Alopecia areata is commonly known as hair loss affecting the scalp and causing baldness. The immune system of your body attacks the healthy hair follicles by mistake causing hair loss and decay. This is common in young people but it can occur on adults and children also. Hair loss occurs in one or more patches and it affects women and men equally. No specific treatment is required for alopecia areata since it resolves within few months. Very often, the affected area of baldness will gain hair growth in due course.
Causes :
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder. The body’s own immunity attacks hair follicles thus disrupting normal hair growth. Study of affected skin indicates that immune lymphocytes have entered well into the hair follicles causing hair loss. Sometimes this condition results due to allergic disorders like arthritis, lupus, thyroid problem and ulcer. Some believe that this skin disorder runs in families and hence is hereditary.
Symptoms :
Patches of hair start falling out from the scalp causing gap on the scalp. In this autoimmune disorder hair loss is not permanent and hair will grow again to break off after few days. For some people the hair becomes very thin and the scalp is not visible like in baldness. It may leave short stubs on the scalp like the shape of exclamatory mark. It will affect one area and leave the other causing uneven growth of hair.
The affected person will have hair growth in few months or within a year. But for 10% of the affected people will not get their hair back. For some people the fingernails and toenails have small pits on them looking like puncture on nails.
Who are at risk?