Lupus causes inflammation in various tissues, cells, and organs due to the body attacking healthy tissues. Hair loss is a common symptom, usually gradual, and can be a warning sign of the condition. Treatment can reduce inflammation and symptoms, but there is no cure.
Lupus is a condition in which various tissues, cells and organs in the body become inflamed. Inflammation occurs as a result of the body attacking its own healthy tissues, cells and organs as if they were bacteria or a disease. While the exact cause of lupus is not known, its symptoms can usually be treated. Common symptoms include skin rashes; fever; weight changes; joint swelling or pain; and alopecia, the technical term for hair loss. There tends to be a strong connection between lupus and hair loss because hair loss tends to be one of the most common warning signs that a person may have the condition, even if no other symptoms are present.
Although lupus can occur in nearly any area of the body or in multiple areas at once, the vast majority of people with the condition are affected on the skin. Inflammation of skin cells can occur with lupus, and hair loss can often result from irritation of hair follicles on skin cells. The hair loss associated with the condition tends to occur gradually with a slight thinning of the hair rather than sudden loss of large clumps.
The connection between lupus and hair loss is generally strong in many individuals with the condition, but it is often only a temporary symptom. A person in the early stages of the condition may begin to notice the hair on their scalp starting to thin. He and she may also notice thinning of the eyebrows, eyelashes or body hair. Once a doctor is able to diagnose lupus, the hair loss will generally decrease after treatment. Less commonly, a person with the condition may develop discoid rashes or red sores on the scalp. Discoid rash can damage the hair follicles on the scalp and prevent treatment from being effective, leading to permanent hair loss.
The symptoms of lupus can usually be treated, but the condition itself has no proven cure. The severity of the condition can vary widely from each individual case. Lupus symptoms can appear without warning, even after treatment. Some people with the condition may experience symptoms and have them treated effectively, and then experience no symptoms again for several years, while others may have chronic flare-ups. Patients with lupus and hair loss may be prescribed topical corticosteroids or oral steroid medications to reduce inflammation of skin cells that leads to thinning hair.
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