Revealed: Rapid hair loss cases in people of Maharashtra’s Buldhana due to….

More than the required amount is responsible.

Mumbai: Recently, many incidents of sudden hair loss were reported from Maharashtra’s Buldhana district. It went to become national headlines. Now, experts from the field of medicine have shared a report according to which the reason behind the sudden hair loss is the high selenium content found in wheat from Punjab and Haryana and supplied by local ration shops.

Selenium is a mineral found in the soil and naturally appears in water and some foods. Humans require only a very small amount of selenium. It plays an important role in metabolism.

The phenomenon of sudden hair loss is called ‘acute onset alopecia totalis’ and it was reported in 279 people from 18 villages of Buldhana between December 2024 and January this year. This led the authorities to order a probe into the matter.

It is worth noting that most of the affected people were college students and young girls who faced significant distress and anxiety due to this condition. It even became an obstacle in their educational pursuits and marriages.

Many resorted to shaving their scalps to avoid embarrassment and under the belief that their hair would regrow after that.

It is worth noting that most of the affected people were college students and young girls who faced significant distress and anxiety due to this condition. It even became an obstacle in their educational pursuits and marriages.

Many resorted to shaving their scalps to avoid embarrassment and under the belief that their hair would regrow after that.

Dr Himmatrao Bawaskar, MD of Bawaskar Hospital and Research Centre in Raigad and Padma Shri awardee, while talking to news agency PTI, said, “After reaching the affected areas and collecting samples, it was found that individuals, primarily young women, had symptoms such as headache, fever, scalp itching, tingling, and in some cases vomiting and loose motions.

“The primary cause of the outbreak was linked to wheat imported from Punjab and Haryana, which was found to have a significantly higher selenium content than the locally produced wheat.”

“Our analysis of wheat from the affected region revealed that it contained 600 times more selenium than the locally grown variety. This high selenium intake is believed to be the cause of the alopecia cases.”

The condition developed rapidly, with total baldness occurring within three to four days of the symptoms’ onset in these villages, said Padma Shri Dr Himmatrao Bawaskar.