My Story/Information About Alopecia Areata!
This webpage is to help people who have been diagnosed and have not been diagnosed with the disease known as Alopecia Areata.
I would like to dedicate this page to the people who have been diagnosed with Alopecia Areata. I know what you are going through.
MY STORY
One day in my seventh grade year I was getting up one early morning and getting ready to take my cat to the vet with a friend when I noticed that in the middle of my head their was a bare patch of skin. It scared me I did not know what was going on.
I told my mother after I was ready and she said that it might be from an allergy, maybe I did something in the middle of the night, or maybe it was my cat. She told me not to worry about it. So, I did not.
Well, by the beginning of my eighth grade year it had grown back. So, I was like maybe it was something that I did in the middle of the night. My eighth grade year was a rough year. I had problems throughout that year. Depression and everything just kicked in. Hormones is what my mother said. OK!
My eighth grade year flew by because the next thing I knew it was Christmas and then my birthday which was in January. Everything was going good. Until I had to go back to school. Funny!
A few weeks after my Christmas vacation and my birthday I begin to notice that my hair was falling out more then usual. It did not worry me though. And then one morning I got up late and was rushing around to get ready. Not once did I look in the mirror. I got dressed, grabbed my coat, my brush, and went out the door.
I walked into my school and everyone begin to laugh. I was like I know I look like a mess but it is not that funny is it? So, of course like an idiot I laughed right along. I went to my first period class and through that whole class period people were laughing at me. After, first period I was in the hallway and a friend of mine came up to me and said, " Ashley, if you wanted your bangs cut I would have done it for you. You did not ahve to go and cut them all off." She giggled. I was like what are you talking about. And that is when you looked at me real serious and said, " Ashley, your bangs are gone! What have you done?" We ran to the bathroom. And sure enough they were gone. My beautiful hair was now not so beautiful. I cried and cried and cried throughout that day.
When I got home I told my mother and she sat me on the floor and looked throuh my hair and found two other bare patches of skin. We were both shocked and scared. She took me to the doctor tha same week. They took blood to see if maybe it would have something to do with my thyroid. It came back okay. My doctor then sent me to a dermotologists. He looked and also took blood. The results were in everything was clear. I looked up at him and asked him what was happening. He said that he was diagnosing me with Alopecia Areata. Whoa! Whoa! Not me.
He sat my mother and I down and told us what it was. He said it was the balding up the scalp. He said that in some cases all of the hair could fall out and that in others not all of it but more then fifty percent. Why me is all I could say.
I blamed myself. Maybe it was something I was doing. Well, I had to get written permission from my principal to be able to wear a headscarf. Because at my school people are not allowed to wear them because it is a gang symbol. Stupid huh? Well, I got bothered by my peers and teachers that whole day. Kids hated and tormented me because I was loosing my hair and the teachers kept saying over and over again, " Hey, girl you can not wear those take it off!!!" So, constantly that day I had to show the note to people so they would back off.
I made it through my eighth grade year. People still talked, rumors spread, and I was being tormented by my peers that I had grown up with. I begin to get scared about starting ninth grade.
Because that meant moving school, more people, more crying, nmore sadness, more depression, and more torment on me.
I had to get permission again to wear the stupid headscarves. All day long people would hollar down the halls, "HEY GIRL TAKE THAT STUPID DO-RAG OFF, YOU LOOK RETARDED!!!" I just wanted to run and hide. There were rumors going around that I had aids, cancer, lice, and that if someone touched me they would get it. But those rumors were not true at all. I finally found some of my friends and they helped me out alot. I went through the day seeing familiar faces and new faces. Most of them did not say anything. The day was finally almost over. I was in my seventh period class. I was the only freshman. I found a bunch of new friends.
I begin to get new friends, I got happier, friendlier, and did not blame myself for what was happening. I had alot of people helping me out.
Well, one day I was walking from my third period class to my fourth period class when a so called "friend" of mine came up behind me and snatched my headscarf off. People begin to laugh. I ran. I ran until I saw a good friend of mine and she took me to the bathroom. In the bathroom people asked her and I what happened. My friend told them. The girls in the bathroom ran out and went and chewed out the guy who took it off. Whoa! They were helping me out. People do care.
I went home afterwards. The boy was suspened for three days. After that incident people stopped the talking. I finally was not the joke of the school anymore. And so far I have had a great year. My grades ahve improved, my choices involving friends have inproved, I am getting better everyday. And I try to tell people my story. I have went to four classes so far and my church sharing my story.
I would like to say thanks to those people who have helped me out through my time of need. THANK YOU SO MUCH! And to the National Alopecia Areata Foundation for showing that there are people who care. And to the Women's Health Boutique for my new wigs. Yes, that is right I wear wigs now. And they are beautiful and so am I.
Information About Alopecia Areata
The main question that may be on your mind now is what the heck is Alopecia Areata. Alopecia Areata is a common disease that results in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body. This disease usually starts with one or more small, round, smooth patches. This disease can occur in both male and females of all ages. There are over four million people in the United States affected by this disease.
I have learned that there are plenty of places where you can get help from. Once place is called the National Alopecia Areata Foundation. It was founded in 1981. They have a website at www.naaf.org. There is plenty of information and helplines that you can go to. That is where I have gotton some of my information.
