What Is Alopecia Areata?

 What Is Alopecia Areata?

Are you trying to find details about the Alopecia Areata?  Just stumbled on this article and found that it gives fantastic recommendation about it. There is a lot of fact to all of Alopecia Areata,  Here is the excerpt about it. from http://www.niams.nih.gov

Alopecia areata is disease that affects the hair follicles, which are part of  the skin from which hairs grow. In most cases, hair falls out in small, round patches about the size of a quarter. Many people with the disease get only a few bare patches. Some people may lose more hair. Rarely, the disease causes total loss of hair on the head or complete loss of hair on the head, face, and body.

Who Gets Alopecia Areata?

Anyone can have alopecia areata. It often begins in childhood. There is a slightly increased risk of having the disease if you have a close family member with the disease.

What Causes Alopecia Areata?

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. Normally the immune system protects the body against infection and disease. In an autoimmune disease, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks some part of your own body.
In alopecia areata, the immune system attacks the hair follicles. The cause is not known. Scientists think that a person’s genes may play a role. For people whose genes put them at risk for the disease, some type of
trigger starts the attack on the hair follicles. The triggers may be a virus or something in the person’s environment.

Will My Hair Ever Grow Back?

There is every chance that your hair will grow back, but it may fall out again. No one can tell you when it might fall out or grow back. You may lose more hair, or your hair loss may stop. The hair you have lost may or may not grow back. Even a person who has lost all of his hair may grow all of his hair back. The disease varies from person to person.

How Is Alopecia Areata Treated?

There is no cure for alopecia areata. There are no drugs approved to treat it. Doctors may use medicines approved for other diseases to help hair grow back. Talk to your doctor about the treatment that is best for you. Read Questions and Answers about Alopecia Areata at niams.nih.gov