Scarring Alopecia
Scarring alopecia, also known as cicatricial alopecia, is a type of hair loss caused by the obliteration of your hair follicles (shafts on the surface of your skin that hair grows through). It’s generally the result of infections, burns, chemicals, or autoimmune disorders. Hair loss due to scarring alopecia can be permanent because your hair can’t rise back without healthy hair follicles.
Symptoms of Scarring Alopecia!
Hair loss is the primary sign of cicatricial alopecia. It usually generates focal hair loss, meaning you lose hair in patches. Hair loss might begin slowly and happen slowly over many years. Or it can begin abruptly and progress fast. It also tends to impact the scalp, but it can happen anywhere you have hair. In addition to hair loss, some people experience skin issues, such as:
- Bleeding
- Burning
- Crusting or scaling
- Blistering
- Itching, tingling or tenderness
- Redness or other discolouration
Treatment
Medical treatment of these conditions is limited to only limiting the spread of the disease. The harm is irreversible. It means that hair loss in these alopecias can never come back. Thus, a hair transplant stays the only way to grow hair on these patches.
However, graft receptibility is very restricted. Hence only experienced hair transplant centres like MedLinks should take up such cases
There are certain differences from a conventional hair transplant. They are:
- A skin biopsy is conducted to check for the activity of the disease. If the disease is dynamic then hair transplant is deferred as there are high probabilities of a result failure. The process is undertaken only in biopsy-proven, inactive diseases.
- Test the patch to check the success.
- Low-density hair transplant as the skin has limited capacity to sustain the growth of new hair roots. If needed, a second or third pass can be done to enhance the density.
Frequently Asked Questions
Scarring alopecia can impact any part of your body that has hair, but generally affects the scalp. Visible hair loss due to scarring alopecia can also have expressive and psychological effects.
Scarring alopecia usually occurs as a bald patch where there is typically hair. There might be one bald spot or many. Scarring alopecia can look distinct on different people. Some people also have flaky skin, redness, or blisters.
Scarring alopecia isn’t contagious, so you cannot get it from person-to-person contact.
There is no cure for scarring alopecia. Treatments aim to manage symptoms and slow or stop hair loss. Some cosmetic treatments can enhance the appearance of bald patches. Visit us and our team at MedLinks will let you know the best treatment at your convenience.
Looking for guidance?
Book a consultation today and clear all your doubts with MedLinks!
Looking for guidance?
Book a consultation today and clear all your doubts with MedLinks!
