HEALTHY TRAVEL AND REMEDIES FOR EVERYDAY AILMENTS – SUNNY-SIDE UP…
Male pattern baldness is a form of hormone-related hair loss. But of more concern to many men and women afflicted with hair loss is alopecia areata, a lesser-known disorder that causes hair loss in nearly four million Americans.
Typically, hair grows in cycles of two to six years, after which hair lies dormant, and then falls out. On a normal head, some hair is at the beginning of the cycle while some is further along in the growth cycle. With alopecia areata, some or all of the hair follicles stop growing at the same time, leaving tiny bald spots or complete baldness. Normally, hair will grow back in anywhere from six months to a year. But for those afflicted, the wait can be devastating.
However, research shows that alopecia areata may be an autoimmune disease, and this information has opened the door for a new treatment. Many doctors use ultraviolet light to prevent the body’s immune system from attacking hair follicles. In what may be one of the few cases when a slight sunburn is a good thing, psoralen, a medicine that increases sun sensitivity, is rubbed onto the affected area. Then, the doctor shines a UV light on the scalp until the bald area shows some redness or irritation.
Figuratively speaking, the body’s immune cells start worrying about the irritation caused by the sunburn, and stop worrying about the hair follicle, which really never meant the body any harm in the first place!
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