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Alopecia Areata Essay

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Alopecia Areata
Patricia Braun
Barry University
Author Note
This paper was prepared for BIO-302 taught by Doctor Garramone
Alopecia Areata

My daughter was a year and a half when she was diagnosed with Alopecia areata. “Alopecia areata is considered an autoimmune disease, in which the immune system, which is designed to protect the body from foreign invaders such as viruses and bacteria, mistakenly attacks the hair follicles, the structures from which hairs grow. This can lead to hair loss on the scalp and elsewhere” (https://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Alopecia_Areata/default.asp). Alopecia areata is not a life threatening disease but it is a traumatic disease.
When my daughter was eight months old she had a high fever. I was working nights and had my older sister watching my daughter. On this particular night I got off early and when I walked in the house I heard my daughter crying in her crib. My sister informed me that I was babying my daughter too much and she had to learn how to go to sleep by herself and self soothe. That is how she raised her kids and …show more content…

We used every type of topical treatment used for Alopecia areata at that time which included: topical minoxidol, anthralin cream and ointment, and corticosteroids. We didn’t have much success and one patch turned into several patches that were growing larger. I decided to bring her to the “Philadelphia Children’s Hospital” because I thought, what better place is there to bring your child than a Children’s Hospital that specializes in children. I was so young and naïve I truly believed they would have all the answers and I would be able to save my baby from years of emotional pain. I was wrong. I was on an emotional rollercoaster and was making decisions with my heart instead of thinking

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