How Will Alopecia Affect My Life?

Alopecia areata literally means ‘baldness in spots’, this is a form of hair loss from areas of the body, usually the scalp. Because it causes baldness on the head, especially in the first stages, it is called ‘spot baldness’, though hair loss can also extend to eyebrows, eyelashes and facial and nasal hair and create more bald areas elsewhere on the body. Loss of nasal hair can increase the severity of hay fever and similar allergic conditions.

There are a few different types of alopecia areata:

Alopecia areata monolocularis describes baldness in only one spot
Alopecia areata multilocularis is when hair is lost in multiple areas
Alopecia areata totalis refers to the total loss of all hair on the scalp
Alopecia areata universalis is the term used to describe when all hair on the body is lost, including pubic hair
Alopecia areata barbae refers to the loss of hair in the beard
Diffuse alopecia areata may cause a person with mixed grey and dark hairs to lose all their dark hairs at once due to a psychological trauma, causing the patient’s hair to appear as though it has turned white overnight.
Traction alopecia is a form of the disease which causes gradual hair loss. It is caused by a pulling force applied to the hair in the case of a person wearing a pony tail or braids too tightly on a frequent basis. It is also known as Traumatic Alopecia.

Alopecia areata is thought to be an autoimmune disease in which the body mistakenly treats its hair follicles as foreign tissue and stops or suppresses growth. It is not contagious but might be hereditary – there are a few recorded cases of babies being born with congenital alopecia areata. Stress has not been proven to be a crucial factor, though this is still being disputed.

First symptoms are small, soft, bald patches which can take on just about any shape but are most usually round. Initial presentation most commonly occurs in the late teenage years but can happen with people at any age. It most often affects the scalp, but may occur on any hair-bearing part of the body. There may be different skin areas with hair loss and regrowth in the same body at the same time. It may go into remission for a time or permanently. The longer the lair loss persists, the smaller the chance that it will grow back. Fingernails may be affected, especially in severe cases where various nail changes may appear – the most common of which is pitting of the nails.

If you have suffered from alopecia areata around the time of puberty, it is more likely that you will suffer it again later in life.

Related Info