JustCare

Tag: Hair loss

  • Amazon offers new health care products for a subscription fee

    Amazon offers new health care products for a subscription fee

    Amazon has decided that it can make money selling its Prime members monthly subscriptions for five health care services that insurance will not cover. Heather Landi reports for Fierce Healthcare that Amazon’s services are pay-per-visit and are available exclusively through telehealth. Here’s how it works.

    If you are looking for help with hair loss (men only), anti-aging skin care, erectile dysfunction, eyelash growth and motion sickness, Amazon One Medical offers a subscription solution. You pay upfront each month in exchange for a telehealth visit, a treatment plan and free delivery of the medications you are prescribed.

    Medicare does not cover these services, whether you are in traditional Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan. They are not considered medically necessary. But, if you would like any of these services, it’s not clear why you are better off subscribing to Amazon’s service than getting a prescription for them from your physician.

    Your primary care physician typically can prescribe medicines for hair loss and motion sickness. And, you can find plenty of anti-aging skin care products without paying Amazon One Medical providers $10 a month or more.

    What do these new services cost? 

    • Anti-aging skin care is available for $10 a month
    • Men’s hair loss is $16 a month.
    • Erectile disfunction treatment costs $19 a month (a 92 percent savings, according to Amazon)
    • Eyelash growth treatment is $43 a month
    • Motion sickness care is $2 a use.

    If you are not prescribed a treatment, you don’t pay.

    Amazon Clinic is already available throughout the US. It provides telehealth services for many common conditions, including pink eye, flu and sinus infection. Messaging visits are $29. Video visits are $49.

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  • Is your hair thinning? Here’s what to do

    Is your hair thinning? Here’s what to do

    As we age, it’s very common for both men and women to experience hair loss. Is your hair thinning or do you have bald patches? Here’s what you can do about hair thinning.

    Everyone loses about 50-100 strands of hair a day. But, about 80 percent of men experience significant hair loss during their lifetime. More than half of them see their hair thinning before they hit 50. And, nearly half of women see their hair thinning significantly during their lifetime, though generally later in life than men. It rarely feels good.

    What’s causing the hair loss? There are several possible causes of hair loss or alopecia. One prime cause is the aging process. Cells die off as we age, causing hair thinning or bald spots. Genetics also plays a large role in hair loss, affecting your hormones. And, some people lose hair as a result of stress. Telogen effluvium, a response to stress, can cause temporary hair loss over several months.

    In addition, infections, medications and nutritional deficiencies can all play a role in hair loss. Infections, for example, can invade hair follicles in your scalp, causing hair to fall out.

    What can you do about hair loss? First, speak with your doctor or dermatologist. Share a list of your medicines with your doctor, so your doctor can consider whether they play a role. If it’s hormones that are causing your hair loss, an oral medication could improve your situation. Here’s what your doctor might do:

    • Blood test to determine whether a  medical condition is causing your hair loss.
    • Scalp biopsy in which your doctor looks at hair roots to see if you have an infection that’s responsible for your hair loss.
    • Light microscopy which allows your doctor to detect disorders of your hair shaft.

    You can also try minoxidil, better known as Rogaine, which is available over-the-counter in liquid, foam and shampoo forms that you can apply topically. It can also be taken orally. Finasteride is a prescription medicine that helps with hair loss, available exclusively for men.

    If you’re willing to splurge on a low-level laser and wear it for 30 minutes every other day, the evidence suggests that it can get your hair to grow, improving hair density.

    The most costly treatment, and likely also the most painful, is a hair transplant, in which a surgeon moves hair from one part of your head to a bald patch.

    To minimize hair loss, use a shampoo that does not contain sulfates, and massage your scalp when you shampoo your hair.

    Taking supplements is not likely to help with hair loss. And, there’s no evidence to support a treatment with platelet-rich plasma, in which plasma is separated from your blood and injected into your scalp multiple times.

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