Q:
Hello Doctor,
This is XXXX from India.
My sister is suffering from Alopecia Areata for last 11 years. We tried treating her disease with every thing we knew (Alopathy/ Homeopathy/Ayurved) but it’s of no use. May be because we didn’t have proper guidance. It will be great if you can kindly guide us how should we move forward to treat her.
Thank you in advance.
Regards,
XXXX
A:
Alopeica areata (AA) is an autoimmune condition of skin. AA usually does not need any medical intervention and the lesions improve spontaneously. However, at times the balding spots might be very difficult to treat. Although there is minimal evidence that injections of steroids can change the process of this disease, many physicians treat the balding AA lesions with intramural injections of long acting steroids. Topical medications including minoxidil may also be used in some cases. There are several current studies being conducted on the use of irritating agents to possibly change the inflammatory process of the skin. Use of irritating agents are still not in the main stream treatments of Alopecia Areata.
Hair transplantation is definitely not one of the options at this time, because newly transplanted hair may be going through the same balding process with the same mechanism. My best recommendation is to find a qualified dermatologist in your area and continue with him or her through future treatments. You must be patient in circumstances such as these and try to understand that a quick recovery may not be achieved in some patients.
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