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Justyna is 29 years old and has been struggling with a condition that little is known about for 15 years. At the age of 14, she noticed a bald spot on her head. At first she tried to disguise it, but with time the spot grew larger and it became more and more difficult. After several visits to the dermatologist and obtaining the diagnosis – malignant alopecia, the hair began to fall out. Just a few months ago, Justyna gave up her wigs and scarves and started walking bareheaded.
- At the age of 14, Justyna heard that she was suffering from malignant alopecia. It’s a disease we don’t know much about
- After several years, she accepted her illness enough to stop wearing wigs and scarves. But she still struggles with the compassionate gaze. If she’s bald, she must have cancer
- Justyna decided to share her story with us and wrote to [email protected]
- You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page
From doctor to doctor to diagnosis
Justyna was 14 when she noticed a bald cake the size of a fingernail on her head. At first she tried to cover it, but it was growing rapidly.
– I went to the dermatologist, first one, then another. They looked at the bald cake and prescribed more steroids and rubs. After three months, all my hair fell out. It looked like that instead of helping, they made the situation worse – Justyna begins her story.
The diagnosis Justyna heard in the office was: malignant alopecia. A disease about which little is known. It is a type of alopecia areata, usually affecting children, and may appear in the first year of a child’s life. The causes of the disease are not fully known. It is recognized that chronic stress may influence the development of the disease. Another theory is that the disease has a genetic basis, and another one that it may be related to the dysfunction of the glands responsible for the proper development of the hair. Immune system disorders are also important.
– At first, doctors thought it was the fault of the hormones. When these were normal, they suspected chronic stress was the cause. Eventually, they decided it was a genetic or autoimmune disease. Except that in my family there were no cases of a similar disease – he adds.
For the 14-year-old, the fact of hair loss was unacceptable. In retrospect, Justyna thinks she was wrong, but then it seemed to her that if she teased her hair, covered the bald patches on her head, no one would notice. All the time she was afraid that someone would discover her “secret” and think that she was sick. Within three months, she had practically lost her hair and there was nothing left to cover her baldness with.
After 10 years of trying, looking for a golden mean, various studies, which did not reveal anything else, that Justyna is healthy and it is not known what is the cause of malignant alopecia in her case, she gave up the search.
“I have no hair, but neither do I have cancer”
Her hair had grown back twice in those 15 years. As she claims, it was not related to the medications she was taking. It just suddenly decided to start growing hair. Then they fell out again. She hid her head without hair under scarves.
– At this point, I have some single hairs growing, but I shave them. I was wearing a wig recently and it was weird. Hair fell on my face, I forgot what it felt. I took off my wig after several minutes. Since April, I don’t wear headscarves at all, I go out everywhere with my head bare. I can see people looking at me sympathetically. Probably most of them think I have cancer. Sometimes funny situations also happen – adds Justyna.
See also: Every second adult man goes bald. Doctors warn against pseudotrychologists’ offices
Once Justyna and her daughter went to the playground. There were two girls aged 8-9 years old. One prodded the other and in a stage whisper said: Look, this lady has cancer. Justyna decided to tell the girl that she did not suffer from cancer. What did she hear? “You have cancer because you have no hair.” It took Justyna a moment to explain to the girls that a bald head does not necessarily mean cancer.
– It was funny for me, but on the other hand I know that not everyone would react like me. I have a great distance to my head, but if I really did have cancer, I’d be sorry. I don’t feel sick at all. The fact that I have no hair is, in my opinion, a common aesthetic defect. The public is unaware that there are various diseases that cause hair to fall out, she adds.
“I watch my children’s heads”
One of the causes of malignant alopecia may be genetic mutations. Justyna is a mother of two children. As she admits, she watches their heads, strokes their hair and checks for the appearance of bald patches.
– I’m not doing it fanatically. If one of the children inherited the baldness from their mother, it is difficult. At the moment, there is no effective cure for this disease.
Justyna’s children are used to seeing their mother without her hair, which is not a problem for them.
– Sometimes I look at my daughter and wonder if she will inherit baldness from me. If that happens, she will have total support for me. For sure, the first thing I will do is go to school and explain to teachers and students about my daughter’s disease. I don’t want her to feel lonely and alien with all of this. I do not have to do it yet, but I am prepared for such an eventuality – he explains.
Justyna made up her mind write to us by e-mail [email protected]because she wants people to be more aware of her disease. Malignant alopecia is not fully understood yet, and there is no drug that can effectively stop hair loss. Sometimes the lack of hair is simply the lack of hair, and a sympathetic glance can make someone feel upset or uncomfortable.
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- How To Effectively Stop Hair Loss?
You haven’t been able to find the cause of your ailments for a long time? Do you want to tell us your story or draw attention to a common health problem? Write to the address [email protected] #Together we can do more