Alopecia Areata

Do you experience baldness suddenly and make you uncomfortable with it? know Alopecia Areata: Who is most likely to get alopecia areata? Causes, Symptoms, and Diagnosis.

This baldness is rare in children and often occurs in adults. You don’t have to worry because in this article you will find out the new cure for alopecia areata.

What is Alopecia Areata?

Alopecia areata is baldness or hair loss caused by autoimmune disease. In alopecia areata, the immune system attacks and damages the hair follicles, causing loss and baldness. A bald scalp with a rounded shape is one of the signs of this condition.

Alopecia can occur in both men as well as women. Generally, alopecia areata occurs before the sufferer is 30 years old. This condition most often affects the hair that is on the scalp.

When experiencing alopecia areata, hair follicles, which are where hair grows, become smaller and then stop producing hair. This then leads to loss and baldness. This condition can be sudden or gradual.

Causes of Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata is caused by the immune system attacking hair follicles (autoimmune diseases). This condition causes the discharge of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokine. This then led to a halt in hair production. As a result, the hair becomes hair loss and eventually becomes bald.

Until now it is not known the exact cause why the immune system attacks and damages the hair follicles. However, the condition is thought to be triggered by viral infections, trauma, hormonal changes, and physical or psychic stress.

Risk factors for alopecia areata

Although it is not yet known the exact cause, several factors and conditions can increase a person’s risk of developing alopecia areata, namely:

• Have parents or immediate family suffering from alopecia areata or other autoimmune diseases
• Suffer from chromosomal diseases, such Down syndrome
• Suffer from vitamin D deficiency, asthma, atopic dermatitis, SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), vitiligo, or thyroid diseases, such as Hashimoto’s disease and graves disease

Who is most likely to get alopecia areata?

Alopecia areata tends to occur most often in adults aged 30 to 60 years. However, it can also affect older individuals and, rarely experienced by children.

Symptoms of Alopecia Areata

Alopecia areata can occur at any age. However, it is more common when the sufferer is a child, adolescent, or young adult. This condition can cause baldness or hair loss in some parts of the body, such as on the scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, nasal hair, armpits, pubic, mustache, or beard.

When a person experiences alopecia areata, the main sign found is loss or baldness that is not accompanied by pain. Like other autoimmune diseases, baldness and loss experienced by people with alopecia areata can be relapse or flare. In addition, several other signs can occur when a person has alopecia areata, namely:

• Round pattern baldness appears in one or more places that were overgrown with hair
• Baldness occurs at the bottom, side, or circle the back of the head (ophiasis alopecia)
• Regrowth hair generally has a different type to the previous hair, for example from the previous straight one then after balding, the hair grows into curls

In addition to causing the formation of bald tape on the scalp, alopecia also has another type, namely if baldness occurs in one area thoroughly, then this condition is also called alopecia areata totalis. Whereas if it occurs in all areas of the body that have hair, then the condition is called alopecia areata Universalis.

Generally, hair loss in people with alopecia areata can grow back on its own. However, in some people with alopecia areata, baldness can become permanent. This means the hair doesn’t grow back.

Nails with alopecia areata also often change, including nails that appear reddish, notched, or become rough and thin, so it is easy to split.