Understanding Skin Conditions and Alopecia Areata

Alopecia is the medical term for baldness; there are various types of alopecia, including alopecia areata.

Alopecia areata is a condition that causes a person’s hair to fall out. It is an autoimmune disease; that is, the person’s immune system attacks their own body. In this case, their hair follicles. When this happens, the person’s hair begins to fall out, often in clumps the size and shape of a quarter. The extent of the hair loss varies; in some cases, it is only in a few spots. In others, the hair loss can be greater.

On rare occasions, the person loses all of the hair on his or her head (alopecia areata totalis) or entire body (alopecia areata universalis).
It is believed that the person’s genetic makeup may trigger the autoimmune reaction of alopecia areata, along with other unknown triggers.

Alopecia areata is an unpredictable disease. In some people, hair grows back but falls out again later. In others, hair grows back and remains. Each case is unique. Even if someone loses all of his or her hair, there is a chance that it will grow back.

Who Gets Alopecia Areata?
Anyone can develop alopecia areata; however, your chances of having alopecia areata are slightly greater if you have a relative with the disease. In addition, alopecia areata occurs more often among people who have family members with autoimmune disorders such as diabetes, lupus, or thyroid disease.

Can Alopecia Areata Be Cured?
Alopecia areata cannot be cured; however, it can be treated and hair can grow back. In many cases, alopecia areata is treated with drugs that are used for other conditions. Treatment options for alopecia areata include:

Corticosteroids: Anti-inflammatory drugs that are prescribed for autoimmune diseases. Corticosteroids can be given as an injection into the scalp or other areas, orally (as a pill), or applied topically (rubbed into the skin) as an ointment, cream, or foam. Response to therapy may be gradual.
Topical contact allergens or sensitizers. This type of therapy may be used if the hair loss is widespread or if it recurs. The inflammation that the treatments cause may promote hair regrowth. Another name for this treatment is topical immunotherapy.
Rogaine (minoxidil): This topical drug is already used as a treatment for pattern baldness. It usually takes about 12 weeks of treatment with Rogaine before hair begins to grow. Results can be disappointing.
Other drugs that are used for alopecia areata with varying degrees of effectiveness include medications used to treat psoriasis and other autoimmune disorder.


Read More


Related Article:
How to Treat Alopecia Areata
 

Alopecia Areata Treatment Testimonial – Mr. Wee

Mr. Wee started his Alopecia Areata (AA) Treatment with Lao Fo Ye since 10 April 2015.

He did receive treatment before when the same condition happened to him when he was younger but he was affected by AA again at 10 years old. However, do you know what exactly is AA and why is it affecting someone as young as Mr. Wee? It is affecting many recently. So, Lao Fo Ye has gathered some information from the web to educate everyone on this autoimmune disease.

What is Alopecia Areata?

Alopecia means hair loss. When a person has a medical condition called alopecia areata, hair falls out in round patches. Hair can fall out on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. Alopecia is not contagious. It is not due to nerves. What happens is that the immune system attacks the hair follicles (structures that contain the roots of the hair), causing hair loss. This disease most often occurs in otherwise healthy people.

What causes it?

In alopecia areata, immune system cells called white blood cells attack the rapidly growing cells in the hair follicles that make the hair. The affected hair follicles become small and drastically slow down hair production. Fortunately, the stem cells that continually supply the follicle with new cells do not seem to be targeted. So the follicle always has the potential to regrow hair.

Source: https://www.aad.org/dermatology-a-to-z/diseases-and-treatments/a—d/alopecia-areata

At Lao Fo Ye, we have many successful AA cases that we will share with you as we go along. Mr. Wee will be the first one we are sharing today. Firstly, our consultants will apply AA Detox on the customer’s scalp. The AA Detox can kill bacteria & cleanse your scalp. It can also scatter the killer T cells (lymphocytes) and allow the hair follicle to continue normal hair growth. However, AA can happen again so regular treatments at Lao Fo Ye can help keep the situation under better control.

On 10 April, Mr. Wee seek help from Lao Fo Ye. In 4 consecutive treatments, you can see that there are hair growing out of his scalp.

In one month’s time, there are visible hair strands growing out of the bald spots. New hair grew beginning from and progressing from the outer circle. The bald spot got smaller until the whole patch is covered with new hair. Thus Recovery!

Mr. Wee said,”Thank you. My friends won’t laugh at me in school anymore.”

Mr Wee now continues to receive treatment at Lao Fo Ye to prevent recurrence and to suppress Alopecia Areata (AA).

Don’t fight AA alone… Lao Fo Ye can support you and help you fight AA together.

If you have hair problems similar to Mr. Wee’s, call us now at 6 3838 333 or book an appointment with us! We are located at the Bencoolen (Opposite OG Albert), Bugis.

For more information about the Alopecia Areata Treatment, head over to our website now!