How can alopecia areata be treated

Though the hair loss that results from alopecia areata is due to a malfunctioning immune system—in this case, one that attacks hair follicles—there is no medical need to treat it. Alopecia areata is not a sign of poor health or illness, nor is it contagious, painful, or dangerous. No treatment can permanently change the course of this skin disorder or cure it. Still, some people with alopecia areata seek medications, therapies, and other solutions to help manage it and regrow hair.

If you'd like to pursue treatment, be sure to carefully discuss your options with a board-certified doctor who specializes in skin disorders dermatologist. Even though there are no treatments for alopecia areata approved by the U. Food and Drug Administration FDA , there are various prescription medications that have been scientifically shown to help regrow hair. Corticosteroids , also known as steroids, are commonly used to treat alopecia areata. They block the immune system's attack on hair follicles.

These drugs can be injected into the skin with a needle, applied to the skin topical , or taken by mouth oral. Injected Corticosteroids. A dermatologist may inject corticosteroids directly into the areas on the skin where there is no hair or the hair is thinning. This office-based procedure is used to treat patients with patchy, relatively stable hair loss. It is not for patients with extensive hair loss, like someone who is mostly bald.

Injected steroids have been found to be quite effective, although results are not immediate. Injections are generally given every one to two months. To minimize any discomfort from the needle stick, your dermatologist may apply a numbing cream to the skin prior to the injection. Topical Corticosteroids.

Topical corticosteroids come in different strengths and preparations, such as solutions, creams, lotion, foams, ointments, and shampoos. They are often applied daily to the area of hair loss and used for patients with patchy alopecia areata who cannot tolerate injected corticosteroids.

Oral Corticosteroids. Prolonged corticosteroid use is not advised due to the risk of serious, sometimes irreversible, side effects. Topical immunotherapy is sometimes used to treat extensive cases of alopecia areata.

These chemicals essentially create a mild allergic rash on the skin which is believed to alter a person's immune response to the hair follicles. Redness and itching at the site of application are common.

Hair regrowth is expected to occur within three to six months of beginning treatment, but it can take up to 12 months. Treatment is continued every week until the hair is re-grown. Once the hair is re-grown and the treatment is stopped, patients are monitored for a recurrence of hair loss.

If that occurs, patients may benefit from re-starting therapy. For some patients, continuing topical immunotherapy may be recommended to maintain hair regrowth. Anthralin is a tar-like substance available as a cream or ointment. It was one of the first medications used for psoriasis. For alopecia areata, it is applied daily to hairless patches, left on for around 30 minutes, and then washed off. Hair regrowth may occur within two to three months of beginning treatment. Methotrexate or cyclosporine are two examples.

Rogaine, which is minoxidil that gets applied to the skin, works by both improving blood flow to the hair follicles and increasing their growth phase. It is available over the counter in a solution or foam formulation, and is usually applied to the scalp twice daily. Rogaine is only effective in people with early or patchy hair loss, and it takes up to six months to see results.

On the plus side, Rogaine has minimal side effects and may be combined with topical steroids for improved outcomes. Various medications may be used to manage alopecia areata. Topical or injectable corticosteroids, Rogaine, or some combination are commonly used for patchy hair loss. Therapies, like oral corticosteroids or topical immunotherapy, are reserved for more severe cases.

Most studies examining the benefit of CAM therapies for alopecia areata are, unfortunately, not well-designed or reveal conflicting results. It's still reasonable, though, to consider trying out a CAM treatment option with your healthcare provider's OK. While not a complete list, here are some CAM remedies that have at least some scientific evidence, albeit limited, for hair regrowth in alopecia areata. In one study, participants with alopecia areata were taught by a trained aromatherapist to perform nightly scalp massages using one of two combinations of oils:.

Photographs of the participants' scalps were taken at the start of the study and after three and seven months of treatment. The photographs were assessed for hair growth and scored by two dermatologists. Results revealed that those who underwent the essential oil aromatherapy massages had a meaningful improvement in hair growth compared to the control group. The relative lack of improvement in hair growth in the control group suggests that simply massaging the scalp is not useful for treating alopecia areata.

Garlic extract may promote hair growth by tamping down inflammation and altering how a person's immune system works. One study found that combining a garlic-containing gel with topical steroids was more beneficial in treating alopecia areata than using topical steroids alone. Extracts from the root of the Peony plant and the licorice plant are traditional Chinese medical therapies that have been found to improve mild and moderate alopecia areata in adults and severe alopecia areata in children.

These plant extracts—specifically compound glycyrrhizin tablets CGT and total glucosides of peony capsules TGPC —are believed to prevent hair loss by reducing inflammation and suppressing a person's immune system response. Since hair loss in alopecia areata may be triggered by stress, undergoing hypnosis to help reduce stress is considered by some experts to be a reasonable complementary therapy.

