In: Root » Health » Medicine and alternative
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of organ tissue. Up to half of people with lupus experience hair loss at some point during the course of the disease; hair loss can occur in areas near the temples or be patchy and diffuse. The two main types of lupus are SLE (systemic lupus erythematosus), which is systemic (meaning it impacts many parts of the body) and may cause non-scarring hair loss. Although it's an autoimmune disease, SLE spares the hair follicles, so hair grows back after the disease is successfully treated. DLE (discoid lupus erythematosus), which is localized and may cause scarring hair loss. DLE causes irregular patches of hyperpigmented (skin that is dark) and hypopigmented (skin that appears almost white) skin, along with redness, scales, scarring, and hair follicles devoid of hair. The condition can occur anywhere on the body but is most common on the head and neck, particularly the scalp and ears. General symptoms of lupus include reddish facial rashes, sensitivity to the sun, mouth ulcers, arthritis, which can be quite disabling, low-grade fevers, and persistent fatigue. Lupus most commonly affects women in the 20-50 age bracket. Blood tests diagnose the condition. Systemic lupus is a serious disease, and most people who have it are concerned less with hair loss and more with the graver symptoms (such as severe arthritis, diseases of the kidneys and lungs). There's no specific treatment for hair loss associated with SLE, but medications used to treat the disease may also help with hair loss. To complicate matters, some medications (such as Plaquenil) used to treat lupus can have the side effect of hair loss. If you recently started on a new medication to treat lupus and have noticed new onset hair loss, be sure to consult your doctor to see if the drug is causing your hair loss. DLE is a much less serious condition than SLE. Oral medications such as Plaquenil and the local injection of steroids in the plaques of the scalp can control the disease, and if your doctor catches it early, localized hair loss caused by the plaques of DLE may be prevented.
|
|||||||||||||
Disclaimer
1) E-articles is not responsible for the information contained by this article as well for any and all copyright infringements by authors and writers. E-articles is a free information resource. If you suspect this article for any copyright infringement, please read the terms of service and contact us or use the "Report this article" button on this page to investigate the problem.
2) E-articles is not responsible for inaccuracies, falsehoods, or any other types of misinformation this article may contain and will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by a user through the user's reliance on the information gained here. |
|||||||||||||
