Being diagnosed with cancer is a shocking news, and it is especially traumatic for sick children and their parents. Hair loss is often an inevitable consequence of such cancer treatments as chemotherapy and radiation, which affected kids have to undertake. While temporary baldness may not be a big issue for minor children, cancer-stricken teenagers can suffer deep emotional trauma related to both their disease and altered self-image. Finding a way to help the child cope with the pain of hair loss thus becomes a very serious concern for parents, caregivers, and doctors.

Read full “Baldness in Children Due to Cancer Chemotherapy”

Since alopecia areata is a poorly understood autoimmune disorder with an unpredictable medical prognosis, not treating is often a wise option. In the majority of cases, the condition resolves itself – bald patches disappear and the hair re-grows without any medical intervention. If you have alopecia areata in a mild form, with only a few small areas of baldness, your health care provider may advise that you should simply apply the method of “watchful waiting” – that is, to wait and see if the condition improves in time without treatment. The hair is likely to re-grow within a period of several months to one year. For the time being, hair style changes can be helpful in masking bald patches.

Read full “All You Need To Know about Treatments for Alopecia Areata (Part I)”

Some of our readers have been asking if alopecia could be a sign of some deeply-rooted pathology inside the body and whether it is associated with any health complications. In some cases, hair loss indeed can be a signal that something is going wrong on a deeper physiological level – several examples are malnutrition that may cause vitamin or mineral deficiencies, thyroid disorders, or heavy metal poisoning. Anxiety, depression and severe stress can also trigger baldness, as well as serious internal diseases. However, in most cases, hair loss is an isolated condition that is related to ageing, hormonal imbalances, or genetics. In its own turn, alopecia can produce symptoms of stress, depression, social anxiety, or other psychological illnesses. If any of these conditions are affecting you, a good solution would be to see your health-care provider to get a correct diagnosis and proper treatment.

Read full “Understanding Alopecia (Part II)”

Alopecia is a Latin word and a general medical term that can mean either total baldness or different degrees of hair loss. Alopecia can affect people of both genders at any age, but most commonly in occurs in men and women in their mid-40s. Medical doctors distinguish several types of alopecia: androgenic alopecia, or male-pattern baldness; androgenetic alopecia, or female-pattern baldness; and alopecia areata, or patchy hair loss, which is currently believed to be an autoimmune disease of the idiopathic origin (with no known cause).

Read full “Understanding Alopecia (Part I)”

Tinea Capitis, also known as ringworm of the scalp or tinea tonsurans, is a hair loss scalp condition, a type of superficial dermatophytosis, which is caused by fungal infection. Every geographical area has its own strain of fungi that can attack hair follicles and hair shafts, thus causing the disease: in North America, these are typically Microsporum canis and Trichophyton tonsurans.

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