Alopecia

“ He deliberated for a while, and then said, 'This is a case of alopecia. It may perhaps be partially remedied. I will give you a prescription.' Which he did, and told me to call again in a fortnight. At the end of three months I had called six times, and each time got a new recipe, and detected no difference in the course of my 'alopecia.' After I had got through my treatment, I showed my recipes to my family physician ”

“ More than two million Americans-men, women, and especially children-suffer from a disorder known as alopecia Areata. It is a serious disorder of unknown origin that usually produces small, coin-shaped patches of hair loss on the scalp. ”

“ The disease, if neglected, finally causes more or less structural change in the follicles, with permanent alopecia as a result. The skin beneath the crusts in chronic cases is often of a dull, grayish or bluish-gray color; sometimes, however, it is hyperæmic. Occurring on other hairy parts, as the bearded region and eyebrows, the same characters are presented, but ordinarily they are less marked. At times a condition is seen on the scalp in which there is a mild degree of inflammation, with the formation of fine, dry epithelial scales, with slight or marked itching and burning. ”

“ TREATMENT.—It is a curable disease, but in the majority of cases proves obstinate. The rapidity of the cure depends in a great measure upon the removal of the predisposing causes. In seborrhoea of the scalp, if the process be allowed to continue through a long period, more or less marked permanent alopecia, especially of the vertex, may result. Even in unfavorable cases, however, much may be done toward promoting a regrowth of hair. ”

“ From alopecia areata ringworm may be differentiated by its clinical features; in the former disease the baldness is usually complete, the skin devoid of scales, non-inflamed, smooth, shining, and the follicles, as a rule, less prominent than normal ”

“ The disease with which alopecia areata may, by the inexperienced, be sometimes confounded is tinea tonsurans, and yet the incomplete baldness, the short, stumpy, split, gnawed-off-looking hairs, the scaliness, the increased prominence of the follicular openings, and the history and course which characterize ringworm, are entirely different from the clinical signs of alopecia areata. Where there is doubt the microscope is to be employed. It is to be remembered, also, that ringworm of the scalp is not seen in individuals past the age of puberty. ”

“ Senile alopecia is rarely amenable to treatment. Idiopathic premature alopecia may frequently be benefited by therapeutic measures. The general health is to be looked after. In these cases arsenic in moderate doses long continued may prove of some value. The external treatment has in view the promotion of the nutrition of the skin, which is attained by the use of stimulating applications for the purpose of increasing the vascular supply. The treatment of symptomatic premature alopecia is that of the primary disease. ”

“ The burnt Ashes of little Froggs applyed cures the falling of the hair, called Alopecia. The burnt Ashes of Goats Dung mixt with Oyl, anointed, multiplys the Hair. The Ashes of a Goat's Hoof mixed with Pitch healeth the Alopecia. The Ashes of Bees mixt with Oyl, or the ashes of Southernwood mixt with old Oyl, causeth hair to grow. A Lee of the Ashes of Ivie-tree-Bark causeth hair grow yellow. The Blood of a shell Crab anointed, breeds much hair. But the Blood of a Bat, or a little Frog, the powder of a Swan's Bones, or the Milk of a Bitch hinders the growing of the hair. ”

“ Upon the scalp, the skin, which is more or less free of the hair, becomes atrophied, smooth and glossy. The alterations in the cutaneous structures in senile baldness consist of marked atrophy of the sebaceous glands, of the hair-follicles and of the skin itself. The affection is common in men, but is comparatively infrequent in women. No satisfactory reason can be assigned for this. Idiopathic premature alopecia is the term applied to the baldness which begins to manifest itself about the age of twenty-five or thirty. The hairs may fall out rapidly or the loss may take place slowly. ”

“ Epithelium fragments, probably portions of the internal root-sheath, sometimes adhere to the shaft of the hair as it grows up, and look like concretions. Crocker states that he is informed by White of Boston that this disease is common in America in association with alopecia furfuracea, and is erroneously thought to be the cause of the loss of hair, hence the popular name, "hair-eaters." ”

