Hair Loss due to Lupus
Types
of lupus and their impact on hair loss
Lupus
is an autoimmune disease that causes the inflammation
of organ tissue. Up to half the patients with lupus
experience hair loss at some point during the course
of the disease. The hair loss can occur near the temples
or be patchy and diffuse. The two types of lupus are:
- SLE
(systemic lupus erythematosus), which is
systemic, impacts many parts of the body. It may cause
non-scarring hair loss. Although it is 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 scarringhair loss.
DLA 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 devoidof hair.
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Discoid
lupus |
The
condition can occur anywhere on the body but is most
common on the head and neck, particularly the scalp
and ear.
General
symptoms of lupus include reddish facial rashes, sensitivity
to the sun, mouth ulcers, arthritis, and frequent fatigue.
Lupus is common among women who are 20-50 years old.
Blood tests are used to diagnose the condition.
Systemic
lupus is a serious disease. There are more serious symptoms
and ailments associated with lupus than hair loss: severe
arthritis, lung diseases, kidney diseases. SLE has no
specific treatment but medications that are used to
treat SLE 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 started on a new medication to treat lupus
and have noticed new hair loss, consult your doctor
to see if it is caused by the drug.
DLE
is a much less serious than SLE. Oral medications such
as Plaquenil and local injection of plaques on the scalp
can control the disease and localized hair loss if caught
early.
The
links related to this page on hair loss diseases are:
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