What is alopecia areata?
Alopecia areata is a disease that causes round bald spots. This is caused by inflammation around the hair roots. At the locations where the hair roots are inflamed, the hairs fall out. Whether there grow only hairs that break down quickly.
The bald patches can occur at all places where grow hair. Some people fall all the hair off. The nails are often too brittle.
The hair follicles do not become damaged by the disease. Usually the hair grows again, often within a few months to a year. Sometimes the skin remains bare.
What you will notice from alopecia areata?
By alopecia areata comes round or oval bald patches. Most people only get a few bald spots on their heads. But also in other places can get bald spots. For example, in the face, underarms and pubic area and chest.
Some people fall all the hair and / or all body hair off. This is very rare. Often the nails are also affected. There are small indentations in whether they are brittle.
Alopecia areata runs at everyone else. It is impossible to predict if and when it comes back hair and whether it will then fall again.
In most cases the hair within a few months or years will grow again, but not everyone heals completely. It also happens that comes back hair growth, but that bald spots anywhere else again.
How do you get alopecia areata?
The cause of alopecia areata is not yet clear. It has become increasingly known for scientific research on the origins of the disease. Alopecia areata is often associated with so-called auto-immune diseases, such as thyroid disease, vitiligo, or certain forms of anemia. It is the immune components of the own body. Alopecia areata itself is also known as an autoimmune disease, but this is not yet scientifically proven.
To what extent is hereditary alopecia areata is unknown. However, the disease appears in about fifteen to twenty of the hundred patients also occur in the family.
Even psychological factors probably play a role. People often get the disease striking after a major emotional event or after a stressful period.
What determines the physician alopecia areata?
Alopecia areata does not hurt or itch. Often someone by chance that he has bald patches, for example, at the hairdresser.
Hair loss can have various causes. The doctor can determine what to you is the cause or the bald spots. Treatment varies by ' type ' hair. If the hair loss begins with clearly defined bald patches on the scalp, the diagnosis is easy to imagine. More complicated it is when the disease affects only other hairy body areas, such as the eyelashes, eyebrows or beard. It is sometimes necessary to cut away a small piece of scalp for examination (biopsy).
Alopecia areata treatment
Usually the hair growth in alopecia areata comes by itself within a few months or years. However, many people find it difficult to wait for it. With no treatment has proven that he (long-term) works. It concerns, for example:
- Incentive therapy. You will get an ointment, cream or lotion (eg pekelharing lotion) that you are putting on your scalp. The scalp becomes geïirriteerd result. The hair would therefore increase again.
- Treatment with hormones (corticosteroids) in ointment, tablets, or injections. Sometimes the hair growth comes after a couple of weeks indeed back, but this is often only temporary. Once you stop the treatment, the hair can fall out again.
- Minoxidil lotion. This drug would help against all forms of baldness.
- Light therapy. By sunlamp treatment (ultraviolet radiation) may return the hair growth. But if the hair growth is restored, the light can not be resolved on the scalp and the hair usually falls out again.
- Local immunotherapy. This therapy is used only in severe cases. You will be first made sensitive to a particular substance (usually diphencyprone). Then the bald spots with this substance is smeared causing eczema occurs. This stimulates the hair follicles so that hair growth may return.
Some people try alternative treatment methods to eliminate their baldness. It is not certain whether this help means or methods or not.
You also can not affect hair growth by certain foods or a diet; extra vitamins or minerals do not help.