Hair Loss Following Selenium Toxicity

Report of Selenium Toxicity Documents Hair loss in 70% Including some with Complete Hair Loss

A report from 2010 in the Archives of Internal Medicine documents the side effects following excessive amounts of selenium.

A commercially available product at that time had been incorrectly manufactured and contained excessively high amounts of selenium. This was incorrectly made due to employee error at the manufacturing plant. The FDA was contacted an an investigation was conducted.

The product was “labeled” as containing 200 μg of selenium per fluid ounce (30 mL) in the form of sodium selenite. The FDA subsequently tested the product and determined the selenium concentration to be 40,800 μg/oz. This equates to approximately 200 times the labeled concentration.

More detailed telephone interviews were administered to all persons identified as having consumed the product. Of 227 individuals who took the supplement, 201 (89%) met the case definition for selenium poisoning. The remaining 26 people who did not meet the case definition reported no or mild symptoms

It was estimated that the median dose consumed per day was 41 585 micrograms (range, 3400–244 800 μg/d). Again, the recommended dietary allowance is just 55 μg/d). The serum selenium concentrations on testing of the blood ranged from 321 to 1500 μg/L, with a mean of 761 μg/L. The normal is 23–190 μg/L.

Symptoms of Selenium Toxicity: Hair Loss Among Top 3 Symptoms

The most frequently reported symptoms of selenium toxicity were diarrhea (78%), fatigue (72%), hair loss (70%), joint pain (67%), nail discoloration or nail brittleness (61%), nausea (57%), and headache (45%). Foul breath (37%) and cutaneous eruption (26%) were also commonly reported. 21 % had fever.

Scalp Hair Loss Ranges from Slight to Total

The authors noted that the proportion of scalp hair lost ranged from 10% to 100%. The median amount was 50 %.

Of the 78 patients reporting hair loss, 14 (18%) reported complete loss of scalp hair. One patient (1%) reported total body hair loss.

Nails changes: One-third of those with nail changes have nail loss

61 % had nail discoloration or nail brittleness. Of the 74 patients who reported fingernail discoloration or brittleness, 28 (38%) reported nail loss.

REFERENCE

MacFarquhar JK et al. Acute Selenium Toxicity Associated With a Dietary Supplement. Arch Intern Med. 2010 Feb 8; 170(3): 256–261.