What is Alopecia Areata?
Alopecia is a medical term referring to hair loss. Hair loss can occur naturally, or it can be as a result of some diseases or the use of some medications. The condition is a developed skin disease which may affect all the hair-bearing skin areas. Symptoms of alopecia normally vary depending on the reason for the disease and can range from a minor bald spot to an entire disappearance of all your body hair. Alopecia areata disease is sometimes related to other medical complications.What Causes Alopecia?
Studies suggest that this disease is brought about by an irregularity of a person's immune system which causes the damaging of hair follicles. This specific irregularity points to autoimmunity, a mistaken immune system which will tend to ambush its own body. The immune system, therefore, fights specific tissues in the body. For unknown explanations, the immune system will attack hair follicles and will end up disrupting the normal hair development.Other factors including illness, trauma, pregnancy, diabetes, thyroid problems, anemia, and the use of steroids, crash dieting, and chemotherapy can bring about alopecia areata. Little information comes up when it comes to alopecia even though a lot of studies and trials have taken place. A lot also has been written on the cause and treating this disease.
Hair being a blood by-product makes it important to talk about the hematological part of the treatment as well. The key parts which need focusing here are the structure of blood and also blood flow.
Signs and Symptoms of Alopecia
The major and more common symptom of alopecia areata is usually hair loss. Hair falls out of one’s head in small patches on one’s scalp. The patches could cover several centimeters. You might first observe clusters of hair while showering or on one’s pillow. However, one needs to also remember that other diseases may also bring about the loss and fall out of hair in a parallel pattern.In some extreme cases, other people can experience more loss of hair. This is a major indication of other types of alopecia, like: 1. Alopecia Totalis. This is losing all hair found on the scalp. 2. Alopecia Universalis. This is losing all hair found on one’s entire body
Who is Affected?
This disease is likely to affect adults of 30-60 years of age. However, it may also touch older people and, rarely, children. Alopecia areata isn't contagious. It needs to be differentiated from shedding of hair which may occur after the discontinuation of the hormonal progesterone and estrogen therapies for most birth control approaches or hair shedding that’s associated with the end of pregnancy. There are some treatable disorders which may often be mistaken for the alopecia areata.What is the Proper Treatment?
Alopecia areata cannot be cured. It is, however, treatable and hair will grow back. If you suffer from this disease, here are some of the treatment options available:• Corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory medications which are usually prescribed for autoimmune conditions. They are administered as an injection into one’s scalp or other body areas. They may also be administered in the form of pills or even rubbed on one’s skin as a cream, ointment, or foam. The disadvantage is that this approach will take a while for it to work.
• Topical immunotherapy. This treatment comes in handy when there’s massive hair loss, or when the disease has taken place more than once. Chemicals will be smeared to one’s scalp so as to yield a hypersensitive reaction. If the allergy works, the reaction leads to the regrowth of scalp hair back.
• Scalp Micro-Pigmentation or, SMP SMP is another method of concealing the loss of hair by "tattooing" small spots on the scalp around hair loss area. This approach may be used in a lot of scenarios with extremely positive results. It is appropriate for everyone. The process is unproblematic, and it has no complications associated with the procedure.
It’s important to know the difference between SMP and standard tattooing procedures. Standard tattooing will use much more inking kits, making larger spots of ink deep into ones’ skin which will end up not looking natural. SMP needs to be entirely performed by a professional SMP artist using special pigments designed specifically for that procedure to create actual, natural outcome.
• Minoxidil (Rogaine). This is a treatment which is applied to scalp used for shape baldness. It takes approximately 12 weeks to notice some growth, and some people get disappointed in the outcome results.