I was 35 when I started to develop Alopecia Areata. My wife brought it to my attention that I have a hairless spot on my scalp – a ¼ inch in diameter. I didn’t get too excited at the time and basically forgot all about it up until the neighbourhood’s barber asked me (while waving his scissors impatiently): “what’s that spot you got there…?”
Jesus!!! After a brief check I realized it was a second spot!!! Then I began losing my serenity.
Over the next 7 months or so there were 3 more hairless spots that appeared – a third one on my scalp and two more on my chin. If aggravation wasn’t enough yet, they were expanding too… like “lonely little isles” with no trees on top. The longest alopecia generated spot I measured at pick length was 2.5 inches…
Of course that I went to several doctors and had to pay quite a lot to see someone who’s considered an expert in this field. Bottom line, nothing really helped or at list nothing from what conventional medicine had to offer me. The treatments had nasty side effects – my scalp was burning and itching, and I didn’t like the fact of using steroid gel either (to stimulate the hair cells). The conventional treatments showed no results.
Alopecia Areata is considered an AUTO IMMUNE disease that in my case was caused by mental/psychological stress – I had a lot going on at work and in my personal life and I had less sportive activities comparing to what I’m used to.
After contemplating the new situation I was in, I decided that the change has to come from within me – as cliché as it sounds, that was the best I could come up with. I decided to change some things about my everyday life with great emphasis on not working long hours without any breaks and make more physical activities outdoors (I chose swimming) – in other words, start taking things a bit easier.
On the medical side of the Alopecia Areata problem, I started researching the internet for some information until I came across 2 very interesting scientific studies. You can read them on www.pubmed.gov – A service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the U.S National Institutes of Health:
- “Randomized trial of aromatherapy. Successful treatment for alopecia areata”, by Hay IC, MCRP, Jamieson M, SRN, Ormerod AD, FRCP; Department of Dermatology, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Foresterhill, Scotland.
- “Hypnotherapeutic management of alopecia areata”, Willemsen R, MD, Vanderlinden J, PhD, Deconinck A, MD, Roseeuw D, MD , PhD; Department of Dermatology, Academic Hospital, Free University (VUB), Brussels.
Continue reading about those treatments for alopecia and how they changed my perspective on combating alopecia areata » Successful aromatherapy treatment for Alopecia Areata – part II »
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