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Alopecia
How did you first get your diagnosis for alopecia areata? Did anyone have to have a skin biopsy or your doctor just knew from looking at the area? I have been reading about scarring alopecia and non-scarring alopecia. How does the scalp look? My daughter has two large bald spots. Some areas have grown and the other areas have not. After using cortisone creams, her scalp turned dark. The derm says she has no scarring.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Craig on
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Mine started with small 2-3" patches that I would get cortisone injections for. The Dr. figured it was alopecia, but had a biopsy done anyway. I went through a few years of the cortisone injections before just shaving my whole head. I don't have any scarring.
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Permalink Reply by jonesii on
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I have 3 patches- one on each side and the top. I had a biopsy done as well as blood work.I was diagnosed after that. I have some scarring. I had a course of injections and oral antibiotics. I have some regrowth in some places; in other place I have none.
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I started losing on the top sides of my head and around my ears... it also itched (my dr said she never heard of this, but I've heard plenty!) I had a biopsy and the diagnosis was confirmed. That was 15 years ago (I'm now 67 yrs old, yipes!) and since then I've had "outbreaks" on and off; so far hair has grown back. I've never had scarring. I did have shots but am losing hair again and have decided to try clobetesol jell alone. I try everything and will continue to do so. BUT, that being said, in my heart I believe this condition will do whatever it wants, regardless of intervention. Hope your duaghter does well.
Best regards,
Susan
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Permalink Reply by Sarah Reade, MD on
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Susan S,
Your instincts are 100% correct. Regrowth of hair after extensive hair loss is pretty rare. I am totally bald-my head gets cold! It's been almost 6 years and there is no sign of any hair except a little fuzz. I have universalis , so I have NO hair. Except for a small patch on my calf. Not fair!!
Nobody who has not lost their hair can never relate. I think it's harder to be female. Guys go bald in a less dramatic way.
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Permalink Reply by PamFitros@boldlybaldwomen.com on
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Susan,
At 64, with universalis, I simply shine up my head and strut my stuff. I have the condition. I refuse to let it have me.
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Permalink Reply by itzmejudy on
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If you lookup photos for Cicatricial Alopecia (Scarring Alopecia) you will see what it looks like some are mild and some are extreme. Bu Scarring Alopecia can have itching, pimple like pustules, loss of hair and sometimes they can be spots along with general thinning. My Dr told me I had Alopecia Areata but is sending me to Dermatologist to get biopsy. I looked at photos and symptoms and determined it might be Scarring Alopecia. My hair has grown back in the past but not now. A couple years ago I got a spot that covered the whole left top half of my head but hair came back. Everyone is different but I am not a Dr. so I would go see your Dr.
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Mine started as typical coin shaped patches on the back of my head. I had long hair at the time so you couldn't really see the patches. Because the clinical presentation is diagnostic, a biopsy showing lymphocytic infiltrates is not really necessary. "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is most likely a duck". The clinical appearance is enough to make the diagnosis. There is no other syndrome of hair loss that show the typical round patches. It's the pattern of hair-loss that is unmistakable.
In response to itzmejudy, true alopecia areata is an autoimmune process that produces coin shaped non-scarring lesions. I think that it is possible to have a secondary localized infection in the same places where the hair is lost, however the true autoimmune process which involve infiltration of T lymphocytes represents a 'killer' T cell phenomenon that is not inflammatory in the true sense. A secondary bacterial or fungal infection is a possible associated process that could cause scarring. The primary process is inflammatory only in the sense that on a biopsy, infiltrates of T cells are present. There are other microscopic indications of an infectious inflammatory process that would show different cell types along with 'hyaline infiltrates' in the surrounding tissue.
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Permalink Reply by Pam D. on
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Biopsy was done, but the doc was fairly certain it was alopecia. My hair loss seems to run in a cycle; aggressive hair loss (85-90%), regrowth, hair for several months, hair loss. I'm in my third cycle; this one is worst than the others, but I'm seeing regrowth while my hair is still falling out; it takes 3-4 months of regrowth before I'm comfortable w/the way I look. I've never shaved my head, but I'm getting close; I think bald may be better than what I look like now. Like Judy said, we're all different.
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I agree with you. I will never forget how awful I felt when half my hair was still there. Covering with a scarf was all I could think of. But I also ended up less willing to brush the hair I had left. Her's a question for everybody. I had three golden retrievers while my hair was falling out. Their hair was all over the house! I could never actually find where MY hair went!! Wigs itch, but if you are without hair, they do work. I wear hear on some special occasions, otherwise hats are my preference. Anybody else???
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Me too. A shaved head was freeing. The wispy remnants of hair before au finally had its way looked like mange and left me feeling depressed and ugly. Now I forget I'm bald most of the time, and some people can't remember what I looked like with hair because when they think of me it is just 'me' and me is totally hairless and very happy.
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So do I! I try to imagine what it would be like to have real hair again. I think it would probably look terrible and need a lot of upkeep. I also sometimes forget, but with people I am comfortable with I often joke that I forgot to bring my hair (to explain the scarf or hat). here's another question on a scale of 1 to 10 how much do you hate the no-no ads???
Sarah
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I have found that if I stay on a gluten free diet my hair does fine. If I eat something with gluten in it the next day my head is on fire. My derm gave me a pill to take that is suppose to help regrow hair, he said I might get more hair than I want, meaning a mustash we shall see.
Carol
St. Louis, MO
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