The AlopeciaBoy Network
Living Life Alopecian Style!
Knowledge itself, worth more than gold.
Some are questons I've been emailed, some are from other post boards such as Heather's MSN Community Support Group but all are kind of like the most often asked questions we've been asked... If you don't see your answers here, email me a question using the Mail button.
If someone has alopecia, can I get it from them, or is it possible I can pass it on to someone else? Is alopecia contagious?
Other than possibly passing it on to children, if it's to be considered a genetic condition, then there isn't a way you can "catch alopecia". It won't rub onto anyone, you can't catch it if someone sneezes and it won't get passed around by sharing a cup of water. Because in medical communities, alopecia is considered an immune deficiency, alopecians cannot donate blood to the red Cross or other organizations, but that doesn't stop us from enjoying the company of others. If people are afraid of your alopecia, or feel uncomfortable around you, I think maybe you should explain to them what alopecia is and at least educate one more person to this condition. If we don't talk about it, noone will know what it is, and if they don't know what it is, then they'll be afraid of it when they see it. If they see it and they know what it is, at least they'll understand alopecia that much more, and won't go out of their way to make a big production of the situation.
If I lose all my hair, will it ever grow back again?
As much as I'd like to "give hope" the reality of this condition is that alopecia is so unkown there isn't an answer. Some people have lost all their hair and then had it grow back on its own after a while. Others have been successfully treated using different forms of treatment, while others have never even had a hair grow on their bodies at all, no matter what they tried.
Many companies will sell you the dreams of their latest concoctions, and you will be extremely tempted to buy whatever looks good over the internet, but the realities of alopecia is to understand its origins - it is an immune deficiency, immune systems aren't fully understood by science, so a guru telling you you will grow your hair back in 5 moons isn't going to sound so great if you ask him about the chemical properties of his remedy while he's just looking for the next hundred dollars.
Education is the best remedy we have right now for our condition - our hair may not grow back, but it does pay to understand those chemical treatments and processes that did work, and to go forward from there.
I presonally don't know if my hair will ever grow back, but I'm the type of person who has so accepted my own hair loss, that if there was a cure, I would not take it. but I d understand people who want their hair to grow back at all cost, and those people will spend a great deal of money looking for products that work. Unfortunately, hair loss has not been conquered, and until it is advertised on your news channels that a baldness cure is available, I think it's best to listen to your dermatologists who are actively involved in the field of alopecia research and wait for them to tell us what they've found (see my Researchers Section for further information).
I'm starting to lose my hair a little on top of my head. Is that alopecia?
Well, some people can develope male pattern baldness (otherwise known as androgenetic alopecia, for females) even at the age of 18, so feel free to go for a medical checkup to see whether or not you're not just going through "normal" baldness... And yes, women can develope baldness as much as men, at much the same age. There are medications you can receive from your medical practitioner for common baldness if you want to pursue that avenue. In any case, your medical practitioner will be able to direct you to the proper professionals. I highly suggest you visiting a dermatologist, then contact NAAF if you do get diagnosed with alopecia, and then join our support group to have a community of understanding people to rely on.
I read on the Internet that a company from (insert country here) has a cure for alopecia! Is that true?
"Cures for baldness" account for a whole lot of money spening on this world, because the vanity of humanity is so high. Unfortunately, if you have alopecia universalis (total body hair loss) then we already know the answers to that question. There is no one medication we can take that will make us "grow hair". Many internet websites and hair clinics will go after the money in your wallets by telling you whatever you want to hear. Buyer Beware (Caveat Emptor) is the first rule in we're taught in high school economics. I would suggest keeping yourself informed through organizations like the National Alopecia Areata Foundation and the American Dermatology Association for reliable information on alopecia research. It does take patience for our researchers to find what they are looking for, and until that day they hold a vial in their hands, the most we can do is have fun, socialize as always and wish them the best in their endeavors. Oh, and send them a drink if you see them in person! Always good as a way of thanks!
My son/brother developed alopecia, and my daughter/sister is a bit frightened she's going to lose her hair, too. How common is it for other family members to lose hair to alopecia?
One of our friends is a twin, and his brother did not develope alopecia whereas our friend has total universalis. In my family I have 8 other siblings and I'm the only one who has alopecia and we have no other family history of alopecia. Some people may have a sister with alopecia totalis, and an aunt with alopecia universalis. There are so few answers that you can't say definitely yes or no. Noone in my family really thinks about "getting alopecia" anymore anyways but to answer your question fairly, noone really knows. But if they tease you about your hair loss - wink back and point at your haed, saying "This could be you as much as it is me!".
