Woman Told She Has Alopecia

Hi, I’m sorry if you’ve already answered a question like mine on the site but I’ve never been on it before so I’m unfamiliar with past questions. I’m 18 years old and a college student and I have been experiencing some hair loss around the lower back of my scalp and above my ears. I’ve been to a dermatologist who said that it was alopecia, but I’m not sure my symptoms truly match it. The area along the base of my scalp now has very sparse hair and has thinned significantly over the past month and a half. The areas above my ears, however, are completely bald circular spots that look much more like alopecia (my sister had alopecia a few years ago so I am familiar with what it looks like). My scalp is also very dry though not particularly itchy.

I am currently using Fluocinonide topical solution on the balding areas and have been doing so for about a month. I also got injections of cortisol (I think?) twice from my dermatologist. Though it hasn’t been very long, I don’t feel like my hair loss is slowing down and it may actually be getting worse. Can you give me any suggestions or at least a confirmation on the alopecia diagnosis? Thanks!

“Alopecia” is the latin word for “hair loss”. So the answer your doctor gave you is that you have hair loss. There are various types of alopecia (androgenic, areata, universalis, etc), so I’m not sure what your doctor diagnosed you with. If you’re getting spots on various parts of your scalp, it could be alopecia areata. Women are more complex and most cases will require an examination. Without an exam, I really won’t be much help based on the info you described. Sorry.