Topical Solution for Treating Alopecia Areata?

I am a 37 year old hispanic female. less than 2 months ago I noticed a small bald patch (the size of a nickle) on the crown of my head. I thought it was ringwom and so did my doctor. He gave me a cream and shampoo to treat it. A week later I noticed another but smaller bald patch not to far from the first one. at this point my doctor sent me to a dermatologist. The dermatologist said it alopecia areata and gave me a topical solution that will help grow my hair back and to see him again in a month. Now I noticed that the hair on the top part of my head is thinning and some areas are read and burn a little. (not much itching) I don’t find hair on my pillows, towels, brush, or floor, but I can start to se my scalp specially where I part my hair. Does this mean I will lose all my hair? Is it common to have bald patches and then thining of the rest of the hair at the same time?

Alopecia areata is a known condition which you can learn about at National Alopecia Areata Foundation. I am confused with your history. To make a firm diagnosis of alopecia areata, you would need a biopsy. The questions you are asking are reasonable questions which your doctor should answer for you. As I have not examined you myself, I can not do any justice by giving you advice, unseen. In the past I have been surprised at the simplicity of the questions that should be asked of the treating physician. I wonder if doctors are becoming detached from the people they are treating and just treating the condition. When my son entered his surgery training, I gave him some simple advice. I said: “Never refer to your patient as the man in room 202 with the amputated right leg. Always talk about Mr. Smith in room 202, the musician (or carpenter, or father of four daughters). You need to relate to the human being and his/her human needs. In doing so, you will relate to Mr. Smith, a man in need of your services and a person who you are there for you to help, not the man with the amputated leg.”

He told me that he remembered my advice. He told me that he learned to listen to his patients and in becoming a good listener, he became a better doctor. The woman with her scalp problem reached out for insights into her condition. She has reasonable questions and she should expect that her doctor will answer them. If she picked the wrong doctor, she should make it right and get another one.