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Alopecia

Alopecia

 Alopecia Fact:  Alopecia is the medical term given to hair loss.  Androgenetic alopecia, or male/female pattern baldness, accounts for greater than 95% of all hair loss cases.

  Alopecia Overview

 

Alopecia areata is a highly unpredictable, autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. This common but very challenging and capricious disease affects approximately 1.7 percent of the population overall, including more than 4.7 million people in the United States alone. Due to the fact that much of the public is still not familiar with alopecia areata, the disease can have a profound impact on one's life and functional status, both at work and at school.

In alopecia areata, the affected hair follicles are mistakenly attacked by a person's own immune system (white blood cells), resulting in the arrest of the hair growth stage. Alopecia areata usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth bald patches on the scalp and can progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis).

Alopecia areata occurs in males and females of all ages and races; however, onset most often begins in childhood and can be psychologically devastating. Although not life-threatening, alopecia areata is most certainly life-altering, and its sudden onset, recurrent episodes, and unpredictable course have a profound psychological impact on the lives of those disrupted by this disease.

There may be one or multiple factors leading to hair loss, which may be summarized as under:

1. Local factors
2. General factors
3. Psychological factors
4. Miscellaneous

1. Local factors:
Some of the local factors or conditions associated with hair loss are:
(a) Local skin disorders:
Certain local skin ailments are known to lead to hair falling. Local skin infections such as Fungal infection (Tinea capitis), pyoderma, secondary syphilis, etc. Non-infectious conditions such as Dandruff, psoriasis, lichen planus, eczema, etc.
(b) Local exposure to toxins:
Over use or abuse with chemical based shampoos, soaps, lotions are known to produce hair falling.
(c) Scalp carelessness:
Unhygienic measures in scalp care may lead to air falling. For instance, infrequent head wash, over exposure to harsh sun without protection, exposing the head to industrial fumes, etc.

2. General factors:
(a) Deficient Nutrition:
Overall all deficiency of nutrition may affect the growth and quality of hair. Deficiency of vitamins B Group, Vitamin A, may lead to hair falling. Deficiency in proteins, iron, certain minerals may affect the hair growth, leading to hair falling. Iron deficiency due to a wide range of reasons such as excessive bleeding, restricted intake of iron forms an important cause of hair falling, especially found in females. The deficiency as above may be either due to faulty intake or which may have occurred due to certain systemic disorders such as Mal-assimilation or mal-absorption syndrome. It may occur following any prolonged acute or sub-acute diseases such as Irritable Bowel syndrome.
(b) Hormonal variations:
Certain hormones including androgen, estrogen and progesterone variations during different phases in life may bring about hair falling in excess. Thyroid hormones form another important group of disorders responsible for hair falling in some cases. Menopausal age hence makes one prone to have hair falling. Post pregnancy and child-birth is another example.
(c) Post-acute-ailment:
Certain acute diseases are known to leave behind a weakened vitality leading one to have hair falling. For examples: Pneumonia, viral infections, typhoid, etc.
(d) Medicine and Drug induced:
Certain chemical medicines have known toxicity on the hair roots and growth. Long term use of chemotherapy, cancer medication, steroids, antibiotics, antiepileptic, antihypertensive medications etc. have been observed to produce hair falling in some patients, as per a study at our center. Contraceptive tablets are also known to induce hair falling.

3. Psychological factors:
The mind plays a vital role in maintaining the health in general developing a wide range of disorders, such as hair falling in particular.

Emotional stress is an epidemic condition prevailing in the world today. There is no single emotion, which may be figured out as a victim. In our experience, any and every emotion, which was experienced intensely, may cause a constitutional disorder affecting the physiological functioning of the hair growth.

Some of the examples of emotional stress may be summarized in brief as under: Intense anxiety about any important matter. Sadness or depression in one's life, which may be arising after marital disharmony or job dissatisfaction or unhappy social structure, etc. Grief due to unexpected events in one's life such as loss of a family member, loss in business, major set back in life, etc. A long-standing fear and apprehensive habit. And so on. Similarly, certain unhealthy attitudes such as aggressive behavior, violent expressions, hurried and impatient behavior, and like.

To put it in nutshell, the personality type plays a greater role in most cases of hair falling and that should form in turn, the major criterion to decide the correct line of treatment for hair falling.

4. Miscellaneous:
Some lesser common factors are industrial toxins, intoxicated water (with high levels or minerals and metals), local dermal infection, local allergic ailment, etc.

 

 

 

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