what exactly is alopecia?
Alright, so you’ve checked with the doctor and it doesn’t seem like your hair loss is caused by any of things mentioned in the last post: medicines, chronic illness, hormones. Unfortunately, your hair loss could be a new medical condition for you. That condition’s main symptom IS hair loss and that condition is named alopecia. To me this is a scaaarrry word. Who wants to even say this word – alopecia? It sounds like bad news. I’m not trying to scare you, maybe it’s just me that thinks this word is so unfortunate. So what is alopecia?
Our friendly online encyclopedia tells us there are a couple of different kinds of alopecia:
The most common type of alopecia areata involves hair loss in one or more round spots on the scalp.[2][5]
- Hair may also be lost more diffusely over the whole scalp, in which case the condition is called diffuse alopecia areata.[2]
- Alopecia areata monolocularis describes baldness in only one spot. It may occur anywhere on the head.
- Alopecia areata multilocularis refers to multiple areas of hair loss.
- The disease may be limited only to the beard, in which case it is called Alopecia areata barbae.[2]
- If the patient loses all the hair on his/her scalp, the disease is then called Alopecia areata totalis.
- If all body hair, including pubic hair, is lost, the diagnosis then becomes Alopecia areata universalis.[6]
Alopecia areata totalis and universalis are rare.[6]
Alopecia areata (AA) is a condition affecting humans, in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body, usually from the scalp.[1][2]. Because it causes bald spots on the scalp, especially in the first stages, it is sometimes called spot baldness. In 1%–2% of cases, the condition can spread to the entire scalp (Alopecia totalis) or to the entire epidermis (Alopecia universalis). Conditions resembling AA, and having a similar cause, occur also in other species.[3]
Alopecia seems to be hereditary because you are more likely to have it if you have family members who have it as well. Doctors think that it is an autoimmune disorder where the body attacks itself, in this case it’s hair follicles. However, I’ve seen cases myself, among friends, where emotional stress, or scalp damage has caused a form of alopecia.
The good news is there can be hope if your hair loss is caused by alopecia. We’ll discuss that next.