A symptom of low body temperature
Dry Hair, Hair Loss
Dry hair is a common complaint and can include the hair shafts breaking off at the ends. As mentioned in a previous chapter, hair manageability and luster can begin to return within two weeks of beginning proper thyroid hormone therapy, suggesting that the condition of the hair is greatly dependent on the oils secreted by the scalp and not just the composition of the hair shafts themselves. These patients frequently experience hair loss to some degree, especially from the head, but they can lose hair from sites all over the body. Thinning of the lateral one-third of the eye brows is a classic sign of decreased thyroid system function. Patients may also lose their eye lashes, leg hair, and even pubic hair. Most patients with Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome that experience hair loss notice generalized hair loss, especially from the top of their head, near their hair line, and on the sides of the head also (at the temples). Their hair may become so thin that one can often see their scalp. It is usually first noticed as hair on the pillow in the morning or clogging the shower drain. Everyone knows that losing some hair from day to day is normal. But they often notice a significant increase in the amount of hair being lost each day, especially when it comes out seemingly by the handfuls as one passes one’s fingers through one’s hair. One such patient had noticed a 50% decrease in the amount of hair present on her head. This thinning of her hair had been persistent for several years. With proper liothyronine treatment, the 50% loss of hair was restored, giving her back her full head of hair.
Patients also notice that with the onset of Wilson’s Temperature Syndrome, their hair may not hold a perm as well as it used to. They may find that the perm will only hold for a couple of weeks, when previously it would hold for several months. Sometimes their hair will not take a perm at all. Interestingly, most hair dressers are already quite aware of the correlation between decreased thyroid system function and the patient’s ability to maintain a hair permanent.
From the book — how this is usually treated
Artificial Nails, Wigs/Repeat Perms
Even though these are cosmetic issues, they deserve to be mentioned because of the impact that they can have on a patient's life, financially and emotionally. Many, many of the female patients that I treat for Wilson's Temperature Syndrome have artificial nails because of the splitting, breaking, peeling, and lack of growth of their own nails. Patients will often wear wigs or toupees due to hair loss. Patients may sometimes require a repeat perm after their permanent falls out within two weeks, when their permanents usually stay in for months (before Wilson's Temperature Syndrome). Sometimes the perm may not take at all. This problem is often corrected with proper thyroid hormone treatment. Interestingly, the dry and brittle hair problem that is frequently associated with Wilson's Temperature Syndrome sometimes begins to clear up in a manner of days, even two to fourteen days. Since the hair certainly has not had time to grow out completely within a period of two weeks, it appears that the condition and quality of the hair must have something to do with the oils that are secreted from the scalp. Frequently, with proper thyroid hormone treatment the change in the hair can often be dramatic and noticeable leaving it more manageable even within a period of two weeks. Some of the changes come over time as the hair grows out but it is interesting that some of the hair complaints improve in such a short period of time. (See PIGMENTATION, SKIN AND HAIR, CHANGES in Chapter 9).
In their own words
“Wilson I was suffering from the following symptoms: migraine headaches for over 20 years, constipation, fatigue, dry skin, fluid retention, dry hair, brittle, peeling and splitting soft nails, easy bruising, lack of sweating, allergies, frequent colds, heat and cold intolerance, itchiness, decreased hair and nail growth, cold hands and feet, slow wound healing, ringing of the ears, and a continuous…”
— Dianne T. · read more stories
Dr. Wilson on this symptom
WTS Hair Symptoms
In Wilson's Temperature Syndrome, low body temperature and slow metabolism may lead to hair loss, dryness and thinning. T3 therapy may help.
Low Body Temperature
Low Body Temperature Many doctors are not aware that low body temperatures can cause severe problems or that they can be corrected.
If your sense of smell and taste seem “off”, consider this …
A clinical trial found hypothyroid patients had a diminished sense of smell and taste that improved after thyroid treatment normalized their levels.
Hypothyroidism
Hypothyroidism is due to the inadequate production of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland is a butterfly-shaped gland just under the skin on the front of the neck.
Where this comes from. A 2015 interview with Dr. Wilson on low body temperature and thyroid hormone expression is indexed on PubMed Central (Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal). Wilson's Temperature Syndrome is not accepted by every medical body — read the disagreement in full.
From Dr. Denis Wilson's book on Wilson's Temperature Syndrome. See all symptoms →