Alopecia areata – hair loss which starts with a bald patch
Alopecia areata is an auto-immune disease where the body turns against itself. In about a third of cases, the first bald patch clears up quickly and never returns. In those less lucky, the condition develops into alopecia totalis where all scalp hair is lost, sometimes along with the eyebrows and eyelashes. A fifth of all cases become alopecia universalis where all hair on the entire body falls out. Other people are plagued by alopecia areata all their lives, with patches occurring and reoccurring again and again.
