What Causes Spot Baldness?

Losing hair can be a very dramatic and troubling experience for anyone. Particularly, spot baldness, or alopecia areata, is very disruptive as it occurs just about anywhere on the head. Many wonder what the cause or causes are for spot baldness and if they can do anything to keep it from happening.

What Is Spot Baldness (Alopecia Areata)?

• This condition has been classified as an autoimmune disorder. It can occur in people with good health but has been linked to others who have been diagnosed with different conditions such as thyroid disease.

Types of Spot Baldness (Alopecia Areata)

• Many people have spot baldness or a couple of bald spots on their scalp. When only one spot is present, the medical term for the condition is alopecia areata monolocularis. Some people develop two or more spots and this is termed alopecia areata multilocularis.
  The condition can become chronic if it leads to complete hair loss on the scalp, otherwise known as alopecia areata totalis. It occurs in about two percent of affected people. Another more severe stage of the condition is called alopecia areata universalis, meaning that all hair on the body falls off, including facial, beards, eyebrows and lashes, as well as pubic hair.

Causes for Spot Baldness

• There is no definitive cause for this condition, but there are a few theories that are being researched. It is recognized as an autoimmune disorder, so one theory is that the body mistakenly tells the immune system that the follicles are a danger to us and the system destroys them, resulting in a bald spot.
  Another theory is that the condition is related to genetics or a viral infection. It's quite possible that all three theories together provide the answer. It could be a genetically related autoimmune disorder that may get triggered by an environmental condition such as a virus.

Who Gets Spot Baldness (Alopecia Areata)?

• Spot baldness afflicts about two percent of the population. There is no distinction between male and female diagnoses. It is very widespread in that it does not occur at a certain age or in a specific geographic location or climate. Basically, until a definitive cause can be determined, spot baldness can happen to anyone in any place in the world.

Treatment

• Unfortunately, there is no specific treatment that can cure spot baldness, since spots differ in size and from person to person. Some spots can be covered over by other hair on the head; other people have tried minoxidil, a follicle-stimulating drug, with a steroid. The hair may even grow back on its own only to fall out again. It may even fall out in a different location.