Alopecia Totalis

Alopecia Areata

A hair loss disease.

Alopecia Totalis Information about Alopecia Areata, a hair loss disease.

Alopecia Areata
(al-oh-PEE-shah air-ee-AH-tah)

What is Alopecia Areata?

Autoimmune skin disease. Affects integumentary system.
Immune system attacks hair follicles by mistake.
Results in loss of hair on scalp and other body parts.
What triggers immune system is unknown (could be virus or genetics). Note: 1 of 5 people with A.A. has a person in their family with it.
Any hair-bearing site can be affected alone or with scalp.
Besides hair loss, people with A.A. are usually in good physical health.
Lack of societal understanding of disease leads to psychological issues.
Not life-threatening
Disease is unpredictable:

Sudden onsets
Recurrent episodes

Symptoms

Usually starts with one or several small bald spots on scalp and can progress to:

Total loss of hair on scalp (alopecia totalis)
Total loss of hair on entire body (alopecia universalis)

Can last for varying amounts of time.

Who gets A.A.?

Affects 1.7% of world population

Over 4.7 million of all Americans currently living will be affected during their lifetime.

Occurs without regard to gender, age or race
Begins most often during childhood

Treatments

No cure.
Re-growth can occur without treatment.
Cases where less than 50% of scalp hair is lost

Cortisone injections into bare skin. If hair will grow again, it will take four weeks.
5% topical minoxidil solution applied twice a day. May grow hair.
Anthralin cream (synthetic, tar-like substance applied to bare skin and washed off after an hour). If hair will grow again, it will take eight to twelve weeks.

Cases where more than 50% of scalp hair is lost...

Cortisone pills. Much stronger than injections.
5% topical minoxidil solution applied twice a day. May grow hair.
Topical immunotherapy. Chemicals are applied to scalp to produce special allergic reaction. 40% of patients will grow scalp hair. Must continue treatment to keep hair.
Aesthetic aids: Wigs, headscarves, removable eyebrow tattoos, bandanas, hats

Works Cited

http://my.webmd.com/hw/health_guide_atoz/tp22285.asp
http://www.naaf.org

How can you help to teenager with alopecia totalis?
The boy is eighteen today and alopecia started ten years ago. Now he is losing eye brows. Hypotireoditis is diagnosed a few months ago, probably as a consequence of his hiper sensitivity

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what the meaning of alopecia arata, alopecia totalis,and alopecia universails?

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Can anyone suggest remedy to Alopecia Totalis?
My wife is suffering from Alopecia Totalis(Total hair loss from body) probably due to the mis effect of some medicine.This condition has been since 2004. Initailly there was some hair loss from eyebrows then from scalp and finally throughout the body.She is also having brittle nails which somehow appear associated with this disease. We have taken medications in Allopathy, Homeopathy and Ayurvedic but to no avail. She feels let down and depressed. Can ayone serioulsy suggest some remedial solution if undergone through a similar problem with self/ relatives/ friends. My wife is suffering from Alopecia Totalis(Total hair loss from body) probably due to the mis effect of some medicine.This condition has been since 2004. Initailly there was some hair loss from eyebrows then from scalp and finally throughout the body.She is also having brittle nails which somehow appear associated with this disease. She is not diabetic and all her reports (blood,urine,Throid) are normal.We have taken medications in Allopathy, Homeopathy and Ayurvedic but to no avail. She feels let down and depressed. Can ayone serioulsy suggest some remedial solution if undergone through a similar problem with self/ relatives/ friends She is not diabetic and all her reports (blood,urine,Throid) are normal.

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