Can women use Propecia?
Propecia is mainly a prescription medicine for the male population. It is not suggested for women to take it, especially not on their own. However, there have been some reports where Propecia helped some women as well.
Anyway, there are two reasons why women should not use Propecia. The first is that it has been tested with women who had hair loss issues, but without any visible improvements. The second is that it can be dangerous for women who are pregnant.
However, there are some, so-called, “off-label” uses of Propecia. Actually it has been used in treating female pattern baldness as well as treatment of hirsutism, which is excess body and facial hair.
A study has been conducted that included two groups of postmenopausal women with female pattern baldness. One of these groups was treated with Propecia, and the other was not. Anyway, after a certain period of time, no differences could be seen between these two groups. As for hirsutism, there have also been some studies which implied that Propecia might be helpful in treating this phenomenon. However, if you have any of these problems, and are thinking about using Propecia as a possible solution, make sure you consult your doctor first.
As for the safety of using Propecia with women, the only state when this pill medicine can be dangerous is pregnancy, and in that case it can harm male fetus. Otherwise, there are no other registered side-effects that may occur in women who use Propecia.
Nevertheless, there has been a recent research where women with female pattern baldness were treated with Propecia in combination with oral contraceptive pills. The reason why they were given contraceptive pills was to prevent them from getting pregnant, because of the possible harm to fetus. The number of women who were treated was 37. Out of these 37, three women reported great improvement, eight of them reported moderate improvement, and twelve reported slight improvement in their treatment. The rest reported no improvement at all. In conclusion, 23 out of 37 women noticed that the treatment had actually helped them.
So, if you are a woman with hair loss issues, Propecia might be a possible solution for you. Although there are many reports showing that it has not been beneficial to women, there have also been those that showed exactly the opposite. Of course, if you are pregnant, or trying to get pregnant, do not use Propecia since it can be detrimental to your fetus. Otherwise, consult your doctor, explain all the circumstances and conditions of your issue and your overall health, and he will then tell you if you should start using Propecia or not. Since it brings no other side-effects, it is perfectly safe to try it out and see if it will work for you. After consulting your doctor and probably getting a prescription for Propecia, all you need to do is relax, be patient and wait for the first signs of improvement.