DESCRIPTION:
Alopecia areata is a highly unpredictable autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. This disease affects approximately 1.7 percent of the population overall, including more than 4 million people in the United States alone. Alopecia areata occurs in males and females of all ages and races; however, it most often begins in childhood, which can be psychologically devastating.
How does alopecia areata develop?
In alopecia areata, the affected hair follicles are mistakenly attacked by a person's own immune system. Lymphocytes around the hair follicles release chemical messengers called cytokines that reject the hair for unknown reasons. Alopecia areata usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth bald patches on the scalp and can progress to total scalp hair loss (alopecia totalis) or complete body hair loss (alopecia universalis). The disease develops in three stages: 1) sudden loss of hair; 2) enlargement of the patches of hair loss; 3) new hair grows back. This process may take months or sometimes years. One patch may be falling out while another is regrowing.
What are the symptoms of alopecia areata?
Alopecia areata is often discovered by a hairdresser, as there are usually no symptoms. The hair stops growing and then falls out from the roots.
Conventional medical treatments may help relieve the symptoms of alopecia areata but they do not address the root of the problem. Generally, by undergoing comprehensive natural medicine testing, the reasons the body is producing antibodies against itself can be found. Some of these reasons include sensitivities or allergies to foods, inhalants and chemicals and various infections.
Discover why we believe that natural medicine treatments are the best way to treat alopecia areata.
