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A condition affecting humans, in which hair is lost from various areas of the body, particularly from the scalp is generally known as alopecia areata. This common hair problem is characterized by bald spots on the scalp, especially in the initial stage. This is one of the reasons why this hair fall symptom is sometimes referred to as ‘spot baldness’. But in some cases the condition can be spread to the entire scalp which is called alopecia totalis or to the entire epidermis alopecia universalis.
Alopecia areata can occur in people who are healthy and have no skin disorder. In the initial stage, the appearance of the problem most commonly occurs in late teenage years, early childhood, or young adulthood.
Types of Alopecia areata:
The most common type of alopecia areata involves hair loss resulting in one or more round spots on the scalp. But the hair may also be lost more diffusely over the whole scalp which is commonly referred to as ‘defuse alopecia areata’.
The baldness in only one spot is described as alopecia areata monolocularis. It may occur anywhere on the head but when the hair loss occurs in multiple areas it is referred to as alopecia areata multilocularis. This symptom may be limited to the beard in which the case is referred as Alopecia areata barbae. In case the person is losing all the hair on his/her scalp, the disease is called ‘alopecia areata totalis.’ And more seriously, if she/he loses all body hair including pubic hair, it is then diagnosed as alopecia areata universalis. But this case is one of the rarest of all alopecia areata types.
Causes of Alopecia areata:
It is scientifically proved that alopecia areata is not contagious. It happens more frequently among those who have affected family members, suggesting that heredity may be a prominent factor. This hair disease is slightly more likely to occur in people who have relatives infested with autoimmune diseases.
Alopecia areata is said to be an autoimmune disorder when the body attacks its own hair follicles and suppresses or stops hair growth. In this case, the T-cell lymphocytes cluster around these follicles causing inflammation and subsequent hair loss. Certain factors such as emotional stress or a pathogen is thought to combine with hereditary factors to cause the condition.
Some case studies reveal that there are a few records of babies being born with congenital alopecia areata. But it can be proved as an autoimmune disease because some infants are born without a fully developed immune system. As with most autoimmune diseases, alopecia areata is associated with increased risk of developing other autoimmune diseases, specifically systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE.
Treatment for this disease:
The first symptoms of alopecia areata manifest themselves in the form of small, soft, bald patches which can take just about any shape. At this stage, most of the alopecia areata areas would usually be round. Later, the area increases as the disease spreads to other parts of the body. In most cases, it affects the scalp and beard but may occur on any hair-bearing part of the body. There may be different skin areas with hair loss and re-growth on the same body at the same time. Diagnostic technique applied by medical practitioners is to gently tug at a handful of hair along the edge of a patch. They apply with less strength than would be required to pull out healthy hair. In healthy hair, no hair should fall out or ripped hair should be distributed properly across the tugged portion of the scalp.
Hair will tend to pull out easier along the edge of the patch. Then the follicles are already being attacked by the body’s immune system than away from the patch where they are still healthy. Medical professionals usually remind patients that the hair that is pulled out would eventually fall naturally. This treatment is conducted only once to identify the condition and rule out a simple localized hair loss condition.
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