Alopecia Areata: Baldness in Children

Leticia Cruz Velazquez

Introduction to Special Education 203

Research Paper

Tues. March 29, 2016

 Alopecia Areata

Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes patches of hair to fall out. The

immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles on your body, resulting in patchy hair loss

(Froneman, 2016). According to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation (NAAF) Alopecia

Areata is the third most common form of hair loss in the United States. While it's rare in children

younger than 18 months, it's most likely to start in childhood and can happen at any age.

Alopecia Areata affects about 4.5 million people in the United States (Alopecia Areata, 2010).

Researchers from the NAAF don't know what exactly causes Alopecia Areata, but genetics plays

a role. One in five people with the disorder has a family member who has it, too. It's also more

common in families with a history of asthma, hay fever, atopic eczema, childhood diabetes, or

other autoimmune diseases.

Originally, Alopecia Areata was known as "Foxs Disease and was first described by

Cornelius Celsus in 30 AD (Shapiro & Thompson, 1996). Cornelius Celsus described two types

of Alopecia, Alopecia Totalis, the type that leaves the sufferer completely devoid of all body

hair, and Alopecia Ophiasis, which gives a "snake like pattern of balding that somewhat looks

like a reverse Mohawk. Celsus also stated that Alopecia Ophiasis only occurred in children but,

he was wrong. For a long time, in honor of Celsus, alopecia was called "Area Celsi, until

Sauvages, Nosologica Medica, published in 1760, in Lyons, France, when he renamed it once

and for all, Alopecia Areata. However, even then, there was no real idea as to what caused the

disease (Shapiro & Thompson, 1996). Over time the factors that activate the onset of Alopecia

Areata and the mechanisms of its development are still not fully understood.
 Alopecia Areata

Alopecia Areata is considered an autoimmune disease where cells of an individual's own

immune system prevent hair follicles from producing hair fiber (Encyclopedia of Childrens

Health, 2016). They seem to attack the hair follicles, mistakenly thinking that somehow they are

a threat to the rest of the body. There are medications available to treat this condition, however

even though in some cases the hair may grow back (Behrman, 2004). There are a range of

treatments for Alopecia Areata, but none are effective for everyone and some people don't

respond to any treatment. Because some of the available treatments have a high risk of side

effects, they are often not used for children. Unfortunately, people with more extensive, long-

term Alopecia Areata find that the available treatments do not work well. For these individuals

the only practical answer is a wig and a lot of emotional support, there is no known cure for the

condition.

Traditionally, Alopecia Areata has been regarded as a stress-induced disease. Alopecia

Areata is much more complicated than that, in extreme stress Alopecia Areata can develop in

some people. In Alopecia Areata: Understanding and Coping with Hair Loss by Shapiro, J and

Thompson, W their more recent research, shows that genes can also be involved. There are

several genes that can make an individual more susceptible to developing Alopecia. Such as

asthma, hay fever, childhood diabetes, or autoimmune diseases, etc. The more of these genes a

person has, the more likely they will develop Alopecia Areata. In the research of Conroy, R.

What is alopecia? he believes there are a wide range of contributing factors that make someone

more susceptible to developing this disease. Hormones, allergies, viruses, and even toxins might

contribute, but none have yet been proven to cause it. Conroy also states that several of these

factors combined are involved in the activation of AA in any one individual.

 Alopecia Areata

There are four most common types of Alopecia Areata, Alopecia Universalis, Alopecia

Totalis, Alopecia Monolocaluris and Alopecia Multilocaluris. However since this autoimmune

disorder is not very well understood, many patients dont realize what type of Alopecia Areata

are they suffering from. Most people are unable to notice or recognize this autoimmune disease

(Alopecia Areata, 2010). Majority of those who can recognize these symptoms would have

experienced this autoimmune disease in their past or had a close person affected by it. In fact

even among those who had experienced it, very little could even differentiate the types of

Alopecia Areata.

There is some evidence to suggest that, although Alopecia cannot be cured, aromatherapy

is a safe and effective treatment. Aromatherapy involves rubbing scented essential oils into the

skin to treat localized and systemic disease (Encyclopedia of Childrens Health). According to

Amy Froneman, the most common treatment involves the use of corticosteroids. Corticosteroid

creams applied to the bald patches are popular with the average dermatologist, although this

treatment approach is only successful for the very mildest cases. A more potent approach is to

inject corticosteroid solutions into the bald patches. This can work well for some people, but

close monitoring is required to ensure that side effects, such as skin thinning at the site of

injection, do not occur. It may not be possible to prevent all types of alopecia but, certain forms

of hair loss may be prevented. Highly contagious fungal infections such as tinea capitis, for

example, may be prevented by keeping hair clean and by teaching children not to share hats,

combs, or hair brushes. The NAAF provides many programs and resources created to ease the

burden of the entire family when a child is diagnosed with Alopecia Areata.
 Alopecia Areata

Alopecia Areata is not life threatening, people affected can live long lives. But, with the

pressures of an image orientated society hair loss can be psychologically devastating for those

affected, their families, and friends. It is important to educate children affected, family, friends,

and teacher about Alopecia Areata. Though the autoimmune disease is common, many people

still do not know about Alopecia Areata. It is important to stress, particularly in a classroom

setting, that children with this disease are not sick, that Alopecia Areata is not contagious, and

that Alopecia Areata will not limit a child from doing all of the activities that other children do.
 References

Alopecia Areata. (2010, March 1). WebMD, LLC. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/skin-

problems-and-treatments/hair-loss/hair-loss-alopecia?page=3

Alopecia Areata: Why does my hair fall out? [Video file]. (2015). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkNqt_Xvhgc

Behrman, R. (2004). Disorders of Hair. In R. Behrman (Ed.). In Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics,

17th ed. Philadelphia: Saunders.

Conroy, R. (2016, March 11). What is alopecia? Everything you need to know. Good to Know.

Retrieved from http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/wellbeing/545581/what-is-alopecia

Encyclopedia of Childrens Health. (). Alopecia. Retrieved from http://www.healthofchil

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Froneman, A. (2016, January 28). Why children lose their hair. Health24. Retrieved from

http://www.health24.com/Medical/Hair-loss/Hair-loss-in-children/why-children-lose-

their-hair-20160115

National Alopecia Areata Foundation. (2016). Alopecia Areata in Children. Retrieved from

https://www.naaf.org/alopecia-areata/living-with-alopecia-areata/alopecia-areata-in-

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(1996) Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.