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Alopecia areata: the signs, the types, getting a diagnosis, treatment, and living with it
For anyone whose hair suddenly fell out in a round patch, anyone just told they have alopecia areata, and the people beside them. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS, part of the NIH) says alopecia areata is a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss, usually on the head and face. Most people with it are healthy and have no other symptoms, and in most cases the hair regrows. It says there is no cure, but there are treatments that help hair grow back more quickly, and resources to help people cope. This page passes on, by name, what NIAMS says: the signs and the three types, who gets it, how it is diagnosed and who treats it, the treatments it names (and that some people choose none), and what you can do day to day, from support to sunscreen to covering up. It builds the words to say to a provider, and prints a card for the visit.
Right now
- Thinking about suicide: call or text 988, any time. In danger right now: call 911 (ours). NIAMS says depression and anxiety are more common in people with alopecia areata.
- Hair loss with a fever, or a scalp that is painful, swollen or oozing: get care the same day (ours). NIAMS says the bare patches of alopecia areata usually show no rash, redness or scarring, and that other conditions can cause hair to fall out in the same pattern.
- A round bare patch that appeared suddenly is not an emergency, but have it looked at by a provider (ours).
More help
- Related: A rash, an itch, or something on the skin: find the right page · Vitiligo · Psoriasis.
- Feelings: Depression · Anxiety.
- Day to day: Symptom diary · My medicines list.
- Care and costs: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · When medicine costs too much · Get ready for your appointment.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 15, 2026 on NIAMS’s Alopecia Areata page, both parts: Overview, Symptoms, & Causes and Diagnosis, Treatment, & Steps to Take (NIH, last reviewed August 2024), and on its Spanish twin, Alopecia areata (November 2024), which carries the same facts. Ours: calling or texting 988 for thoughts of suicide and 911 for danger now; getting care the same day for hair loss with a fever, or a scalp that is painful, swollen or oozing; seeing a provider soon for hair loss with a rash, scaly skin or scarring; taking photos with dates; that it is not caused by anything you did, or by how you care for your hair; that choosing no treatment, or changing your mind, is a real choice; telling the school about teasing; not stopping or changing a medicine on your own; asking a pharmacist before adding anything; asking what a test or treatment would change and what it costs; and the order of the steps. What we left out: any brand or dose, any medicine NIAMS does not name, any supplement, remedy or product, and NIAMS’s research pages. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.