Alopecia again...

I'm not sure if I mentioned it before but my alopecia is acting up again...  It was first brought to my attention that I had this the second year I was VP So/Cul - Now it's happening again and my aunt found a spot during the wake for my uncle.  It was already the size of a dime.  I thought that it might have been due to the shock and the emotional stress... but that means it only took a few short days to get that way.  I've been constantly getting Drew to look at the spot on my head, making sure it's not getting bigger or there are any more patches of baldness.  I have to keep an eye on it just in case I need to go to my doctor for reassurance it's nothing more than just stress.  But I got to thinking - what if something before that triggered it?  Hmmm... I don't see what I was stressed out about before.  It makes me wonder what chemicals are lurking under my skin, chemicals that my own body are creating.

So I decided to take a hand mirror to my head and stood in the bathroom.  It feels bigger... at least it tingles in a larger area than before - which means it could be spreading and only time will tell if it will go into remission or start making more spots pop up.  There is still some straggly hairs in the patch - but I can't tell if that is hair growing back or stuff that is trying its best to hang in there.  About a week ago Drew found another tiny spot, but I can't maneuver the mirror in my reflection - my backwards coordination sucks.   I'll have to get him to do another once over of my scalp.  I don't really mind that I have this.  I mean I have incredibly thick hair so it's easy to hide the bald spots, but *sigh* I love my hair and going bald freaks me out a little.  It also just feels uncomfortable when I run my fingers across my scalp.  And I LOVE getting head rubs or scraping my nails across my skin - it feels sooooo goood - hear my purrrrrrrr.

Oh and if you don't know what Alopecia is there is a definition below - just click:

FROM WIKIPEDIA:


Alopecia areata (AA) is a condition affecting humans, in which hair is lost from some or all areas of the body, usually from the scalp. Because it causes bald spots on the scalp, especially in the first stages, it is sometimes called spot baldness. In 1%–2% of cases, the condition can spread to the entire scalp (Alopecia totalis) or to the entire epidermis (Alopecia universalis). Conditions resembling AA, and having a similar cause, occur also in other species.

Alopecia areata is noncommunicable, or not contagious. It occurs more frequently in people who have affected family members, suggesting that heredity may be a factor. Strong evidence that genes may increase risk for alopecia areata was found by studying families with two or more affected members. This study identified at least four regions in the genome that are likely to contain alopecia areata genes. In addition, it is slightly more likely to occur in people who have relatives with autoimmune diseases.

The condition is thought to be an autoimmune disorder in which the body attacks its own hair follicles and suppresses or stops hair growth. There is evidence that T cell lymphocytes cluster around these follicles, causing inflammation and subsequent hair loss. An unknown environmental trigger such as emotional stress or a pathogen is thought to combine with hereditary factors to cause the condition. There are a few recorded cases of babies being born with congenital alopecia areata; however, these are not cases of autoimmune disease because an infant is born without a fully developed immune system.

Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells.The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it.