About 160 million people across the globe grapple with the emotional, physical and mental pain of losing their hair because of alopecia areata. The disease affects people in different ways, with some developing small circular bald patches on their scalp and others experiencing complete loss of hair on their bodies.
While the condition might seem like a cosmetic issue, it can have profound harmful effects on the mental health of people suffering with the disease.
A study published in the British Journal of Dermatology found that people with alopecia were 30 to 38% more likely to be diagnosed with depression. Alopecia is the result of a person’s immune system attacking hair follicles, but medical professionals have not found what prompts that destructive action.
There are various types of alopecia with each resulting in different degrees and duration of hair loss. Often, the presence of scarring is a factor in whether hair will regrow.
Most people with the hair loss condition suffer with alopecia areata where there is no scarring, and the hair follicle remains in tact. That condition manifests with the sudden loss of small round patches of hair on the scalp, face or other body parts.
The American Osteopathic College of Dermatology states it is an unpredictable condition that can last for years, see regrowth of hair in months or recur repeatedly after recovery.
Cicatricial alopecia involves scarring, and because the hair follicle is destroyed, hair loss is permanent, according to the Indiana University School of Medicine.
Unlike alopecia areata, alopecia areata totalis results in complete or nearly complete loss of all scalp hair. But it too leaves hair follicles in tact, leaving the possibility of growing hair again.
When an individual loses their eyebrows, eyelashes, scalp hair and all body hair, that condition is alopecia areata universalis. It is much more rare than the aforementioned alopecia forms and does not produce scarring.
Treatments for the various forms of the disease can range from topical solutions to immunotherapy.
