What is alopecia areata?
Alopecia areata (AA) is a medical condition in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body, usually from the scalp.[1][2] Because it causes bald spots on the scalp, especially in the first stages, it is sometimes called spot baldness. In 1%–2% of cases, the condition can spread to the entire scalp (Alopecia totalis) or to the entire epidermis (Alopecia universalis). Conditions resembling AA, and having a similar cause, occur also in other species.[3]
taken from wiki.
Signs and symptoms?
THESE are my own experience.
Triggers? I assumed it was my low nutrition = low immunity, and stress. Back then, I have a major stress, one related to studies, stress to THIS problem, thus affecting my self confidence and major depressive disorder that caused me to have countless suicidal ideation. It was a hard period. The first symptom that I noticed was one small 3 x 3 cm baldness at my right temporal region, above the ear. I thought it was nothing serious, that it will grow back so I let it be. Days by days, I noticed the amount of hair dropped and accumulated at the sinking cover after my shower growing more and more. It was nothing I have seen before, and even when I combed, there will be massive amount of hair dropped on the floor. I searched the website, knowing a normal person should not drop more than 100 of hair strands per day. But WHO the heck count one by one how many hair you drop a day?? BUT I know there is something wrong with me.
Besides having hair loss, I also felt heating and burning and itching pricking pain on my scalp. I do not know what it was, thought it was due to heat.
I tried all kind of methods suggested from website, changing COUNTLESS of shampoos, eating vitamins, stopped combing, but nothing works. They still fall. And then, I realized, ALL those suggestions were useless! They, the teenage girl who have only a few drops of hair fall, panicked over a freaking hair loss like they become bald doesn't even know what is the exact meaning of HAIR LOSS!!
As a medical student, (lucky for me), I know how to search out information and seek help. But, the wrong-est thing that I had done was denying it from the start, which I know is a normal thing because these reactions has been taught in our course. I had guessed it to be alopecia areata, and I had known it was perhaps best to see a dermatologist. And I had expected too as well, the treatment for it was injection. So, unlike my mother who came with me during the visit, it does not come as a surprise at all to me when the doctor diagnosed me with AA and took out the injection needle.
Back to the story,
During the third week, the fall suddenly went very bad. And it was becoming obvious that this is not normal for me. However, I still do not dare to seek help. Like most of the patients, we are afraid of what is about to come, afraid that it might be true. After two months bearing with it and realised that NOTHING works while watching it falls everyday, I finally went to the dermatologist with my mother.
I was told to come back every month for the injection of rogaine. took up vitamin pills everyday. That time, my hair fall has already spread to my frontal baldness, both temporal baldness which is no longer just one or two spots but has joined up to form more and more diffuse baldness. It was unimaginable, for someone who has never experience it.
Yet, the worst was yet to come...
Four months through hell
Starting from early September to end of December, it was hell for me.
I believed great hair, face, body shape, and skin are something that any girls would want and if they are born with it, congrats, they will and should treasure it. As for me, before this ever happened, I really love my hair. I don't have cute or beautiful face, nor great body shape, or milky but fairly good skin... my hair was like the only great element that I admired about myself. And you can imagine, when this one good thing become your most shameful thing, how your self-ego dropped over the night?
Aside from the shower hair fall, it falls when I eat, yes it's true! THEY stick on my pillow when I woke up. I used the word 'THEY' because it is not just three or four, but eight to ten, sometimes even more than that. Now let me ask you, if you're truely falling hair, how many hairs do you found on your pillow when you wake up?? After school everyday, when I took off my hair band, the hair falls. And showering became the most fearful thing for me.
I tried to put down hair at school. Because all the hair fall spot were above the ear, but those on top are all intact. Initially they can still be covered. But at third and fourth months, my close friends started noticing the baldness, especially looking at my frontal hair and knowing me. I started getting questions like 'what happened to your hair?' 'are you alright?' 'do you have cancer?' 'why your hair so thin?'
You know, first few months I can still tolerate them.
But in fourth until fifth month, it got really worse. The treatment did not work properly. My frontal hair baldness actually grew back after two months of injection, but it Does not stop my hair from falling. It was so serious that both my ears are out, my hair thinned, and the back of my scalp too has DIFFUSe hair loss. It was practically the whole head involved. and not even putting down hair or tieing it up work. No. More and more people started asking, and I was pressurized, embarrassed to the point of committing suicide. I walked in public/school and all that came to my mind are "dun look dun look, dun judge, gosh, they are all looking at me." I dun smile, I dun socialize, I dun share. Looking back, I remembered several occasions where I had wanted to just stood in front of a oncoming car, jump from my apartment which is situated at 23rd floor, took out knife and just stab myself etc. I thought of how my life will go on, how my hair will become bald eventually if this doesn't stop, and how will I live in this world looking like that peculiar bald girl. I'd rather disappear. THoughts like these just ... ran their way into my mind everyday.
But I dun have the courage to do all that suicidal things, thankfully. Again, I did not seek help, cause I naturally thought it was nothing. Just a feeling. But now, I know, those are serious symptoms of major depressive disorders.
Putting that aside, I dun remembered how, but one or two months after that got worse, when I get my fourth injections, the hair fall started to decrease. What I meant 'decrease' is that it doesn't fall as much as previously. And that led to my mood changed better gradually when I noticed this good news. I supposed, with this mood change, the hair grew back together. After two more injections, I defaulted follow up cause all the hair had grown back out. I was super happy about that.
Now, after one and a half year, I had a hair-length black hair, which I straightened three months ago. :) So, yes, it has improved. Occasionally, when hair fall, being the paranoid girl, I'll always took the hair and looked for any tapering ends. Some existed. but some don't.
One side effect from that disease, my right temporal hair, seems to be lesser/thinner compared to the right side. I supposed I shouldn't be too worried about it, as the hair doesn't fall out abnormally when I pulled them. They only fall when I washed and combed hair, so that's the normal within 100 hair strands fall. :)
If you're reading this, I supposed you either have this problem or have had friends/ family who has similar complain. Feel free to contact me, seek out help and I can help you through this.
But I dun have the courage to do all that suicidal things, thankfully. Again, I did not seek help, cause I naturally thought it was nothing. Just a feeling. But now, I know, those are serious symptoms of major depressive disorders.
Putting that aside, I dun remembered how, but one or two months after that got worse, when I get my fourth injections, the hair fall started to decrease. What I meant 'decrease' is that it doesn't fall as much as previously. And that led to my mood changed better gradually when I noticed this good news. I supposed, with this mood change, the hair grew back together. After two more injections, I defaulted follow up cause all the hair had grown back out. I was super happy about that.
Now, after one and a half year, I had a hair-length black hair, which I straightened three months ago. :) So, yes, it has improved. Occasionally, when hair fall, being the paranoid girl, I'll always took the hair and looked for any tapering ends. Some existed. but some don't.
One side effect from that disease, my right temporal hair, seems to be lesser/thinner compared to the right side. I supposed I shouldn't be too worried about it, as the hair doesn't fall out abnormally when I pulled them. They only fall when I washed and combed hair, so that's the normal within 100 hair strands fall. :)
If you're reading this, I supposed you either have this problem or have had friends/ family who has similar complain. Feel free to contact me, seek out help and I can help you through this.
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