Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disorder that often results in unpredictable hair loss. It affects roughly 6.8 million people in the United States.
In the majority of cases, hair falls out in small patches around the size of a quarter.
For most people, the hair loss is nothing more than a few patches, though in some cases it can be more extreme.
The condition can affect anyone regardless of age and gender, though most cases occur before the age of 30.
There is currently no cure for alopecia areata, although there are some forms of treatment that can be suggested by doctors to help hair re-grow more quickly.
Alopecia areata does not directly make people sick, nor is it contagious. It can, however, be difficult to adapt to emotionally. For many people, alopecia areata is a traumatic disease that warrants treatment addressing the emotional aspect of hair loss, as well as the hair loss itself.
I – Word Understanding
Autoimmune disease – happens when the body’s natural defense system can’t tell the difference between your own cells and foreign cells, causing the body to mistakenly attack normal cells.
Quarter – a US coin worth 25 cents (a quarter of a dollar)
II – Have Your Say
1, Are you worried about hair loss? What is the impact of hair loss in your culture?
What are the most common remedies of hair loss in your country?
2, Jada Pinket Smith, the wife of Hollywood A-lister Will Smith has been open about her struggle of alopecia.
She found her struggle with hair loss at the center of an unexpected controversy at the Oscars on Sunday night, after her husband Will Smith appeared to strike comedian Chris Rock in response to a joke he made about her shaved head. What do you think about making people’s struggles a joke? What do you think about Will’s reaction to the joke?
