injections took less than 30 seconds.
The doctor said that if this is destined to work, it will take three to four weeks.
The stem cells are supposed to reduce inflammation as well as deliver oxygen and nutrients to the joint—a location that normally doesn’t get much blood circulation.
So, the reduction in inflammation, and the increased amount of oxygen and nutrients, will hopefully result in a notable pain reduction.
Stem cell therapy, as described by the doctor, is a one-time administration, though some patients who experience no alleviation of pain will go in for a second injection and then get results.
But if the first injection works…there’s no need for any additional injections down the road, because the stem cells multiply on their own—but, like cells anywhere else such as skin cells, have a turnover rate, so that the total amount of cells at any given time remains constant and controlled..
The doctor said that if he were to look at the stem cells in my father’s knee six months from now, he’d see the great-great-great-great-great granddaughters of the original cells he injected into the knee.
If this procedure works for my father’s knee pain, the doctor will know he’s really on to something.
UPDATE: The stem cell therapy never made any difference.
But remember, it was done on a patient with hardware in his knee, which is not the norm for this procedure.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Manjunath Ramappa, Andrew Port, CreativeCommons
Can a Painful Fatty Cyst in Your Armpit Come and Go?
Are you noticing that the cyst under your arm seems to disappear, then return, back and forth?
What’s really going on?
The cyst “can get enlarged and inflamed at times and make it feel as though it’s ‘coming and going,’” says Dr. Dendy Engelman, a board certified dermatologic surgeon with Manhattan Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery.
She further explains, “Most cysts (although there are always exceptions) don’t resolve on their own, but they can certainly fluctuate in size and degree of symptoms (meaning sometimes they can be small and painless and other times they can be enlarged and painful).
“The other potential to consider in the underarm region is an inflamed lymph node.
“This can be the result of many causes — breast cancers, local infection or just a benign process. So, it’s always best to have axillary (armpit) growths evaluated.”
Versed in the latest techniques and technologies, Dr. Engelman provides a wide range of services including fat removal, mole excision, Mohs surgery and skin cancer treatment.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: ©Lorra Garrick
Daily Itching Attacks on Entire Body with Rash: Causes
Sudden attacks of itching all over the body with a rash can mean one of several serious conditions.
What appears to be a rash may also be termed as “hives.”
“Paroxysms of pruritus (episodes of extreme itching) are miserable for patients and are often difficult to determine the etiology (cause) and to manage,” explains Dr. Dendy Engelman, a board certified dermatologic surgeon with Manhattan Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery.
“Acute or chronic urticaria (hives) can be caused by internal illness (ex: thyroid disease, cancers, blood disorders, kidney or liver disease), medications, environmental exposures- – just to name a few.
“So, a full workup with a thorough history, physical, and blood work evaluation is critical to determining the cause.”
Versed in the latest techniques and technologies, Dr. Engelman provides a wide range of services including fat removal, mole excision, Mohs surgery and skin cancer treatment.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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