Losing hair in patches could be an autoimmune disorder. Check with your doctor now.

Have you ever seen people with bald patches on their scalp or beard? If yes, you must know about the condition, alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata is one of the common types of hair loss, where hair falls out in patches. You may lose hair from your scalp, beard, moustache, eyebrow 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.

Now, let us first understand, what is alopecia and how does it occur?

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 reason for 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, or 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.

Who gets alopecia areata?

Anyone can have alopecia areata. Statistics suggest that approximately 2-3 percent of the population, at some point in their lives, suffer from patchy hair loss. The condition in children is often intense and emotionally devastating.

The sudden nature of hair loss and the inability to hide extensive area of hair loss significantly impacts an individual’s self-esteem and lead to emotionally challenging period in their lives. Children with alopecia tend to isolate themselves, from family, friends and others, or appear withdrawn, shy and reserved.  This sense of isolation in alopecia sufferers makes them even more stressed, depressed and anxious.

However, the good news is that this condition often responds well to treatment, especially during the early stages.

What should you do when you see alopecia patches on your scalp or body?

It is important to have your hair loss episodes examined by a medical doctor. As a basic diagnostic step, your doctor will examine your scalp for the appearance and pattern of bald patches. 

In addition to the physical examination, our doctors in the clinic also conduct a painless video microscopy test, which magnifies your scalp and hair follicles up to 200 times. This test will show the condition of your hair strands and scalp, hair density, and thickness of an individual strand.

Based on the evaluation, individual treatment for alopecia can be suggested for your condition. 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.