Alopecia Areata | Causes, Risk, Symptoms, and Treatment

Originally posted on September 21, 2022 @ 9:40 am

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes temporary hair loss without leaving scars and without damaging the hair follicle.

What is Alopecia Areata?

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that makes your hair fall out in clumps about the size and shape of a quarter. Everyone loses hair at a different rate. Some people only lose it in a few places. A lot is lost by others. Sometimes hair will grow back, but then it will fall out again. In some cases, the hair grows back permanently.

Types Of Alopecia Areata

There are many kinds of this problem {alopecia areata}. The most common type of alopecia areata is the main type, but there are other, less common types:

• Alopecia areata total is means that all of the hair on your head has fallen out.
• Alopecia areata universalist Losing hair all over your body is called alopecia areata universalist.
• Diffuse alopecia areata is sudden hair thinning instead of patches of hair loss.
• Ophiasis Alopecia Areata When you have ophiasis alopecia areata, you lose hair in a band around the sides and back of your head.

Symptoms of Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic, autoimmune disease that most people associate with temporary or permanent hair loss. However, up to 46% of those with AA also have problems with their nails. A person with AA may have nails that are pitted, have lines, split, or have white spots.

Alopecia’s main and often only sign is hair loss. You might observe:

• Small areas of hair loss on your scalp or elsewhere on your body.
• Patches can get bigger and merge into bald spots.
• In some places, hair grows back, while in others it falls out.
• In a short time, you lose a lot of hair.
• When it’s cold, people lose more hair.
• Red, brittle, and pitted spots appear on fingernails and toenails.

The skin on the bald spots is smooth and there are no rashehttps://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-loss/types/alopecias or red spots. But right before the hair falls out, you might feel tingling, itching, or burning on your skin.

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Causes and Risk Factors of Alopecia Areata

When you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks your body. When you have alopecia areata, the hair follicles are hurt.

Doctors have no idea why this happens. But they think people who have it have something in their genes that makes it more likely. The hair loss starts when something happens. Find out what leads to alopecia.

Alopecia areata is more likely to happen if you:

• A member of the family who has it
• Asthma
• Down syndrome
• Pernicious anemia
• Seasonal allergens
• Thyroid sickness
• Vitiligo

Alopecia Areata Diagnosis

 

If you think you have alopecia areata, you might want to see a dermatologist who is an expert on the skin. They are:

• I’ll talk to you about the way you’re feeling.
• Look closely at the areas where you are losing hair.
• Pull the hairs around the edge of the bald spot gently to see if they come out easily.
• Check each hair and follicle to see if it is shaped strangely.
• Examine your nails.

Rarely, you may have a biopsy, which means a small piece of skin is taken from your scalp and looked at under a microscope.

There are many things that can cause hair loss. Your doctor may check your skin for a fungal infection or give you blood tests to check for thyroid, hormone, or immune system problems.

Treatment Alopecia Areata

You can’t get rid of alopecia areata. But it can be treated and the hair can grow back. If you have it, you can try the following:

Corticosteroids Anti-inflammatory drugs like these are given to people with autoimmune diseases. They can be injected into the scalp or into other parts of the body. They can also be given as a pill or rubbed onto the skin as an ointment, cream, or foam. On the other hand, it might take a long time to work.

Immunotherapy for the skin This is used if a lot of hair falls out or if it happens more than once. To cause an allergic reaction, chemicals are put on the scalp. If it works, this reaction is really what makes the hair grow back. It also gives you an itchy rash, and you usually have to do it more than once to keep the new hair from falling out.

Minoxidil (Rogaine). This treatment, which is put on the scalp, has already been treated with this treatment. Usually, it takes about 12 weeks before you can see growth, and some users are unhappy with the results. Learn more about the types of alopecia that minoxidil is most likely to help.

Some medications that are sometimes used to treat other autoimmune disorders can also be used to treat alopecia areata. These medicines work in different ways to make hair grow back.

Home Remedy For Alopecia Areata Treatments

If you have alopecia areata, there are other things you can try besides medicines.

• Wear wigs,
• Hats, or
• Scarves.

They hide your bald spots and keep the sun off your head.

Relax your concerns. Alopecia areata seems to be caused by personal problems, but this hasn’t been proven scientifically. Stress can also cause telogen effluvium, another type of hair loss. Find out more about telogen effluvium and its signs and symptoms.

Alopecia Areata Prognosis

Alopecia areata isn’t usually a serious medical condition, but it can cause a lot of worry and sadness. There are support groups that can help you deal with how the condition makes you feel.

If all of your hair falls out, it might grow back. If it doesn’t, there are different ways to hide your hair loss and protect your scalp.

If you suddenly start losing hair, you should always see a doctor. There are other reasons besides alopecia areata that it could happen.