Spot baldnessis referred to as Alopecia areata (AA) scientifically. It is a condition which affects humans and in which hair is lost in some areas of the scalp. Because this condition causes bald spots on the scalp in the early stages, it is usually referred to as spot baldness. In rare cases, the condition can spread to the whole scalp.
Spot baldnessoccurs in people who are apparently healthy and have no skin disease. It is most noticeable in the late teens to young adulthood. However, it can happen to people of all ages. The most common type of spot baldness involves hair loss in one or more round spots in the scalp.
This ailment occurs most often due to heredity factors. It affects people who have affected family members. This condition occurs when the body attacks its own hair follicle and stops its hair growth.T-cell lymphocytes cluster around the hair follicles, causing its inflammation and hence a subsequent hair loss. Emotional stress may combine with hereditary factors to cause this condition.
The first symptoms of this disease are small, round soft bald patches. These patches affect the scalp and the beard though they may occur on any part of the body that has hair. The area of the hair loss is likely to experience some pain. The hair loss occurs over a short period of time and occurs more on one side of the scalp than the other. The condition may also be manifested by what are known as "exclamation point hairs." Exclamation point hairs are hairs which become narrower along the path of the strand closer to the base and hence produce a characteristic "exclamation point" appearance.
For about half the patients of this ailment, the hair will regrow normally in one year without any treatment. In cases where there is severe hair loss, there has been limited success in its treatment. Drugs such as Clobetasol or Fluocinonide, steroid injections, or cream have been tried with limited success. Steroid injections are used in places where there are small hair losses especially where eyebrow hair has been lost. Minoxidil may also be used, as are elocon ointments (steroid cream), irritants such as anthralin, or topical tar and topical immunotherapy, each of which is used in different combinations.
Oral corticosteroids decrease the hair loss, but only during the period for which they are taken, but they have very adverse side effects. For small patches it is actually possible to suppress with topical tacrolimus ointments like protopic.The symptoms for this disease may remain suppressed until they are aggravated by stress or other inducing factors. Treatment using tacrolimus is recommended only for short periods of time because of the adverse side effects.
The effects of bald spotness are mainly psychological; which is caused by loss of self image due to hair loss. Patients may also experience asthma, allergies, etc.
Alopecia can be a major source of psychological stress. Because hair loss often leads to significant changes in the appearance of an individual, individuals do experience social phobia, anxiety, and depression. In severe cases where the chance of hair regrowth is slim, individuals need to learn to adapt to the situation rather than look for a cure. Some psychologists describe the stress caused by this disease as similar to one experienced by someone that has realized that he has a terminal disease.
