Alopecia Areata: Everything you need to know

What is it ?

Alopecia Areata is a condition that can cause a sudden patchy loss of hair. It is a fairly common condition. As many as 1 in 1,000 people may suffer from it at one time or other. Occasionally it becomes wide spread and severe. It can be caused by different things. Most of the time it’s due to an imbalance in the person’s system. When this gets rectified, the hair will grow back completely. To reveal any such an imbalance a set of blood tests is necessary. It can be caused by pregnancy, birth control pills, medications, anaemia, syphilis, thyroid malfunctions and arthritis. When the problem has been identified and the cause eliminated, the hair usually reappears on its own. However, in persistent cases steroid injections may help.

Diagnose

In order to get an accurate diagnose three essentials are required: a doctor, blood tests and a brief clinical history. The best thing to do is find a doctor that is specialised in Alopecia Areata. Once you’ve done that he/she will do a number of tests. These are needed to make an accurate diagnose of your condition. The tests consist of a CBC (Complete Blood Count), VDRL, TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity) and testing your hormone levels.
The course of Alopecia Areata is quite whimsical and hardly predictable. It can be unfavourably influenced if it arose in youth or if the patient has other disorders of immunological origin. If the nails are affected or Alopecia Areata runs in the family, the course of the disorder might be unfavourably affected as well.

Treatments

The treatment to the condition depends on which type of AA you have. The mild type results in less than 50% loss of hair, the more extensive type in a greater than 50% loss. The mild type is also known as Alopecia Totalis. It includes hair loss on the scalp, of the eyelashes, eyebrows, moustache and beard. The more extensive type, also known as Alopecia Universalis, includes hair loss of almost all body hair including chest hair, hair underneath the armpits, pubic hair, etc. Treating these conditions should only be started after the complete blood work has been done and your physician has given his/her consent. The mild version can be treated with cortisone injections applied by the physician into the patchy areas of the scalp. Other possible treatments are Anthralin Cream or ointment. The more extensive version can be treated with cortisone pills. Be aware that these can cause side effects. Furthermore there is Topical Immunotherapy, Diphencyprone (DPCP) or Squadric Acid Dibutyl Ester (SABDE). The latter agitates the follicles into growth by causing a localized allergic reaction.