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Alopecia Treatments: Five Different Approaches to Combating the Condition

The range of Alopecia is extremely wide, as it can result in a few small patches of lost hair to complete baldness on the entire body and head. There are several Alopecia treatments available that gives you options for fighting off the horrible autoimmune disease. Here are 5 treatments available to help fight off the disease.

1. Intralesional glucocorticoid injections
This is the most common Alopecia treatment for when there is limited scalp involvement. After injecting 0.1mL or less into the mid-dermis, new hair growth is usually visible in around four weeks. It is vital that you are cautious about injecting the needle though, because injections too deep into the dermis can result in localized skin atrophy.

2. Topical minoxidil
This treatment has been recommended for both children and adults that have a 25% hair loss on their body related to the disease. The solution should be applied twice a day and over a 12 week period there will be a stimulation of hair growth. Although this treatment is lengthy, as the best results will be seen in a year, it can be the most effective treatment. To see the best results and maintain the hair growth, the treatments must be maintained until full remission occurs.

3. Anthralin cream
Some of the treatments available are more for adults than children for safety precautions. This Alopecia treatment, however, is for children because of its safety profile. You will begin to see new hair growth after just two to three months with this treatment, and studies have found that after six months 25% of the patients had completely re-grown hair. Some side effects to look out for include redness, itching, and scaling.

4. Topical immunotherapy
Topical immunotherapy is still being looked into, but it has signs of effectiveness. For this treatment, you will apply a potent contact allergen on the affected area, which in turn elicits contact dermatitis. The one downside to this treatment is that it can only be done to part of the effected area at a time. Therefore, you have to let half of the head’s hair grow in prior to treating the other half, which could take up to 12 months.

5. Topical steroids
There is debate over whether or not topical steroids are effective, but they show the most success with children. The downside with this treatment is that it has not been found to be extremely effective when used by itself. When combined with other therapy like anthralin and minoxidil, topical steroids have shown success.

As you can see, there are a number of Alopecia treatments on the market. The determinants of what will be best for you include how severe you have the disease, whether you are an adult or child, and what the doctor decides to prescribe.

Article Source: http://articlekarma.com

Read further articles by John Tulley at the: Hair loss directory and download a free copy of the new e-book, the Hair Loss Treatments Report.

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