Alopecia Mucinosa

There are many conditions in the world that can affect a person and one of the most rare is alopecia mucinosa. This disease, related to others like alopecia areata, is directly related to hair loss and the methods by which the hair is killed off from normally healthy areas of the body. With that in mind it is easy to see why this particular disease is so distressing to so many people. The loss of hair, even in small amounts can result in severe depression and so on, leading a person to a dark place. There is hope for those who suffer from this affliction but they need to be sure they are following the steps as laid down by their treating doctor.

As it was said, alopecia mucinosa is very rare and because of that there is very little in the way of information bouncing around the world. Several doctors have written medical articles on the subject but they are of very little help to the layman who is looking for some simple answers to the many questions. Alopecia mucinosa was first discovered in nineteen fifty-seven by a doctor by the name of Pinkus. He first diagnosed this disorder where scaly patches of skin appeared around a balding area on the patient. It was first known as follicullar mucinosis as it is actually the appearance of the mucinosis around the area that gives this disease its name and title.

This disease normally presents itself in the face, neck and scalp areas of the body. However, there have been reports of other areas where hair grows to be affected. There is no way to accurately predict where the disease will present and how long it will be around. A flare up with this kind of disease can last a couple days to several months depending on the severity of which the patient has been affected in the past. Certainly people are not looking to have this disease for long periods of time, but there is very little that can be done about it. The fact is that a person may have this disease for years, even from birth and may never know it until the point when a flare up occurs. It has been reported that some people lived their entire lives without knowing they were affected by alopecia mucinosa.

Like its many cousins, alopecia mucinosa is related to the immune system or more to the point, the failure of the immune system in a certain manner. This disease is commonly referred to as an auto-immune disease. That has a special meaning and puts the disease in a class that includes other more serious diseases, like Crohn's or IBD.

Auto-immune diseases are so named because the body's immune system is attacking normally healthy cells in the body. This is counteractive to the normal procedure where the immune system is actually designed to prevent infection among the cells of the body. There is no known cure for the auto-immune part of this disease.

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