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Abstract: Alopecia areata is a relatively common clinical disease, and baldness is one of them. 42-year-old Ms. Wang suddenly noticed patchy hair loss on her right occipital region, with no local pain or itching, smooth surface, and no obvious erythema or papules, so she was anxious and unsettled, so she came to our hospital and was diagnosed as baldness after examination. The patient was given oral medication with topical medication, and after 30 days of treatment, the patient came to our clinic for a follow-up consultation, and new hair had appeared on the hair loss area, with good recovery.
Basic Information】Female, 42 years old
Disease Type】Plaque baldness
Hospital】Harbin Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Date of consultation】October 2021
【Treatment Plan】Medication (blood nourishing and hair growth capsule + minoxidil application)
Treatment Period】Currently taking medication at home for 30 days, coming for monthly follow-up
Effectiveness】Significant relief of hair loss symptoms and new hair on the scalp
I. Initial consultation
A Ms. Wang came to our hospital and reported that she found a hair loss on her right side of the occipital area the day before, and it did not hurt, but when she found it, she had already formed a typical hair loss and felt anxious and unsettled, so she came to our clinic. The patient was asked to remove his cap and was examined. It was seen that the patient had a patch-like alopecia with a diameter of about 3cm×3cm on the right occipital region, and the alopecia site revealed an oily scalp with a smooth surface, and no obvious local erythema, papules or dander was seen. Based on the patient’s clinical presentation, the patient was initially considered to have alopecia areata, a type of hair loss disease. Later, routine blood tests were performed on the patient to exclude infectious factors, and the results showed that all values were normal.
II. Treatment history
The sudden appearance of baldness on the patient’s head affected the patient’s quality of life and made her feel very anxious, so she was given psychological reassurance and guidance to slowly calm her emotions. Afterwards, we prepared to treat the patient with oral medication and topical medication, and decided to give the patient blood nourishing and hair growth capsules with topical minoxidil application. The capsule itself belongs to Chinese medicine, which has the effect of benefiting Qi and replenishing blood, and promoting hair renewal. While Minoxidil application is sprayed on the scalp area to promote blood circulation and hair regrowth inside the hair follicles. The two drugs complement each other and have a better therapeutic effect. The patient was informed of the detailed usage of the medication and instructed to take the medication regularly at home and come for a review after 30 days.
III. Treatment effect
After 30 days of medication, the patient came back to the clinic for a follow-up examination and said that the abnormal sensations such as flushing and burning appeared temporarily on the scalp area after medication, but they were tolerable. After 15 days of continuous medication, black new hairs could be seen on the smooth hair loss area when looking into the mirror. As of the date of review, the patient had been on the medication for 30 days and visible new hairs could be seen on the scalp area. On examination of the patient, it was seen that the area of the original 3cm×3cm hair loss site on the patient’s head was not reduced, but scattered new short hairs were visible on the oily head skin, and the treatment was effective.
IV. Notes
We are glad that after a series of medication treatment, the patient’s bald spot has grown new hair and the treatment effect is remarkable.
1. Since baldness itself is related to many factors such as poor rest and lack of sleep, patients should ensure rest time during the medication period to help the disease recover.
2, patients should try to avoid using vinegar, salt water, alcohol, hot water and other irritating liquids to frequently rub the affected area during treatment to prevent the original condition from becoming more complicated.
3.After the external spraying of Minoxidil application, there may be temporary slight flushing and burning locally, if the symptoms are not serious, you can continue to use it, if the symptoms are heavy, you need to go to the hospital in time to adjust the drug. In addition, if patients experience nausea, vomiting and other drug reactions during treatment, it is recommended to stop taking the drug and go to the hospital for examination to clarify the cause.
V. Personal insight
Alopecia areata is a kind of hair loss disease. The disease itself is related to many factors such as poor rest, lack of sleep and traumatic stimulation of the patient, etc. The clinical manifestation is patchy hair loss, which often appears as a single piece or can be scattered in multiple pieces. If treatment is not timely, the area of hair loss will gradually expand and may lead to total baldness.
It should be noted that the tendency of baldness to improve is localized new hair, not a gradual reduction in the area of baldness. When this patient was reviewed, she also showed that the area of baldness had not significantly reduced, and localized new hair appeared.
The overall treatment period for baldness is relatively long, usually 1 month is a course of treatment, and sometimes it takes 3-4 courses of treatment to achieve better results, so both medical staff and patients must have enough patience. In addition, there are some patients with scarring alopecia caused by folliculitis in the scalp area, which is similar to baldness and often confused with baldness, so attention should be paid to differentiation during diagnosis.