Personal Narrative: My Personal Experience Of Living With Alopecia

Alopecia areata is a non-life threatening hair loss disease. It may not literally kill you, but in other ways deep down it could. I know this from my personal life. I have been an individual that has been suffering from alopecia for the past six years. It’s not easy living in this world with it. I feel at times that it’s a pain just to go to school and be in public with my disease.

At the time of raging hormones and every student is painstakingly attempting to find their calling; it comes effortless for some, however not so much for others. In the fifth grade I was diagnosed with an auto-immune disease called Alopecia Areata, in which patches of hair loss occurs on the scalp,

Alopecia Areata is a common autoimmune skin disease that attacks the hair follicles and causes hair loss in places like the scalp, face, and sometimes other places on the body. Alopecia is very common because it affects about 6.8 million people in the United States alone and can affect people of all ages, genders, and ethnic groups.

When your child is diagnosed with alopecia, you probably have scoured the web for relevant information about the disease. Even if you know everything you know about hair loss, nerve-wracking to meet this guy has such a serious topic. The first step is to have a chat child will learn how to think through. How old is your child? O when that day will be the most open to talk to? Style of speaking for him or her what to rage around? Which ones to help him or her to stay calm and collected?

Alopecia areata (AA) is an autoimmune disease that causes temporary or permanent hair loss. The body attacks its own hair follicles, which ultimately causes them to stop growing. Typically, it is found in small patches on the scalp but it can be diagnosed anywhere on the body. According to Petukhova et al. (2011) this disease physically impacts 5.3 billion people just in the United States, affecting about 1-2% of the population. There is no known cure of AA and there is little evidence suggesting it is stress related. Geneticists have been able to use genome wide association studies (GWAS) to recognize genes that have affiliation with the onset of alopecia areata.

What is Alopecia Areata and can I get it? Alopecia Areata, by definition, is a sudden loss of hair that generally begins with one or more circular bald spots that can potentially overlap. Alopecia Areata is very common; it affects 4.6 million people in the United States (Mackay-Wiggan 31). It is one of the most common autoimmune diseases in the world, making it more common than diabetes! Everyone and anyone can be affected by Alopecia: men, women, and all races. There is no known information on how frequently Alopecia Areata essentially appears. From my experience of seeing my brother deal with Alopecia Areata, I’ve learned to be proud of who I am and most importantly, be confident about myself and while others may not experience the

When I was 10- 12 years old I begged my mother to let me get a perm. She denied my request daily. On my 13th birthday she took me to the beauty shop and told me, I was getting a perm. I screamed so loud. You would’ve thought I had won the lottery. The reason why I wanted a perm was because every one of my friends at my school had one too. After a year or so of having a perm and getting them touched up, I told my mom that my hair started to come out. She instantly decided to let the perm grow out and stop there. I then started doing them myself the older I got, until one day my hair started to fall out again. I started doing research on healthy hair for black women. I came across articles about other women hair falling out because of perms. I started to notice my hair was so uneven and different textures and such, I became so intrigued in the topic I decided to do study this more seriously. It almost was my after school job. My junior year of high school, I decided to perform the “big chop” on my hair. Which is where a woman cuts out all of the damage hair and start from scratch. My friends turned on me, and I was an outsider for that next year. But I had the support of my family. I stuck with it from then to present day. This item represents my adolescence because it taught me so much about myself, which has still been a leading cause in my life even now. I have been natural since 2009 and I do not regret my decision at

Alopecia Areata is a disease that causes hair loss. It occurs when the immune system attacks and damages hair follicles. It results in clumps of hair loss as well as possibly hair loss on other areas of the body. The hair that is lost may or may not grow back. It is not painful, and it is not contagious. There is varying severity of the disease that is caused by a mixture of genetics and environmental factors.

Many people limit alopecia to one thing, human hair loss. However, it has a tremendous impact on many species in our society Et. Al’s Frey, Rebecca J., PhD, and Taryn Terry (2016). When thinking about alopecia, many people only think about the hair on top of their head. Alopecia can be found anywhere on the human body also on some animals. There is a wide spectrum that results in having alopecia ranging from inflammation, harsh chemicals, mental disorders too hereditary Kapes, Beth A., et al. "Alopecia." (2015). For centuries men, woman, and animals has suffered from this disease. Research is still ongoing till this day, but many treatments has been found to help Et. Al’s Frey, Rebecca J., PhD, and Taryn Terry (2016).

When I cut my straight hair off two years ago my father was so upset with me, he asked why I would do such a thing and I told him, I am tired of all the work that goes into straightening my hair, I am tired of people coming up to me and feeling my hair and saying “oh you had the good hair and not the slave hair” like having what we are born with is not good

Overview of Hair Loss (Alopecia)Alopecia is the medical term for baldness. Also known as common baldness or, in men, male pattern baldness. Androgenetic alopecia is an inherited condition that affects about 25 percent of men before the age of 30. The condition is less common and less extreme in women. It can develop in older adults, resulting in an overall thinning of all the scalphair rather than complete baldness. Fifth Disease CauseErythema infectious, also known as fifthdisease, is aviralinfectionthat mainly occurs in childhood. Fifth disease is usually an epidemic associated with outbreaks in schools.Caused by parvovirus B19. It is believed to be primarily transmitted by therespiratoryroute. Once the rash appears, the child is no longer

Alopecia areata (Primary stage) - Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disease that outcomes in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere. It usually starts with one or more small, round, non- scaring smooth patches. Risk factors include a family history of the condition. Among identical twins, if one is affected the other has about a 50% chance of also being affected. [Fig- 2].

Hair loss is a devastating condition but it can be prevented. You need to protect yourself and your loved ones from traction alopecia by doing the following:

At 30 years old, I had alopecia. It was stress related and a low thyroid. Autoimmune issues run in my family. I felt guilt that I could not handle the stress during that time. My Dad died, I experienced various other losses, and Sarah was born with a cleft palate. I remember it being so tough waiting for my hair to grown back in. Hair growth would come and go in cycles. There are severe cases of alopecia related to autoimmune disorders.

I have a hair disorder that is called trichotillomania, it causes me to have very little hair. In middle school I would conceal my baldness with the likes of wigs and fake eyelashes, which I would often get made fun of for along with being criticized and called “ fake”. This made it very difficult for me to accept myself and I struggled with confidence for all of my