7 Things To Know About Alopecia, The Hair Loss Condition
- Anu
- March 30, 2022
- Health
- alopecia facts, alopecia in women, alopecia jada pinkett smith, alopecia types, Things To Know About Alopecia
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Before the Oscars on Sunday, not many people knew that Jada Pinkett-Smith had a condition called Alopecia although she had talked about it publicly a couple of times.
Alopecia is a broad term that refers to any form of hair loss however when people talk about alopecia, the most common type they refer to is alopecia areata.
1. Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that causes hair to come out, often resulting in unpredictable hair loss. In the majority of cases, hair falls out in small patches around the size of a quarter. For most people, hair loss is nothing more than a few patches, though in some cases it can be more extreme.
2. Alopecia can develop suddenly at any age although most cases occur before the age of 30.
3. It occurs when white blood cells attack the cells in hair follicles, causing them to shrink and dramatically slow down hair production.
4. Alopecia has 3 main types:
- Alopecia areata: the patchy nature of the hair loss
- Alopecia totalis: when a person loses all their scalp hair
- Alopecia universalis: The person loses all hair, leaving the entire body hairless. This is rare.
5. Alopecia areata is more likely to occur in a person who has a close family member with the disease which means genetics plays a huge role. One in five people with the disease has a family member who has also developed alopecia areata. It is also evident in people who have a family history of other autoimmune disorders, such as atopy, a disorder characterized by a tendency to be hyperallergic, thyroiditis, and vitiligo.
6. The most prominent symptom of alopecia areata is patchy hair loss. The loss of hair can be sudden, developing in just a few days or over a period of a few weeks.
7. There is no cure for alopecia areata, however, the most common form of alopecia areata treatment is the use of corticosteroids, powerful anti-inflammatory drugs that can suppress the immune system. These are most commonly administered through local injections, topical ointment application, or orally.
