Women

• Women experience sudden hair loss more commonly than men. It is often the result of a hormonal imbalance. During pregnancy, when your hormones are high, you are likely to have full, lustrous hair. Approximately three months after you give birth and your hormones get back to normal, however, you may notice hair loss, and it may be significant. This is because you are shedding the hair that you didn't shed for nine months. This type of hair loss generally resolves itself on its own.
  
  

Factors

• Poor nutrition, stress and menopause also account for sudden hair loss. If you are not eating properly, your body does not receive the vitamins and minerals it requires to grow and retain hair. If you are menopausal, estrogen and progesterone levels plummet and testosterone increases, resulting in male pattern hair loss. Your hair may also become much thinner. If you think your diet is causing your hair loss, start eating better.
  
  If you are suffering from an eating disorder, odds are that your hair is going to be thin, brittle, lack moisture and fall out. Incorporate more red meat into your diet. It contains protein, from which your hair is made, as well as iron, zinc and B vitamins. Eggs, cottage cheese and salmon also contain protein as well as B vitamins.
  
  

More Considerations

• When hormones are waning, eat more plant-based estrogens such as flax, soy yogurt, tofu and soy nuts. Plant estrogens help prevent hair loss as well as other hormone-related issues. Some opt to drink teas such as red clover or black cohosh, which also contain phytoestrogens.
  
  

Medicine

• Some medications cause hair loss, including anticoagulants, heart medications, excessive vitamin A, antidepressants, birth control pills and gout medicine. If you are taking any of these drugs and experiencing hair loss, discuss this with your doctor and see if there is another alternative.
  
  

Fungus

• Fungal infections sometimes cause sudden hair loss. Check your scalp or have someone else do it for you. If you find that there is evidence of an infection, contact your doctor ASAP. A fungal infection is treatable.
  
  

Disease

• Hair loss is also an indicator of underlying diseases such as diabetes or lupus. In fact, it's one of the earliest signs of these conditions, so take note.
  
  

Alopecia Areata

• Alopecia areata is the medical term for baldness. When this condition is present, is causes hair loss. Alopecia areata is an auto immune disease that strikes the hair follicles and causes hair to fall out, often in clumps the size of a quarter. Sometimes the hair falls out in only a few places; other times all of your hair falls out. Treatment for this includes anti-inflammatory drugs such as corticosteroids, which are injected into the scalp, or administered orally or topically. Minoxidil, also known as Rogaine, is a drug used to treat baldness.