Some American medical insurance companies are now opting to cover expenses such as wigs and other activities involved with alopecia and its condition. Is there coverage in Canada yet?
Under The Practitioner's Income Tax Ac Part LVII-Medical Devices and Equipment Reg. 5700 (a) medical expenses for alopecia are covered under our Canadian medical policies (thank you for looking up the information!). Ask your dermatologist and your Income Tax agents for complete and accurate information when declaring your taxes..
In the United States, there is a Bill being processed right now - contact your local lobbyist or elected official formore information or contact NAAF.
The community I live in is a bit strict and uncovering my child's alopecia is too hard for them to handle. Should I take my child out of school? Or should I just buy him or her a wig?
I really really believe in the choice of a child, regardless of their age. If your child feels really uncomfortable with hair loss, then I think it to be in the best interests of the child to buy the wig (make sure THEY get to choose the wig, or at least help out in the decision process). But if your child states they are okay with not having hair, or they want to shave their heads, then by all means support your child with little hesitation. It's your child who goes to school with their friends, and many children have a great network of friends they can count on for support. A good way to approach the subject is to go out for ice cream or something, and just point blank ask your child if they are comfortable with losing their hair. Do not tiptoe around the discussion because your child will sense this and feel out of sorts. Your child will tell you how they feel and you can make your decision from there.
Remember, it's the parents of children with alopecia who sometimes take it harder than the person who actually has developed alopecia.
If your child is receiving undo attention with regards to their alopecia and you feel your child is at risk, then by all means take them out of the school. I myself wouldn't hesitate in providing children with home schooling -- some schools tend to have bad elements anyways. But remember, this is my website so I can say stuff like this... Ultimately, the decision lies with you and your child(ren).
I've noticed that the nails seem a little cracked, lined or rippled -- is this part of Alopecia?
Unfortunately, this is one of the side effects of alopecia. Your nails can look like someone scratched the surface, they may discolor, the ends crack easily and your nail beds may even separate because of water damage. You can buy some hand lotions and this helps keep your nails moisturized, but if you try to cover them with nail polish you may do more damage and prolong the effect. It takes about 2 or 3 months for the nail to grow out so it takes a lot of patience, but good things take time.
Make an appointment with your dermatologist and have him ir her treat your nail problems with one of their products. This can sometimes be treated apart from your alopecia, as some people do have nail problems caused by fungus or viral agents.
I noticed that the areas where I'm losing my hair is pink, but the rest of my scalp is white - why is that?
When your T-cells are attacking the cells that produce hair, your skin will show the irritation occuring in that particular area. You will find it might tingle, the hairless spots may be slightly tender to the touch and even hurt moderately. Your scalp will also tend to thin out a little all over when you run your hands through your ahir and more spots may develope if you don't receive treatment for your alopecia at this point in time. Corticosteroid injections are the average form of treatment when you first notice smooth hairless spots on your scalp, administered (injected) right where your spots are. It hurts, for a short while, but it can be very effective.
Unfortunately, this is also signs of an active immune system attacking hair producing cells, and can lead to the onset of alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis. See your dermatologist and mention your concerns, but because alopecia is such a little known condition, treatments may not always work. If our bodies decide our hair has to go, that's how it has to be, until researchers can come up with a definite cure.
I started high school with a full head of hair and now it's almost all gone. I've become a social outcast and although once popular everyone makes fun of me now. What should I do to make them stop?
Being a young adult in high school is already a pressure in itself - we're still a little undecided about our futures, we haven't made lasting bonds that will ever bring us into full adulthood, and to top it off almost everyone wants to look like they jumped out of a television commercial. There always will be that one group of people who do need to feed off the insecurities of others to elevate themselves in their own "social status" to make themselves look better than others though, and having alopecia is sort of going to play into their hands. If they were your friends before you had alopecia, they should have stayed your friends when you started losing your hair. If they started making fun of you, then maybe they weren't the right types of people to be freinds with.
Having alopecia, you get to realize first-hand who your true friends are and who really does support you through the good times and the bad. I think maybe you should look at finding a better group of friends who will like you for who you are right now, because if you do start growing hair again, they won't make fun of you for going hairy, will they?
Besides, when you get out of high school, chances are you are going to take the downtime in your social circles to further your education, get a great paying job, and at your 10 year high school reunion, you'll have more money than them! Losing hair just changes our focus.
Can I still dye or blowdry my hair even if I have alopecia?
