im loosing my eyelashes so badly..drs sead its alopeca aretea of lashes..they coudnt help me.what can i do?

Answer 1

Alopecia areata is an unpredictable, autoimmune skin disease resulting in hair loss, eyelash loss or eyebrow loss. Sometimes the hair grows back only to fall out again. In other cases, the hair just suddenly grows back.

There is no cure and drugs usually do not prevent the hair loss. If it was the hair on your head, you could try some hair growth products but, if they do re-grow the hair, they will not prevent it from falling out all over again. With the eyelashes and eyebrows, there really isn't anything that can be done.

Sometimes these drugs are used when head hair is involved:
Corticosteroids - a powerful anti-inflammatory drug to suppress the immune system administered via:
1. local steroid injections - injections into the bald areas to increase hair growth, does not have the serious side effects of long term oral steroid use, painful
2. oral use - treatment of choice for auto-immune disease, long term use can have serious side effects
3. ointments or creams - less effective
Rogaine
Anthralin
Sulfasalazine
Cyclosporine - a powerful anti-rejection drug, dangerous
Photochemotherapy

As for what you can do:
sunglasses to protect your eyes since your eyelashes are gone


If you are interested in being a part of research into alopecia areata, if available in your area, please sign up for the registry at www.AlopeciaAreataRegistry.org I am not sure if they will accept you since only your eyelashes are involved but it is still worth looking into.

Madeline Duvic, M.D., Principal Investigator
Department of Dermatology
M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
1515 Holcombe Boulevard, Box 434
Houston, TX 77030
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
email:
[e-mail]