ALOPECIA
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease that attacks your body’s hair follicles, causing patchy hair loss.
Medications and therapies can help your hair regrow, though severe cases may not respond to treatment.
Overview
Hair loss (alopecia) can affect just your scalp or your entire body, and it can be temporary or permanent.
It can be the result of heredity, hormonal changes, medical conditions or a normal part of aging. Anyone
can lose hair on their head, but it's more common in men.
Baldness typically refers to excessive hair loss from your scalp. Hereditary hair loss with age is the most
common cause of baldness. Some people prefer to let their hair loss run its course untreated and
unhidden. Others may cover it up with hairstyles, makeup, hats or scarves. And still others choose one of
the treatments available to prevent further hair loss or restore growth.
Before pursuing hair loss treatment, talk with your doctor about the cause of your hair loss and treatment
options.
Hair loss can appear in many different ways, depending on what's causing it. It can come on suddenly or
gradually and affect just your scalp or your whole body.
Signs and symptoms of hair loss may include:
Gradual thinning on top of head. This is the most common type of hair loss, affecting people as
they age. In men, hair often begins to recede at the hairline on the forehead. Women typically have
a broadening of the part in their hair. An increasingly common hair loss pattern in older women is a
receding hairline (frontal fibrosing alopecia).
Circular or patchy bald spots. Some people lose hair in circular or patchy bald spots on the scalp,
beard or eyebrows. Your skin may become itchy or painful before the hair falls out.
Sudden loosening of hair. A physical or emotional shock can cause hair to loosen. Handfuls of
hair may come out when combing or washing your hair or even after gentle tugging. This type of
hair loss usually causes overall hair thinning but is temporary.
Full-body hair loss. Some conditions and medical treatments, such as chemotherapy for cancer,
can result in the loss of hair all over your body. The hair usually grows back.
Patches of scaling that spread over the scalp. This is a sign of ringworm. It may be accompanied
by broken hair, redness, swelling and, at times, oozing.
When to see a doctor
See your doctor if you are distressed by persistent hair loss in you or your child and want to pursue
treatment. For women who are experiencing a receding hairline (frontal fibrosing alopecia), talk with
your doctor about early treatment to avoid significant permanent baldness.
Also talk to your doctor if you notice sudden or patchy hair loss or more than usual hair loss when
combing or washing your or your child's hair. Sudden hair loss can signal an underlying medical
condition that requires treatment.
most commonly affects the hair on the skin that covers your head (scalp). “Alopecia” is a medical term
for hair loss or baldness, and “areata” means that it occurs in small, random areas.
There are many different classifications of alopecia areata. The classifications depend on the amount of
hair you’ve lost and where you’ve lost it on your body.
Alopecia areata totalis: You’ve lost all your hair on your scalp.
Alopecia areata universalis: You’ve lost all your hair on your scalp and all your body hair.
Diffuse alopecia areata: Your hair is thinning rather than falling out in patches.
Ophiasis alopecia areata: You’ve lost a band of hair on the bottom back sides of your scalp
(occipitotemporal scalp).
Who gets alopecia areata?
Anyone can develop alopecia areata. But your chances of having alopecia areata are greater if:
You’re a child.
You have a family history of alopecia areata.
You or your family members have an autoimmune disorder, including diabetes, lupus or thyroid
disease.