During hypnosis, a trained mental health professional or therapist guides you into a trance-like state of consciousness. Sometimes, other tests are necessary. If you have alopecia areata, your dermatologist will talk with you about how the disease is affecting your life and whether treatment is recommended.

If you just received your diagnosis and have had alopecia areata for less than a year, your dermatologist may recommend a wait-and-see approach. Your hair may regrow on its own, making treatment unnecessary. To find one that helps, you may need to try a few types of treatment or different medications. Alopecia areata often begins during childhood. If your child has difficulty coping with the hair loss, treatment can often help regrow hair.

Corticosteroid you apply to the bald spots: Prescription-strength corticosteroids can help regrow hair. You apply this medication once or twice a day. For children, this alone can be an effective treatment. If you are older than 10 years of age and have a few patches of alopecia areata, your dermatologist may recommend one or more of the following treatments:. Injections of corticosteroids: To help your hair regrow, your dermatologist will inject this medication into the bald areas.

This is considered the most effective treatment for people who have a few patches of hair loss. You will need to apply it 2 to 3 times a day. Corticosteroids you apply: You apply this medication to the bald spots once or twice a day as instructed by your dermatologist. This medication tends to be less effective in adults than in children for hair regrowth. Anthralin: You apply this medication to the bald spots, let it sit on the skin for as long as your dermatologist says, and then wash it off.

It will cause some skin irritation. Our eyelashes protect our eyes. If you lose some or all your eyelashes, your dermatologist may include one or more of the following in your treatment plan to help protect your eyes:. Glasses: Wearing glasses helps to protect your eyes and make the hair loss less noticeable. The U. If alopecia areata causes you to lose your eyebrows, your dermatologist may recommend one of the following:.

Intralesional corticosteroids: A dermatologist can inject this medication to help the eyebrows start growing again. When alopecia areata causes widespread hair loss, complete loss of hair on the scalp alopecia totalis , or loss of all hair alopecia universalis , few people regrow their hair without help. Contact immunotherapy: Also called topical immunotherapy, the goal of this treatment is to change your immune system so that it stops attacking your hair follicles.

Dermatologists have:. Missed appointments can cause this treatment to stop working, causing the regrown hair to fall out. The treatment itself involves your dermatologist or nurse applying a chemical to your bald skin.

The first time you receive this treatment, a small amount will be applied so that your body can start to develop a reaction to the chemical. Once you develop a reaction, the chemical will be applied weekly to your bald areas and left on for 48 hours.

During this time, you must keep the treated skin covered and should develop a rash, complete with redness, swelling, and itch. This rash lasts about 36 hours. Contact immunotherapy is given weekly until you completely regrow your hair or the treatment fails to regrow any hair within 6 months. As conventional treatments for alopecia are extremely limited, studies that support natural treatments for alopecia are even thinner on the ground. There are some people that recommend rubbing onion or garlic juice, cooled green tea , almond oil, rosemary oil, honey, or coconut milk into the scalp.

While none of these are likely to cause harm, their effectiveness is also not supported by research. Some people turn to alternative treatment methods such as acupuncture and aromatherapy, although there is little, if any, evidence to support these treatments. The most prominent symptom of alopecia areata is patchy hair loss.

Coin-sized patches of hair begin to fall out, mainly from the scalp. Any site of hair growth may be affected, though, including the beard and eyelashes. The loss of hair can be sudden, developing in just a few days or over a period of a few weeks.

There may be itching or burning in the area before hair loss. The hair follicles are not destroyed and so hair can re-grow if the inflammation of the follicles subsides. People who experience just a few patches of hair loss often have a spontaneous, full recovery without any form of treatment. About 30 percent of individuals who develop alopecia areata find that their condition either becomes more extensive or becomes a continuous cycle of hair loss and regrowth. About half of patients recover from alopecia areata within 1 year, but many will experience more than one episode.

Around 10 percent of people will go on to develop alopecia totalis or alopecia universalis. Alopecia areata can also affect the fingernails and toenails, and sometimes these changes are the first sign that the condition is developing.

There are a number of small changes that can occur to nails:. Doctors are usually able to diagnose alopecia areata fairly easily by examining symptoms. They might look at the degree of hair loss and examine hairs from affected areas under a microscope. If, after an initial clinical examination, the doctor is not able to make a diagnosis, they can perform a skin biopsy. If they need to rule out other autoimmune diseases, they might perform a blood test.

As the symptoms of alopecia areata are so distinctive, making a diagnosis is usually quick and straightforward. A look at alopecia universalis, a condition resulting in hair loss across the entire body. Included is detail on diagnosis and the relationship to…. Recent discoveries in hair loss research have paved the way for new treatments for baldness. Is the cure for baldness just around the corner?