When you dye your hair, you are stripping your hair follicle of color or coating your hair follicles with a color. Some chemicals will dry out your hair, causing some hairs to break off near the roots. This is the same as dyeing your hair without having alopecia - people are still going to lose hairs through the dyeing process. However, because people are more careful with the hair they have left when they find out they have alopecia, some will stop dyeing their hair, some will stop washing their hair, and others will change the routine for washing their hair as well (using mild soaps only, changing what you wash your hair with, towel drying lightly instead of using blow dryers, etc). But it won't make you keep your hair any longer than if you just continued with the way you treated your hair before.
You are going to lose your hair regardless of what you do with it after finding out you have alopecia, so changing your hair habits won't make you keep your hair that much longer. I say, go ahead and dye your hair, wash it, brush it and comb it like you did before, and enjoy it! Don't let a few handfuls of lost hair keep you from enjoying life! That way, if you do lose all of it, you won't regret what you got to do with it while you had it in the first place. Plus, if you decide to buy wigs after, you can do what some peope I know do - you buy one for every and any occassion! By all means, have fun with your hair while it's there!
I'm thinking of dating someone I recently met - should I tell him or her about my alopecia?
This question comes up often at meetings and online group discussions. I personally think people should be upfront with their potential partners because I would want the same trust from the person I was seeing or thinking of seeing, as well. I would want to know if the person I was seeing had any STDs, I would want to know if the person had family, I would want to know if the person was seeing anyone else - and I would want them to know I have alopecia. If I'm not upfront with my potential partner, how can I expect them to be upfront with me?
I'm not saying you should tell everyone you meet, because you are uncomfortable with the whole situation, but you should definitely let your partner know that you have a condition called alopecia, if you want to get serious with him or her. But to each his or her own - if you feel you want to wait, then wait for the right moment, because waiting at the last minute just leads to stressful situations - it's easier to breathe easy, than to walk around on eggshells.
I work in a very professional atmosphere and am looking for an alternative over what to wear over my head. Bandanas are a little too casual, some hats aren't professional looking enough, but I do not want to wear a wig just to meet up with the status quo. What should I wear?
I remember seeing some movies from the mid-1980s, and some of the hats women were wearing to the workplace looked really great - artistic, velvet, feathered, pearled, turbans, plaids and cadet style caps - maybe its time to bring back some of those trends?
I've been thinking about this question for the past 2 months now - how do we maintain a corporate identity in front of work peers without sacrificing our self-image or changing our own image in the company?
Wigs are still viewed as the way to "blend in" with other coworkers, to maintain that image of corporate executive, or professional integrity. Myself, I believe it's our work that counts and shows our value in big business - what you produce is viewed as your company's value of worth. If you feel you have to size yourself up visually to your working peers, then maybe it's time to start looking at what you value in terms of your personal work ethic. Unfortunately, that goes into a whole psychological category in itself, and I think we should focus more on trying to find an alternative means - what do we wear on our heads to maintain that corporate identity in a modernized professional community?
For men, it's apparently easier for us to "look good bald", but there are many men who think loss of hair means loss of status. In the professional industry, men balding is as women balding - and many men will buy weaves as women will - men will buy wigs as women do. the only way to break the image is to start owning up to our alopecia and holding ourselves proud.
I have always been open about being hairless, and have always mae it known that it's my personal productivity in an office environment that should speak for my worth, and I have been successful. I look forward to hearing from our fairer people of this world to email me their own solutions to the "professional look" - I would love to put our heads together to come up to a solution to this little quandry!
Is alopecia caused by something in my diet? Am I not eating right, or might I be ingesting too much of something to cause me to lose my hair?
Alopecia is not caused by an overactive digestion of a food matter, be it vegetational, meat or liquid. Drinking too much milk will not cause you to lose your hair, eating too much dough will not cause you to lose your hair, eating too much beef will not cause you to lose your hair.
As it stands, alopecia is an autoimmune disorder, not a food disorder. Soy products, echinacea, or low sodium diets will not cause you to grow or lose your hair any more than anyone else's diet conditions. Vegans, those vegetarians who accept no animal products or byproducts (including milk, cheeses, breads - because yeast is made from bacteria, etc) have been ingesting much more soy than you or I, and I have yet to hear from a whole community outcry of vegans or Asians or Indonesians (who also ingest high amounts of soy products) that can rightly say their diet caused them to lose their hair.
But I do think if you look at your own personal lifestyle, and try to regulate your own personal stress levels, eat a well-balanced diet and follow a simple plan of exercise, that you too can profit from a healthy enough lifestyle to hold your head high with your alopecia and still have fun on our planet regardless.
You lost hair, not your smile!
What is Alopecia?
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