Breakthroughs in alopecia treatment offer hope to hair loss sufferers

An effective alopecia treatment offers hope to those who have experienced the distress of sudden and rapid hair loss.  Alopecia is when a person very quickly loses hairs from a particular area of the body.  Alopecia is most noticeable when it affects the scalp, where hair loss and bald patches can be very visible.  However, it can occur on an hairy surface of the body.  Breakthroughs in treatments for stopping hair loss have led to the development of effective ways of treating this distressing condition.

What exactly causes alopecia is not always obvious in some cases.  Sometimes it can be the result of a disease or it can be triggered by emotional stress.  Often hairs are lost from just a small area, so just that patch would be treated.  Other times hair loss can be more excessive, in which case treatment will focus on a larger area.  Even without any specific treatment for hair loss, healthy hairs generally tend to grow back within a year without having been treated with drugs.

Alopecia treatment involves a series of steroids being injected into the affected area.  The patch where hairs have been lost will usually be treated with steroids every few weeks, and can result in new hairs growing back in 1-2 months.  A possible side effect is thinning of the skin.  This treatment is often used in conjunction with a shampoo for thinning hair containing minoxidil.  This doesn’t treat the causes of the hair loss, but works to stimulate new growth.  There are also several nontoxic hair care products that can be used by alopecia sufferers to treat their hair loss.