Alopecia Areata,
A Life Wrecking Condition.

What is Alopecia Areata?

Alopecia Areata is a kind of autoimmune related hair loss that you can distinguish by observing rapid hair loss in specific areas (bald patches) on your scalp. While most of the medical symptoms of this condition usually occur on your scalp, it can affect any part of your body's hair. Although this medical condition is not life threatening, it is definitely life wrecking for anyone who suffers from it.

What Causes of Alopecia Areata?

Up to now, no one can really pinpoint the specific causes of Alopecia Areata. Most medical professionals speculate that this disease is caused by an autoimmune disorder where the immune system specifically the T cell lymphocytes, accumulates around your hair follicles triggering inflammation subsequently leading to hair loss.

Some suggestions that this unique disease can be triggered by

• Allergies
• Thyroid problems
• Vitiligo
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Genetics

Scientists and researchers note that genetics are also a potential cause since it is common with people with family's history of this disease. In one out of five persons down with this condition, someone else in the family also has it. If you need a detailed scientific understanding of this condition,
click here.

Medical Symptoms

It's rather hard for you or even your doctor to diagnose Alopecia Areata because this condition can present itself in different forms. However, most often you will notice

• Initially, a single bald patch of hair loss around 1 ? 2 cm in diameter
• Gradually, other similar bald patches might develop in other areas.
• Growing of weirdly shaped hairs which looks like exclamation points around the hair loss area
• ANAGEN hairs with white colored bulbs still attached falling out of from the balding area

In most cases, this disease usually affects pigmented hairs like your terminal hairs. Small fine hairs also known as vellus hairs are usually not affected.

Your nails, which are made of keratin like your hair, might be affected too. Expect to see some brittleness, pitting or abnormalities from your nails together with this condition.

Advancement of the Disease

In some more severe cases, it can lead to total balding of the scalp. This condition is also known as Alopecia Totalis. In some rarer cases, it can lead to total loss of all hairs including your body, which is known as Alopecia Universalis.

Treating Alopecia Areata

At the present moment, there is no cure for this disease. However, in about half of the sufferers, some or all of their hair will usually grow back without any treatment. If you want to try any treatments, there are a few types of basic treatments that you can use but success rates vary individually.

• Cortisone injections
  This is one the most common types of treatment for this condition. Multiple Cortisone injections are directly applied to the bald patches. If there are improvements, you will usually see new hair growth within 4-5 weeks. However this treatment does not stop Alopecia Areata so new patches might still appear.
• Minoxidil 5%
  Some sufferers have found that using Minoxidil can help promote growth in the affected area. As Minoxidil stimulates hair follicles growth in the bald area, it might be able to invoke the hair follicles damaged by the auto immune disorder. Although might be effective, Minoxidil is cannot help those who suffers from Alopecia Totalis.
• Anthralin Cream
  Anthralin is a synthetic tar substance that is used for treating psoriasis, a type of skin inflammation disease. By applying Anthralin directly to the bald patches daily and washing it after an hour, you might experience hair growth within 8 to 12 weeks. Expect this product to cause temporary skin irritation and discoloration of the applied area.

Other Options

As none above treatments are deemed effective, it's also best to consider other alternatives like

• Wigs
• Caps
• Scarves

All this hair options can help reduce the psychological effects when you are suffering from this disease. Hair Transplant is also a considerable option for those who do not face reoccurrence of the disease. Worst come to worst, shaving your head bald is a very good option if the treatment does not work.

Psychological Stress

Although Alopecia Areata usually does not affect your general health, it can cause immense mental stress. Significant changes in your appearance can lead to

• Social phobia
• Anxiety
• Lack of confidence
• Depression

At the present moment, the chances of hair regrowth are not optimistic, so you will need to learn to adapt to this condition. There is 2% of the population in America that suffers from this condition. So you are not alone and you need all the support you need to overcome it. You got to start surviving it now!

Therefore, it's advisable that you look for support groups like the
National Alopecia Areata Foundation to get your feet back on the ground.

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