Dermnet Videos
Alopecia Videos
- Alopecia areata – Causes and Associated Conditions
- Alopecia Areata Information
- Alopecia Areata Treatment
- Course of Sudden Hair Loss Telogen Effluvium
- Evaluation and Treatment of Sudden Hairloss Telogen Effluvium
- Female Pattern Baldness and Hair Loss Causes
- Female Pattern Baldness and Hair Loss in Women
- Female Pattern Hair Loss Evaluation and Testing
- Female Pattern Hair Loss Treatment
- Hair loss and Alopecia Introduction
- Hair Loss Due To Hair Pulling – Trichotillomania
- Hair Loss Treatment and Male Pattern Baldness Medicine
- Loose Anagen Hair Syndrome
- Male Patern Baldness Causes and Hair Loss
- Male Pattern Baldness and Hair Loss Information
- Sudden Hair Loss Telogen Effluvium
- Traction Alopecia Hair Loss
- Traction Alopecia Hair Loss Treatment
- Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia
- Discoid Lupus Erythematosus – Clinical
- Discoid Lupus Erythematosus – Histology
- Discoid Lupus Erythematosus – Treatment
- Follicular Degeneration Syndrome
- Folliculitis Decalvans – Clinical
- Folliculitis Decalvans Treatment
- Hair Loss Alopecia With Scarring Information
- Lichen Planopilaris
- Lichen Planopilaris – Clinical Features
- Lichen Planopilaris Treatment
Video Topics
Alopecia Areata Treatment
If the patient desires treatment of localized areas to speed regrowth, several options can be considered. In a child, a mid-potency topical steroid used once daily for 3 months is an easy first line of therapy. The patient is seen in follow up in 3 months, if there is no regrowth, the treatment is unlikely to be effective. Topical short-contact anthralin therapy (SCAT) or topical 5% minoxidil can then be tried. In an older child (greater than 10 to 12 years of age), intralesional steroids can be used. An adult with localized alopecia areata is usually treated with intralesional steroids (triamcinolone at a concentration of 3 to5 mg/ml).
Adults with an aversion to needles can also be treated with topical SCAT or 5% minoxidil. Adults and children with alopecia totalis or universalis must be counseled on the low efficacy of therapy. Support must be given including referrals to local support groups and referrals to reputable makers and fitters of full cranial prostheses. If an adult or adolescent with totalis or universalis desires a trial of therapy, topical immunotherapy probably has the highest efficacy. Diphenylcylopropenone (DPCP) is the most commonly used sensitizer. Up to 25% of patients with totalis or universalis will respond to this therapy.