“ What, so proper a wench with so vnsightly a péece?
Pam. He had a head made like a sugar lofe, the heare thereof growing as it were by stitches and that knotted, vnkempt, full of scurfe and nittes, and a good parte of hys Alopecia is a disease that causeth the heare to pill off. scalpe was bared by the disease called Alopecia, his eies sunk into his head, his nosethrils wide & turning vpwardes, a mouth like an Ouen with rotten téeth, and a stamering tongue, a scuruy beard, a hunch backe, a belly like a tode, and legges as right as a paire of horse hāmes. ”

“ All forms of dermatitis, except that of transient erythema, produce permanent baldness. Permanent alopecia may also result without dermatitis in cases where the amount of X-rays given has been insufficient to cause epilation, and a second séance has been necessary. In this case certain hairs will have received a dose beyond the maximum for safety, and these will be permanently destroyed. For safe working, it is necessary to have a measure of the rays coming from the tube at any given time ”

“ Still another theory holds that it is a disease of the derma and not of the hair at all, the evulsion of the hair following the implication of the tissues around the follicles.
Symptoms. The baldness dependent on a general disorder occurs at once over an extended area. That of ringworm, acariasis, and of the specific alopecia areata, advances gradually and often slowly from a given point, until it may include a large area. ”

“ There is more or less swelling and infiltration. Papules and tubercles may usually be seen intermingled with the pustules, or the former may constitute the greater part of the eruption. At first the hairs are firmly seated, but later, when suppuration has involved the follicles, they may be easily extracted. Not infrequently the hair-follicles are completely destroyed, in which case scarring and alopecia result. The process is chronic, it being of a subacute or chronic character, with, usually, acute exacerbations. Burning sensations, and at times pain or itching, accompany the disease. ”

“ Caution.—Sulphur and mercury preparations should not be used at the same time, nor immediately succeeding each other, as they will stain the skin.
BALDNESS. (Alopecia) . Causes.—Hereditary and diseases. Congenital and senile (old age) baldness is incurable. Congenital (born without hair) baldness is rare.
MOTHERS' REMEDIES. 1. Baldness, Well Recommended for.—"A first class hair restorative is made of sage tea and whisky in equal parts with a dash of quinine in the bottle."
2. Baldness, Vaselin and Quinine for.—
"Vaselin 1 ounce
Quinine 1/2 ounce"
Mix together and apply to the scalp. ”

“ Another striking circumstance is the fact that the most hairy part of the body, the scalp, is never or very rarely affected either with leprous eruptions or with leprous alopecia. As the face, particularly the superciliary region, is prone to all forms of leprous eruption, falling of the eyebrows is a very usual, very early, and very characteristic phenomenon. ”

“ As some plants die from dryness for want of sap, and some from the sap being unsuitable to them, so it happens, in like manner, with the hairs; for baldness is occasioned by want of the natural juices, and alopecia and ophiasis by the badness of them. ”

“ I take this opportunity of referring briefly to the fact that, as Max Marcuse [22] reports, certain diseases of the skin exhibit sexual differentiation of type even during childhood. The disseminated cutaneous gangrene of children is far more frequent in girls than it is in boys; Broker, among twelve cases, found ten girls. Alopecia areata, on the other hand, affects both sexes with equal frequency, but affects them at different ages. Whereas during the first years of life girls are more frequently attacked ”

“ For preternatural openness or relaxation of the pores he recommends applications of an astringent and bracing nature, and strongly nourishing food. For preternatural contraction of the pores he advises the opposite class of remedies. When the hairs fall out owing to the cleansing of the system from depraved humours, as happens after diseases, he cautions against a too meddlesome interference with the process of nature. Aëtius and Oribasius are the servile copyists of Galen. Marcellus gives a long list of compound medicines for the cure of alopecia. ”

