Everything You Need to Know About Alopecia

Alopecia is a condition where a person experiences an extreme case of hair loss due to the immune system attacking hair follicles. The hair follicles are where the hair growth starts, so the damage becomes severe when this continuously occurs and will make someone’s hair fall out and may lead to baldness in both men and women, young or old alike.

There is not a permanent loss when this occurs. Alopecia will subside in the future if the right steps are taken. But generally, many people do not understand why this condition occurs. Even the experts are at a loss why this condition occurs in individuals.

Sadly, this condition can happen typically to everyone, but mostly in people under the age of twenty, which can act as a significant blow to one’s self-esteem. Both women and men can develop this condition, but the fact that this is something many have to deal with at such a young age really is heartbreaking.

When you start to notice the onset of alopecia, you’ll begin to see large clumps of hair falling out, which will result in extremely smooth patches on the individual’s scalp. This can also happen in other areas of the body as well, such as armpits, arms, or legs. When this happens, the remaining hair will be very thin and the baldness will be very noticeable.

Some have experienced that when this occurs, they lose around ten patches of hair, then it will slowly grow back over the months, but then the hair will start to fall out in other areas in the same way. This can cause a ton of frustration and a blow to one’s self-esteem.

What Can Come After Alopecia?

There is a small percent of people who suffer from alopecia who will not be able to regrow their hair even as they get older. There are some very important factors to keep in mind because if you do the things below, you will have permanent hair loss:

If an individual has experienced any of these, they might never be able to grow back their hair, which leads to extreme confidence issues. This kind of excessive hair loss is difficult to deal with for anyone. It can bring down their spirits and also cause other mental health issues, such as anxiety or depression.

In this article, we’ll be diving more into the specifics of this condition. We want to help you better understand this condition so if you or a family member suffer from this; you’ll be better equipped to handle the situation and stay educated. The more you know, the more you’ll be able to deal with the situation instead of being overwhelmed.

Causes of Alopecia

While many experts have had a hard time putting the finger on exactly what causes this condition from occurring, evidence that has been discovered in recent years shows that a flawed immune system can cause alopecia.

This gets to the point when the immune system turns in on itself and starts attacking the body while also being nonresponsive to any medication. This can affect and turn into many other conditions, but in this case, it attacks the hair follicles.

This sort of misguided immune system is challenging to deal with and can also be linked to these other autoimmune diseases:

Even if the above problems are present at the same time someone is going through alopecia, if they are treated for the other autoimmune issues, that treatment will not make it better. There is nothing that can be done for those with this hair-loss condition except minor treatments mainly for the comfort of the individual and not medical procedures.

Many have come forward saying that it runs in the family and has something to do with genes being passed down so, it’s not exactly something that can be stopped if it does occur within the patient’s family.

Below we’ll be going over the specific symptoms of alopecia, the effects this issue has on the body, and also the treatment of diagnosis of this condition. We’ll be telling you all the details so you will know everything there is to know about it.

Symptoms of Alopecia

The primary and most obvious symptom of alopecia is the hair loss. Typically like we mentioned before, the hair will fall out in patches that are smooth. They are usually within a few centimeters around. When this first begins, it will be most noticeable in the shower or on your pillow.

But there is a common misconception that if you lose hair in such a way that it’s automatically alopecia, which is not the case whatsoever. This should not be the only way to tell if you have alopecia or not.

A few other ways to be able to tell whether or not you have alopecia is if you have hair loss on scalp, and when you’ve lost all your hair on your body as well. The sad thing about alopecia is the fact that it’s random. There is no pattern to the hair loss, and it is arbitrary and can grow back but fall out just a few months all over again.

Everyone is different, and this condition may vary from person to person. Everyone that has this condition can lose their hair in different ways.

Effect on the Body

There are two main effects that can occur when dealing with alopecia, acne, and self-confidence struggles.

First of all, confidence is hard as it is, but when you’ve lost something as important as your hair for most beauty standards around the world, it can be tough to feel like you are less beautiful. But those who suffer from alopecia are not any less beautiful. This doesn’t define who they are personally but is a condition they have to face and live with which deserves dignity and respect.

Acne on the scalp is an issue that you can get when you are entirely bald from alopecia. Due to excess oils and clogged pores, it becomes excruciating and noticeable if not appropriately treated. We suggest that you see a dermatologist before applying regular acne treatments on your scalp, which could make hair growth even harder to continue.

Many who have suffered from alopecia have recommended that if you deal with anything like this, counseling can be helpful at some point to help you process the current emotions you’re feeling. Many have also noticed that because of the emotional strain there is a lack of natural ways to increase stamina primarily because of how tired individuals with alopecia seem to be from emotional stress.

Diagnosis of Alopecia

Like we mentioned above, the diagnosis is straightforward when it comes to alopecia. When a patient who believes they’re suffering from alopecia heads to the doctor, there are only a few things that can be done to be diagnosed.

Many doctors will decide that an individual has alopecia if they have extreme hair loss that comes out in clear round patches on the scalp. They will also look at your fingernails to see if there is anything out of the norm.

There isn’t much else doctors can do during this process.

Treatment & Precautions When Dealing With Alopecia

Concerning treatment, there aren’t many treatment plans that will help regrow hair because it is random when you lose it and how you lose it. Below we’ve listed a few examples of ways you can treat alopecia:

If you have family members with alopecia, you will want to start looking for ways to prevent alopecia from occurring in your health. There are a few ways that can aid in this prevention such as:

Conclusion

Overall, we hope you learned something from this guide. If you feel like you are suffering from alopecia, we hope that you would consult a trusted doctor for help and motivation to move forward with treatments and steps to regain your confidence and health.

What did you learn from this article? Let us know by leaving a comment or sharing on social media to spread awareness.

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