Medical Questions & Answers

Question: I am 18 years old, female, and suffer from an embarrassing excess of facial and body hair. It grows around my nipples, between my breasts, and leads right down to my pubic hair. I find it very hard to wear any clothes that bare my body. What would you suggest?
Many women suffer from excess body hair, which is often associated with severe acne, but help is readily available from your general practitioner to control this problem.
Two prescriptions only drugs and a type of contraceptive pill can be prescribed long term to prevent the growth of excess body hair, reduce acne, and improve the luster of the hair on your head. These tablets cannot be used by men. It will be several months before they take effect, after which time the dosage can be reduced. They must normally be taken for several years to control the problem, but they do this very successfully, and with minimal side effects. Women of all ages can benefit from these treatments, and the post-menopausal woman with a moustache will be helped as much as the young woman with nipple and body hair.
Discuss the matter further with your general practitioner to determine which treatment is the better one for you.

Question: Is it safe to have electrolysis around the nipple area to remove hairs?
Yes, but be careful. Hairs often grow from the areola, the dark area of slightly bumpy skin around the nipple, but rarely do hairs grow from the nipple itself.
Electrolysis is the passage of an electric current through a needle that is inserted into the hair follicle from which the hair is growing. The aim is to destroy the hair follicle so no further hair growth can occur. If this is done on the areola, there should be no harm done, but if electrolysis is performed on the nipple itself, one or more of the 16 to 20 small ducts that transport milk from the breast tissue to the nipple itself may be damaged, which could cause problems when trying to breast feed.

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