“ Avoid irritating the scalp with fine combs or hard bristles, and wash it once or twice a week with a weak solution of ammonia or borax. Hair that is properly brushed is always glossy with its natural oil, and needs no vulgar ointment, offensive to the smell and suggestive of uncleanliness. If with these hygienic precautions the hair refuses to become beautiful, it is time to get medical advice; for the dull colour and dryness of the hair which lead to baldness are often due to constitutional disease. ”

“ It is most commonly observed on the scalp, though it may occur on any part of the body where hair is naturally present. The patches are rounded, smooth and somewhat depressed owing to the loss of a large proportion of the follicles. At the margin of the patches short broken hairs are usually to be seen. Clinical evidence is steadily accumulating to show that this disease may be transmitted. Organisms are invariably present, in some cases few in number, but in others very abundant and forming a continuous sheath round the hair. ”

“ If you watch a groom brushing and currying the coat of a thoroughbred horse, you will get a fair idea of hew you ought to treat your own scalp at least twice a day, night and morning.
If this currying of the hair be thoroughly done, and the head washed with soap and hot water about once a week for short hair and twice a month for long hair, most of the dangers of dandruff and of other infections of the scalp will be avoided. One thing to be remembered is, don't brush too hard or too deep. There is an old saying and a good one, "You can't brush the scalp too little, or the hair too much." ”

“ It is worth adding here, as women patients frequently say that during their illness the hair has become thin or shown a great tendency to fall, that daily firm finger-tip massage of the head for ten or twelve minutes, followed by rubbing into the scalp of a small amount of a tonic, either a bland oil or if need be of some more stimulating material, will in a great majority of the instances where loss of hair is due to general ill-health perfectly restore its vigor and even its color. ”

“ In other cases, when a disposition to baldness exists, shown by the hair falling off in large quantities, or ceasing to grow with its usual vigour and rapidity, the frequent but gentle use of the hair-brush, and of any bland stimulating oil, pomade, or wash, if adopted in time, will generally prove sufficient to arrest the progress of decay, and, very frequently, to restore the hair to its pristine condition. The head may be advantageously washed in cold water, at least once a day; or what is better, a shower bath may be taken on rising in the morning. ”

“ However, most men do object to baldness, which can be prevented in nearly every case. To produce hair on a polished pate is a different proposition. It is indeed difficult. If you will look at a picture of the circulation of the blood in the scalp, you will notice that the arteries supplying it come from above the eye sockets in front, from before and behind the ears on the sides, and from the nape of the neck in the rear. They spread out and become smaller and smaller as they travel toward the top of the head, and especially toward the back. ”

“ The head is more neglected, perhaps, than any other part of the body. The results are not less disastrous here than elsewhere. Dandruff forms, dust accumulates, the scalp becomes diseased, the hair grows dry, and falls off and if the evil be not remedied, premature baldness ensues. [Pg 19] The head should be thoroughly washed as often as cleanliness demands. This will not injure the hair, as many suppose, but, on the contrary, will promote its growth and add to its beauty. If soap is used, however, it should be carefully rinsed off. ”

“ Excessive anxiety or grief, and intense study and thoughtfulness, also tend to promote the early decay of the hair. The natural baldness of the aged, and frequently the premature baldness of earlier years, arises from the gradual attenuation of the scalp, which ultimately becomes too thin to afford room for the performance of the functions of the hair-producing organs, and too scantily supplied with blood for their due nutrition and support. ”

“ Another symptom dependent on disordered nutrition of the skin is the rapid or slow falling of the hair that occurs in some patients. However much hair restorers and scalp tonics may be used in these cases, the hair, once having commenced to fall, will continue to do so until the general health improves. When the drug has been stopped a free falling out of the hair occurs, followed by a new and luxuriant growth. Indeed, sweeping out and rebuilding seems to be the rule in every tissue. Change in color of the hair has been noted in some cases. ”