Can alopecia areata affect women?

Imagine you are walking down the street and come across a bald guy. Would you turn around and see him? Not necessary, right? But would this be the case if a bald woman walks past? It is doubtful.

Hair loss – although distressing – is generally more socially acceptable for men than women. But the fact is that women tend to lose more hair strands per day than men and it affects their self-confidence badly. They may not see themselves as attractive or appealing anymore.

Women lose hair differently than men. Generally, they experience hair thinning all over their scalp, which can be spotted easily when hair clumps appear on the comb, in the drain, on the pillow, or their ponytails become thinner. Surprisingly, few women can lose their hair in patches as well – the condition is called alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata is commonly perceived for men but the fact is that it can affect anyone regardless of age and gender, though most cases occur before the age of 30.

Alopecia areata in women

Alopecia areata is one of the common types of hair loss, where hair falls out in patches. You may lose hair from your scalp, eyebrow, eyelashes or anywhere else from the body. You may notice excessive hair shedding on the pillow or in the shower. Scary, isn’t it? Just imagine the trauma of a person going through this condition. If left untreated, you may even lose hair from all over the body (alopecia universalis).

Alopecia areata causes

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. Normally the immune system protects your body against infection and disease. In an autoimmune disease, your body’s immune system mistakenly attacks some part of your own body.

In alopecia areata, the immune system attacks your hair follicles. The exact cause of alopecia and this immune response is not known. However, there can be certain contributory factors and underlying medical conditions that can be attributed to alopecia areata causes. The alopecia triggers may be related to your genes, hormonal changes in your body, emotional/physical stress.

It has been observed through several scientific studies that almost 40% of people younger than age 30 with alopecia areata have at least one family member who has been diagnosed with the same condition. The risk of developing alopecia areata is also said to be high in people suffering from asthma, thyroid disorder, and diabetes.

Can your hair grow back if you have alopecia?

In most cases, lost hair grows back by itself. The regrown hair could be thinner than the original hair and may be white in colour. The hair would gradually get back to its original colour. But, it’s not necessary that the refilled patch means that you are out of this problem.

When one patch has refilled at the earlier spot, there could be an appearance of a new patch simultaneously. Therefore, the aim of alopecia treatment should be to stop the appearance of new patches, re-growth of hair in the existing patches and preventing the recurrence of the disorder.

So, what’s the solution for alopecia? Is there any effective treatment?

You can take help of homeopathy for treating this distressing problem.

Homeopathy has a good clinical record in the treatment of alopecia areata. One of the key reasons why it works effectively is that it targets and corrects the altered immune function of the individual and brings it back to normalcy, over a period of time. Thus, the results are long-lasting, and not superficial.

Alopecia treatment in homeopathy can help to prevent relapses of hair loss and impart good health in general. The best part about alopecia treatment in homeopathy is that it is non-habit-forming and without side-effects.

The duration of homeopathic treatment may vary from one individual to the other. Also, treatment outcomes depend on a host of variables. Long-standing alopecia areata, with widespread hair loss, progresses slowly. In the presence of other systemic illness, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, or hypertension, and hair loss, it takes a longer time for one to respond to treatment. On the other hand, if alopecia areata is of recent origin, with a limited spread, the healing response is often quick.

The bottom line is that the earlier you seek medical help for alopecia areata, the better is the outcome.