ALOPECIA CAUSES AND SYMPTOMS

• Male pattern baldness (androgenic alopecia) is considered normal in adult males. It is easily recognized by the distribution of hair loss over the top and front of the head and by the healthy condition of the scalp.
• Alopecia areata is a hair loss condition of unknown cause that can be patchy or extend to complete baldness.
• Fungal infections of the scalp usually cause patchy hair loss. The fungus, similar to the ones that cause athlete's foot and ringworm, often glows under ultraviolet light.
• Trichotillomania is the name of a mental disorder that causes a person to pull out his/her own hair.
• Complete hair loss is a common result of cancer chemotherapy, due to the toxicity of the drugs used. Placing a tourniquet around the skull just above the ears during the intravenous infusion of the drugs may reduce or eliminate hair loss by preventing the drugs from reaching the scalp.
• Systemic diseases often affect hair growth either selectively or by altering the skin of the scalp. One example is thyroid disorders. Hyperthyroidism (too much thyroid hormone) causes hair to become thin and fine. Hypothyroidism (too little thyroid hormone) thickens both hair and skin.
• Several autoimmune diseases (when protective cells begin to attack self cells within the body) affect the skin, notably lupus erythematosus.