BY FAITH MUTETE – Hair is an important part of the body as it not only gives one beauty but also the confidence to go through life ,so it’s really sad and disappointing to wake up one morning and find patches of your hair falling off. Many might over react and form different speculations around this but in real sense this is a health condition known as alopecia.
This is where you loose hair in your body and there are different form of it.We have alopecia areata where hair falls out in small patches ,alopecia totalis which is complete loss of hair on the scalp and alopecia universalis ,where hair is lost in the whole body.
This health condition is not contagious as many would think but it can emotionally affect the patient in the first stages
Today we are going to look at alopecia areata and see some of it causes, symptoms and tips on how to deal with it
CAUSES OF ALOPECIA
Alopecia areata is an auto immune condition that happens when white blood cells attack the hair follicle making them unable to produce hair since they are made small.it mostly occurs to people who have a family history of it hence scientists think it is a genetic disease.
SYMPTOMS
- The main symptom is hair loss in small patches which mainly occur on the face, eyebrows, lashes and beard. In extreme conditions it may cause alopecia totalis which is complete loss of hair on the scalp or alopecia universalis ,which is loss of hair in the whole body
- It is also known to affect nails where they start having problems like they become thin and split ,they lose their shine, white spots and lines appear ,they become rough
- Exclamation mark hairs –this is where short hair develops at the edges of the bare spots and become narrower at the bottom like an exclamation mark
TIPS FOR MANAGING ALOPECIA AREATA
This immune might bring a lot of low self-esteem especially if you’re a lady but there are few ways of managing it egg.
- Wearing of weaves or wigs
- Having hair styles which cover the spots that have lost hair
- If it is the eye brows one can opt to have permanent tattoos
- Some people opt to totally shave their hair
- Joining of support groups where people suffering from alopecia get the chance to talk and share their views with each other. This prevents one from being lonely and feeling bad about their condition
