Diffuse Alopecia Treatment: Everything You Need to Know
Alopecia areata is a rare and often misunderstood autoimmune disorder that can result in unpredictable hair loss. Altered immune cells attack the body’s own healthy Hair Follicle Cells, causing them to die before they’re able to grow new hairs above ground level. This process helps keep your tresses clean by trapping dirt particles away from sensitive skin beneath.
According to a hair clinic in Walnut Creek, the most common type of alopecia is partial, which leaves some hairs intact. This can lead to an increased risk for depression as well because it may make you feel self-conscious about your appearance; however, there’s no need! You’re not alone in this struggle — about 1 out 5 people suffer from hair loss disease (and yes: both men and women).
Alopecia areata is a condition that you can treat using powerful anti-inflammatory medications like corticosteroids. These medicines might not work for everyone, but they’re often administered locally or topically as well to help suppress your immune system, so you don’t have any more episodes.
Causes of Alopecia areata
Hair loss occurs when white blood cells attack the follicles of a person’s hair, causing them to shrink and slow down production. It is unknown why this happens, but it has been theorized that stress might play some role in triggering an immune response from our body which targets certain areas like the scalp for protection against infection by bacteria or fungi. White blood cells can attack the hair follicles, causing them to shrink and significantly slow down the production of new hairs. It is unknown precisely what causes white-blood-cell attacks on these structures within our body’s immune system.
Other research from hair replacement services in California has found that people suffering from alopecia areata may have a personal or family history of other autoimmune disorders such as atopy, thyroiditis, and vitiligo.
Symptoms of Alopecia areata
Alopecia areata is an auto-immune condition that affects the hair on your head. It usually begins during childhood or early adulthood. It can be chronic, but most people only experience minor episodes with limited areas losing their hair locks at random times. Sometimes just one spot will thin out while other regions remain healthy-looking. Others suffer extensively. They lose allometric amounts throughout different body parts (including facial hairs).
You may notice clumps of hair on your pillow or in the shower. If these spots are at the back, someone might bring them to your attention, but other health conditions can cause similar symptoms and should be checked out first before assuming alopecia areata is causing them.
There are a few rare cases where people can lose their hair completely. This usually happens because they have another type of alopecia, such as:
- Alopecia Totalis is the loss of all scalp hair.
- Alopecia Universalis is the complete randomization in which every single follicle on one’s body will eventually disappear without any warning signs.
About 30% of people who develop alopecia areata find that their condition becomes more extensive or continuous. About half the patients recover within 1 year, but many will experience more than one episode in addition to being diagnosed with this disfigurement.
Do not feel too self-conscious about what’s happening on top volume parts of your head for hair loss sufferers like yourself. Instead, try using shampoos specially made, especially if you have oily skin, which might lead to the shampoo having an adverse effect otherwise.
Some people with Alopecia areata also experience nail changes. These can include things like thinning or ridging of the nails and discoloration and occasional loss in some cases.
Some people’s hairs turn into an exclamation mark when they grow near the edges of bald patches. This is a form of genetic alopecia, and you can expect this to happen more often as time goes on, especially if your father also suffered from it.
Cadaver hairs are more likely to break before reaching the skin surface. White hair is often a result of hormonal changes, and it can also grow in areas affected by alopecia.
Treatment for Alopecia areata
There’s no known cure for alopecia areata, but there is hope. You can try various treatments that may be able to slow down your hair loss or help you grow it back faster than before. This is what an alopecia treatment in Concord has to offer as a guideline to the sufferers.
- Minoxidil
Minoxidil is an OTC medication that can be applied twice daily to the scalp, eyebrows, and beard. It’s relatively safe, but it may take one year before you see results from this treatment. Meaning there isn’t much evidence available for its effectiveness in people who suffer hair loss other than Alopecia Areata, which makes them eligible for a prescription drug like Rogaine.
2. Anthralin (Dritho-Scalp)
This drug is a must-have for anyone who’s experiencing thinning or balding. It will irritate your skin and prompt new hair growth to fill in those gaps.
3. Corticosteroid Cream
Corticosteroid creams such as clobetasol (Impoyz), foams, lotions, and ointments are thought to work by decreasing inflammation in the hair follicle. This can lead to an increased local warmth, which causes cells near each fiberoptic cable micro transmitter and blocks nerve impulses from traveling further down their track towards your brain, essentially making it feel less painful.
4. Injections
Hair loss can be pretty frustrating, especially when you have a bald spot on your head. Steroid injections are an option for those who suffer from mild or patchy alopecia and want their hair back at the follicles of choice. The tiny needles inject steroids into skin cells which encourages them to grow faster than before so that new bundles may form again in these areas.
5. Oral Therapy
While oral immunosuppressants, like methotrexate and cyclosporine, can be an option you try to help with your condition, they have risks. The side effects include high blood pressure or liver damage which could lead to other issues such as kidney problems if left untreated — all these things being worse than what we started with.
Natural Remedies
Below are some of the chosen home remedies you can choose for treating alopecia:
- Aromatherapy
- Accupuncture
- Microneedling
- Vitamins like Zinc, Biotin
- Aloe vera drinks and topical gels
- Rubbing onion juice on the scalp
- Essential Oils like tea tree oil, rosemary, lavender, coconut oil, castor oil, jooba.
Alopecia areata is a disease that does not make people sick, nor can it be contagious. For many sufferers of this condition- which affects an estimated one out of five Americans -the trauma resulting from hair falling out becomes overwhelming enough to warrant treatment addressing both emotional aspects around loss and physical effects such as being bald.
Just Hair Clinic in Walnut Creek offers the best Non-Surgical Hair Replacement in California.
