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Possible alopecia triggers?
So I have had Alopecia Universalis for almost 9 years now, and I had no substantial signs of alopecia before that. I was talking with a graduate classmate; she has fibromyalgia. She mentioned to me that her fibromyalgia and other autoimmune disorders didn't appear until after a bout of mono. I then remembered that roughly a year before my hair started falling out that I had a form of mono as well. I was wondering if any of you noticed, or can now think of, a possible alopecia trigger? Can't wait to hear your thoughts!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Anna on
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In my case there are two possibilities that come to mind: prolonged (like 10 years) extreme stress, or menopause. AU coincided with menopause - nothing before that.
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Permalink Reply by Patrick on
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They are plenty, if you want to please message me and we can have a chat. Stress is only related to a particular pattern of hair loss and not Alopecia Areata to Universalis. Even if it was stress it would grow back once that stress had gone in another form of Alopecia.
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Permalink Reply by CET1993 on
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I've also been racking my brains about this myself. I've had alopecia areata for about two years now , and never once had it before , not in my entire life. I've had blood tests , checked for every disease my dermatologist could think of . Thyroid, lupus, and every other autoimmune disease. Which was all negative. Had vitamin levels checked , b 12 , iron , zinc, vitamin c , and vitamin D, which were all in normal range as well. He literally couldn't find anything wrong with me health wise that could be triggering the alopecia. I do remember that I had a traumatizing experience right before it started falling out in circular patches. I was under extreme stress and had a terrible accident with broken glass when I was at home one night. So since it isn't health related , and definitely not in my genetics ( I'm the only one in my entire family that has it and no one in my family has ever had an autoimmune disorder. ) so I chalk it all up to that trauma and being constantly stressed before hand.
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CET1993, I believe you are right. Mine is also due to stress. No one in my family has/had it. I also have been checked for everything under the sun. I have universalis. NO ONE knows the cause, other than it is auto immune disorder. And no one knows how to treat it either. I've been struggling with this, off and on for 35 years.
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Yeah , it seems very difficult to treat. I've been getting kenalog injections for over a year and a half. Have had a lot of regrowth but it seems like stopping the hairloss is the problem . My hairloss seems to have came and went the entire time I've had this dumb thing. So I finally said screw it and started shaving my head. I mean completely to where you couldn't tell I even have it. The major thing about this is it causes public stress . It makes you so self conscious . Some people may be comfortable with not hiding it , but not me. I refuse to be seen without my hat on unless I have shaved. And another annoying that about it is a lot of the regrowth I have starts out a clearish white color . Some of it has turned back to my normal color but a lot of it hasn't and I'm beginning to wonder if It ever Will .My derm tells me all the time that this problem "usually" resolves itself after a period of time. But I'm still waiting. Question for you Pam , have you ever had any periods of time when you had recovered all of your hair . As if it were before alopecia started?
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CT1993
Answer to your question. Yes I have had it return twice. The first time 8 or so years in, in 1990, there about it all came back. It stayed in till February/March of 2011. Stress again. My mother passed away in September of 2010. I still am bald. BUT, I am recovering from a horrible skin issue, Amune disorder. So I have been on steroids, prednisone for the last 3 months. I have some eyebrows and lashes. Peach fuss on my head. I will be taken off the the prednisone next week. Hopefully they stay, but realize
If they don't.
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In my case, I believe my wisdom tooth impacting the nearby tooth forming a cavity is one of the factors. I have alopecia barbae. I recently fixed all my dental issues 2 weeks back. I hope to get recovered in a month.
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Permalink Reply by kimk on
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YES! I got the flu Jan 4 started losing hair by the 3 week in Jan, first bald spot Feb 9. I had bad case of mono 40 years ago....
Take a look at these:
- Nuray Aslan et al. Severity of Acute Infectious Mononucleosis Correlates with Cross-Reactive Influenza CD8 T-Cell Receptor Repertoires. mBio, December 2017 DOI: 10.1128/mBio.01841-17
mary:Acute infectious mononucleosis (AIM), also known as mono or the 'kissing disease,' is caused by the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV). In a new paper, researchers connect the onset and severity of mono to T-cells that react to both EBV and the influenza A virus, which causes the flu. The study represents one of the first reported links between how a person's immune system responds to infection and receptors on T-cells, which instigate the immune response.
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Influenza A can be nasty.....there seems to be a connection between T cells gone wild, influenza A and Epstein Barr virus.....
a reason to get your flu shot that you probably haven't considered: infection with swine flu may trigger
A new report from Japan suggests a link between alopecia areata, a condition in which patches of hair fall out, and swine flu. The researchers report that seven patients experienced hair loss one to four months after developing the illness.
The exact cause of alopecia areata is unknown, but it is thought to occur when the immune system attacks a person's hair follicles, causing the hair on their head to fall out. Rarely, patients may lose all the hair on their head, or on other parts of their body. While the condition may have a hereditary component, a "trigger" from the environment, such as a traumatic event or illness, may also be needed to set off the disease.
Previous studies have linked viral illnesses, including infections with the Epstein-Barr virus, and onset of alopecia areata. The new findings suggest flu infection may be another trigger of this form of baldness, said study researcher Dr. Taisuke Ito, an assistant professor of dermatology at Hamamatsu University School of Medicine in Japan.
Between 2009 and 2010, the researchers examined seven patients with hair loss following swine flu infections that caused high fever. Four of the cases were recurrences of the condition, and three were first-time occurrences. On average, hair loss occurred 1.5 months after swine flu infection in those who experienced recurrences, and 2.7 months after swine flu infection in those who experienced first-time hair loss.
All of the patients were under 30 years old, and four were under 10. Three of the cases involved females.
In one case, a 4-year-old girl first experienced alopecia areata in 2006, but recovered completely. Then in 2010, she contracted swine flu and had hair loss two months later.
"I consider it very plausible," that a flu infection could trigger hair loss, said Nanette Silverberg, director of pediatric and adolescent dermatology at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, who was not involved in the study. "I definitely have seen individuals develop autoimmune conditions," after infection with common viruses, Silverberg said. (An autoimmune condition is one in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues, rather than foreign germs.)
The fact that more than half of the cases were recurrences of alopecia areata further suggests that certain people are genetically predisposed to develop the condition, Ito said.
People who have had alopecia areata in the past should consider getting their flu vaccination, Silverberg said.
The study was published online Dec. 5 in the Journal of Dermatology.
Pass it on: Swine flu infection that occurs with a fever may be a trigger of hair loss.
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