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Symptoms of Alopecia Areata

by — Last updated: 2022-11-11 in Skin & Hair problems

Table of Contents

Although not too many have heard about it- the fact is that Alopecia areata is a very common and specific autoimmune disease, in which the immune system, normally designed to protect the body from foreign invaders, now attacks its own tissue.
Although symptoms can vary- there are some common symptoms which are characteristic to this condition. Some of the most commons are:

 

  • Hair loss, which is most often is localized and patchy
  • Experts are saying that hair loss on other hair-bearing areas also favors the diagnosis.
  • Scientists claim that the most common presentation is the appearance of 1 or many round-to-oval denuded patches.
  • No epidermal changes are associated with the hair loss.
  • Alopecia Universalis occurs with complete loss of hair on all body areas with hear on it Alopecia Totalis occurs with 100% hair loss on the scalp
  • Nail involvement is also very common characteristic and in most cases it includes:
    • Pitting
    • Several other: trachyonychia, Beau lines, onychorrhexis, onychomadesis, koilonychia, leukonychia, red lunulae

Diagnosis of Alopecia Areata

  • Bald patches
Every patient should know that in most cases the first symptoms are small, soft, bald patches. Although they can have almost any shape –they are most usually round. If we talk about common age of onset Initial presentation most commonly occurs in the late teenage years but can happen with people of all ages. Every patient should also know that it also may go into remission for a time, or permanently. There is one rule- the longer the hair loss persists, the smaller the chance that it will grow back.  
  • Exclamation point hairs
Important thing to point out is that another very common presentation of the condition is exclamation point hairs. What exactly are these points? Well, exclamation point hairs are hairs that become narrower along the length of the strand closer to the base. Therefore, they are producing a characteristic exclamation point appearance which is very easy to recognize.
  • Hair pulling
Although it may seem brutal, hair pulling is one very good diagnostic tool. This technique is always applied by medical professionals and it is based on gently pulling at a handful of hair along the edge of a patch with less strength than would be required to pull out healthy hair. The fact is that, when we talk about a healthy hair, no hair should fall out or ripped hair should be distributed evenly across the tugged portion of the scalp. Every patient should know that in cases of Alopecia, hair will tend to pull out easy along the edge of the patch where the follicles are already being attacked by the body's immune system.
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