Alopecia

Project Inspiration:

My mother <3

Sources

• http://patient.info/health/alopecia-areata
• https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-and-scalp-problems/alopecia-areata#treatment
• http://www.belgraviacentre.com/blog/alopecia-areata-indepth/

Other Treatments

Steroid Treatment

- Topical immunotherapy

Substance put on affected skin to make the skin react like an allergy (diphencyprone DPCP). Skin reaction appears like eczema and affects the process involved in allowing hair to regrow. (most effective for extensive alopecia)

- Get a Wig :)

- Steroid Injections

Allows hair follicles to function normally again to regrow hair. (for small to medium sized bald patches)

- Rub on Steriods (Topical minoxidil solution)

May work for small bald patches, but not suitable for steriod injections. It is expected to stop applying cream after 3-6 months if there is no re-growth

Effects on the Integumentary System

- Follicles are still there but they have become dormant. This is a result of the body’s white blood cells mistakenly attacking the hair follicles. The immune system makes these white blood cells to attack bacteria and viruses, but if you have an auto-immune disease, your immune system mistakes certain parts of your body as foreign. In Alopecia Areata the white blood cells mistakes the hair cells as foreign and surrounds them.

Alopecia

Diagnosis

- If the hair loss expands, the doctor might pull out a few hairs to analyze under the microscope

- Skin Biopsy are taken to confirm the disease

- Blood Tests are necessary to detects other autoimmune disease

Nail Problems

What is it?

Alopecia (al-oh-PEE-shah) means hair loss.

- Tiny pinpoint dents (pitting)

• white spots or lines, rough surfaces, lose of shine, become thin, splits

- Rarely nails change shape or fall off nail beds.

- Sometimes.. it's the first sign of alopecia

There are different types of hair loss:

- Alopecia areata

(hair loss in patches)

- Alopecia totalis

(lose all hair on the scalp)

- Alopecia universalis

(lose all hair on the body)

The Facts

- Not everyone loses all of the hair on the scalp or body. This happens to about 5 percent of people.

- Hair often grows back but may fall out again. Sometimes the hair loss lasts for many years.

- It is not contagious. It is not due to nerves. What happens is that the immune system attacks the hair follicles (structures that contain the roots of the hair), causing hair loss. This disease most often occurs in otherwise healthy people.

Hair Follicles

- Clumps of hair fall out, resulting in totally smooth, round hairless patches on the scalp or other areas of the body.

• Usually the scalp, but patches can form in eyebrows, eyelashes, and beards

- The immune system mistakenly attacks hair follicles, which is where hair growth begins.

- Exclamation hairs form around the bald spots (hairs get narrower at the bottom, like an exclamation mark)

- Patients can eventually go bald in the scalp and all around the body

Designed by: Jadea Harris