Who is most likely to get it?

Alopecia areata or hair loss affects an estimated four million Americans of both sexes and of all ages and ethnic backgrounds, and it often begins in childhood. If you have a close family member with the disease, your risk of developing it is slightly increased then for someone who does not have family member with the same problem. If your family member lost his or her first patch of hair before age 30, the risk to other family members is greater, so overall, one in five people with the disease have a family member who has it as well.

What causes excessive hair loss?

A number of things can cause excessive hair loss, for example, about 3 or 4 months after an illness or a major surgery, person may suddenly lose a large amount of hair. This hair loss is related to the stress of the illness and is always temporary. Hormonal problems may cause hair loss as well. If thyroid gland is overactive or underactive, a person’s hair may fall out. This hair loss usually can be helped by treatment for thyroid disease. Hair loss may occur if male or female hormones known as androgen and estrogen are out of balance. Correcting the hormone imbalance the doctor may stop patient’s hair loss. Many women notice hair loss about 3 months after they have had a baby, which is also related to hormones. During pregnancy, high levels of certain hormones cause the body to keep hair that would normally fall out, so when the hormones return to pre-pregnancy levels, that hair falls out and the normal cycle of growth and loss starts again. Some medicines can cause hair loss as well. This type of hair loss improves when you stop taking the medicine, such as blood thinners, also called anticoagulants, medicines used for gout, medicines used in chemotherapy to treat cancer, vitamin A, birth control pills and antidepressants. Beside this, certain infections can cause hair loss. Fungal infections of the scalp can cause hair loss in children but that infection is easily treated with antifungal medicines. Finally, hair loss may occur as part of an underlying disease, such as lupus or diabetes, so since hair loss may be an early sign of a disease, it is important to find the cause so that it can be treated.