People ask what triggers the condition to start or stop. Researchers suggests that something triggers the immune system to suppress the hair follicle. No one knows yet what this trigger is or whether it comes from the ouside of the body, almost like a virus, or if it comes from the inside of the body. Researchers indicates that some persons may have a genetic marker that might increase their susceptibility to develop Alopecia Areata.
Heredity does play a role in Alopecia Areata. In about one of five persons with the disease also has another family member who also has it. Those who develop the disease after thirty years are less likely to have another family member that also has it. Those who develop their first patch of Alopecia Areata before the age of thirty are more likely to have another family member with it.
Alopecia Areata will often occur in families whoese members have had asthma, hay fever, atopic eczema, or other autoimmune conditions such as thyroid disease, early-onset diabeties, rheumatoid arthritis,lupus erythmatosus, vitiligo, pernicious anemia, or Addison's disease.
There are other parts of the body that are affected. In some people's case, the nails can develop stippling which looks as if a pin has made a row of tiny dents into the nail. In a few cases, the nails are severely distorted. However, other then then the hair and occasionally the nails, no other part of the body is affected.
Alopecia Areata is not medically disabling. Persons with Alopecia Areata are usually in perfect health. But emotionally, this disease can be challenging, escpecially for those that have extensive hair loss. As I mentioned before people can get help from the National Alopecia Areata Foundation or NAAF. One of their purposes of the National Alopecia Areata Foundation is to reach out to the individuals and the fmailies who are coping with ALopecia Areata and to help them live a full, productive life. There are thousands and thousands of successful, well-adjusted, happy people that are living with this disease/condition. The emotinal pain of Alopecia Areata can be overcome with one's own inner resources, sound medical facts, and the support of others. Sometimes professional counseling from a psychiatrists, psychologists, or a social worker is needed to develop one's self-confidence and positive self-image.
There is good news and bad news about Alopecia Areata. The good news is that the hair can grow back even after years of extensive hair loss. But the bad news is that the hair can also fall right back out.
It is however, not necessary to change plans regarding the mattet of school, sports, friends, careers, dating, or even marriage. People with Alopecia Areata can do whatever they want to do in life. And they need to know that to feel better about the condtion.
There are several treatments. The choice of the treatments mainly depends on the person's age and the extent of the hair loss. Alopecia Areata occurs in two different forms. One form is when their is a mild patchy form where less then fifty percent of the scalp hair is lost, and an extensive form where greater than fifty percent of scalp hair is lost. These two different forms of Alopecia Areata behave in different ways. And the choice of the treatment depends mainly on which form is present.
The treatments, however do not turn off ALopecia Areata. The treatments just stimulate the follicle to produce the hair again. The treatments need to be continued until the codition turns itself off. Treatments are most effective in milder cases.
The treatments for mild, patchy Alopecia Areata are Cortisone injections, Topical minoxidil, Anthralin cream or ointment. The treatments for extensive Alopecia Areata are Cortisone pills, Topical minoxidil, and Topical immunotherapy. To find out more about these medicines please go to www.naaf.org. Another option people have who are suffering from Alopecia Areata is to buy a wig. A very attractive wig is recommendable. Proper attention will make a quality wig look beautiful and natural. Every wig needs to be cut, thinned, and styled, often several times.
Now you may be wandering what the National Alopecia Areata Foundation does.
1) It raises funds and awards research grants to study the cause of Alopecia Areata, to develop effective treatments, and to seek a cure.
2) Provides emotional support through personal contact and written materials to help those with Alopecia Areata and their families.
3) Acts as the internatinal center for Alopecia Areata information.
4) Co-Sponsors International Research Workshops on Alpecia Areata with the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.
5) Conducts ongoing public awareness programs and nationwide campaigns.
6) Organizes an annual patient conference.
7) Educated state and federal officials on the need for fair insurance laws and greater government-sponsored medical research.
8) Provides brochures for doctors to give to their patients.
The Foundation has an annual international patient conference that is held yearly. The foundation organizes a weekend summber conference for the people with ALopecia Areata and for their families. Doctors, researchers, and the exhibitors attend to present and hear the latest developments in the research, treatment, support, and cosmetology. At the conference, people from all over the world find a new family of support to help them cope with ALopecia Areata in their daily lives. The conferences have grown every year. And they have added impetus to the Foundation's work and public awareness of Alopecia Areata.
The National Alopecia Areata Foundation had plenty of information that you can get just go to www.naaf.org. I picture of two beautiful kids comes up on the screen who have Alopecia. You will see a blue strip on the side just click request information and then fill out the form. As you will see if you visit that site the Foundation gives out the following:
1) A brochure about Alopecia Areata
2) A brochure that deals with the coping of Alopecia Areata.
3) A brochure for the parents.
4) A brochure for the children.
* I hope that you will visit my site again and also please visit
www.naaf.org. That is some great information that you could
use to help you cope with this condition.
* To the people with this disease I am with you always. I love
you and it will get better.
***** " I can do all things through Christ whom strengthens I!" Phil 4:13
The National Alopecia Areata Foundation
Send E-Mail to: ashiepooh67@hotmail.com
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