Today is the LAST DAY of Alopecia Awareness Month so I thought maybe I should do a post about Alopecia and what it actually is. (Yes, I have been a procrastinator my whole life. I like to think I work well under pressure...my family would probably say otherwise...) So here is your little education session about this funny little disease of mine :)
Number ONE:
It is an AUTO-IMMUNE Disorder. Meaning...one day your body decides to be a bit of an ass and starts attacking itself for NO APPARENT REASON. In the words of Stephanie Tanner, 'How rude!'. And it is. Exceptionally rude. One day your walking along and everything is all fine and dandy and then BAM the next thing you know your body throws a temper tantrum and all your damn hair falls out.
As of right now there are over 80 types of identified autoimmune diseases and they can affect any part of the body. Alopecia (obviously) affects the hair follicles (but nothing else, so that's nice).
Number TWO:
It's not really genetic...but kind of might be?? When I was researching all the stuff about aloepcia when all my hair was falling out, I tried to convince myself that I didn't have it because none of my family has it. Turns out, that doesn't matter. Only 25% of people with alopecia have a family member who also has it. (I might have made up that stat but it's somewhere close to that anyway). So, just because your mom has it doesn't necessarily mean that you will get it too. (Unlike male pattern baldness because I'm pretty sure if that's in your family you're kind of S.O.L. But its ok, being bald is 'aight). Now, all that being said, there is some talk that they have identified the gene that causes alopecia and its closely linked to rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes (which I did not even know was auto immune until I heard about this research). They still have yet to determine what turns the gene 'on' but they be workin on it :)
Number THREE:
Alopecia most commonly starts in children. But once again, I kind of think this is a lie. The more people I meet with alopecia and the more stories I read on message boards and what not, the more I'm convinced that it actually doesn't matter how old you are. BUT 'research says' that it most commonly presents when you are a child so we are going to go with that.
Number FOUR:
There are a ton of different types of alopecia but there are 3 forms that seem to be more common than the others. They are:
1) Alopecia Areata: This one is the most common and some people don't even know they have it. Areata means 'spots' and usually when it first presents the spot of hair loss is no bigger than a quarter size and a lot of the time is easy to disguise. What I mean by some people not knowing that it's there is that a lot of the times the spot can be hidden at the back of your head and it's actually your hair dresser or friend, etc that can see it first. Sometimes people only ever get one spot, it grows back and then it never happens again. Sometimes one spot turns from quarter size to half your head. And sometimes one spot turns into multiple spots turns into a whole not lot of hair on your head.
2) Alopecia Totalis: This type of Alopecia means you are the lucky winner of no hair on your head but still having to shave your legs!! Worst. Ever. Basically its a total hair loss on your head and face but no where else.
3) Alopecia Universalis: This is the least common when we talk about the 3 main types of alopecia and (spoiler alert!) this is the type I've got. Alopecia Universalis (aka AU) is the absence of alllll your hair. And I mean all. I haven't shaved my legs in a year and it is grand. I do get these random super white (like almost see through) hairs that grow in my armpits (lame) and a few bits on my head and eyelashes but its really nothing to get too excited about.
Number FIVE:
There is NO CURE and if someone tells you there is one, they are a damn liar. Seriously. There are treatment options out there which I will explain in my next post (and also why I'm not doing any of them) but there is no known and proven way to permanently reverse the disease process.
Number SIX:
Alopecia is completely unpredictable. That means that one day all my hair could grow back. And then it could fall out again. Or it could not. Or it could fall out in patches. Or it could never grow back. The possibilities are endless really. That's why I don't get too excited about hair growth because it doesn't mean squat to me anymore. That's what wigs are for ;)
(The exception to this would be if you have a type of scarring alopecia which means that the hair follicles are actually damaged and can't produce hair. Mine aren't damaged, there is just inflammation at the hair follicles which makes my hair not grow).
Sooooo that's kind of it in a nutshell but I could have forgotten something since this is the end of my set of night shifts and I'm currently functioning at approximately 30% brain capacity (don't worry, I could still totally help save your life :) ). Next week while I'm soaking up the sun in the DOMINICANNNNNNNN I'll let y'all know about the treatment options. If you have any questions holla at me yo.
Much love,
Moi
