Treatment for Alopecia (male pattern hairloss)

Dear Ask The Doctor: Hello I am 23 years old and am very worried about hair loss. I have always had a bad hair line widows peak since a young age. Somone brought it to my attention jokingly saying i was going bald and it has started playing on my mind. i cant tell if it is paranoia that is making me think it is getting worse or my hairline has stayed the same. I also recently got a haircut that was accedently cut to short and has exposed my hairline more than usual. When i run my fingers through my hair a few hairs come out and when i wake up in the morning there are between 1-3 hairs on my pillow. This is somthing that i would have never noticed before and i am wondering if that is normal. my father has a similar widows peak to myself and a small bald patch on the crown of his head, but my hair is very think everywhere else. Out of my mothers brothers 2 out of three are bald and her father had a very think full head of hair until the day he died. I smoke, have a high stress job and not the best of diets and have heard that this can be contributing factors to hair loss. i have recently started to take iron tablets to try and combat it. I have also heard more hair falls out during winter. I would be perfectly happy if my hairline was to stay the same way it is now but would be very concerned if it were to recide futher. considering the fact that my fathers hairline is similar to my own and my maternal grandfather had a full head of hair do i have a good chance of my hair remaining in the same state that it is in now. I think i just need a bit of reasurance thank you

Dear Paul: Androgenic alopecia (male pattern hairloss) is the most common cause of hair loss and is caused due to increased levels of androgen. This type of hair loss usually presents with loss of hair from the frontal and parietal areas of the scalp. Minoxidil and Finasteride are approved drugs for treatment of baldness in men. Nizoral shampoo, commonly used as an anti-dandruff, is also observed to improve baldness however, it is not approved as a recommended treatment for baldness. Other treatments could include laser treatment, hair transplant, hair wigs and weaves. It is certainly a good idea to see a dermatologist to rule out other causes of hair loss including exposure to certain chemicals, injury to the hair root, infection (especially fungal) or autoimmune (alopecia areata).