Alopecia Areata - Can Homeopathy Help?

Alopecia word meaning is loss of hair and areata meaans in patches.Hence Alopecia areata means loss of hair in patches.The bald patches occur very quickly, are round or oval in shape and have sharply defined margins.The affected scalp area either looks normal or has a glossy apperence.Alopecia areata(patchyhair loss) can occur anywhere on the skin but the scalp and beard area are the most common location.

Etiology:
Alopecia areata is considered to be an auto immune problem and that can be triggered by bacterial or viral infections,severe stress,trauma to the skin,vaccinations or  exposure to any substance that caan become an antigen to the body.oftenly it is found that Alopecia areata is assoisiated with other Auto immune conditions such as vitiligo (Leucoderma),Thyroid problem,Rheumatoid Arthritis,Pernicious Anemia and Diabetes mellitus. About 40-50% of patient with Alopecia areata also have history of atopic diseases such as skin allergies,Asthma.Genetic and familial dispostion also seems to play a role in alopecia areata.
 
Complications:
If left untreated Alopecia Areata may progress further upto Alopecia totalis i.e complete loss of hair in scalp and alopecia universalis i.e complete loss of hair in scalp, eyebrows, beard and all over the body.
 
Treatment:
Conventional treatment of Alopecia areata include use of corticosteroids,application of minoxidil solution 5 % etc., but none of them prevent formation of new patches and actually curing the disease from its root cause.Homeopathic medicines selected after a full indivualization,symptoms and case analysis which includes physical and mental symptoms and constitution as well gives good and long lasting results.Homeopathic medicines commonly found useful in this conditions are phosphorus, Flouric Acid ,lycopodium, Selenium etc.
 
Along with medications some Lifestyle modifications such as practising de stressing activity  such as doing yoga and pranayam daily for 10-15 minutes, avoiding non veg items esp red meat such as pork, mutton, beef, use of green tea is also helpful.