Can allergies trigger alopecia areata?

Question

Hi again Hairloss experts. Sorry to bother again, I forgot to ask if a person who has allergies such as ragweed allergies , and is recovering from a patch of alopecia areata. Can the allergy trigger another patch or more hair loss via the alopecia areata way? I'm just worried my allergy can trigger an immune response and attack the hair follicles. Any truth to that? Is it best to take anti histamines such as cetirizine during the allergy season to help calm things down?

Matt Tahsini, MD · Answer

Hello and thank you for your question.  Typically allergies are seasonal for most people, depending on the type of allergy of course. I have not seen patients with seasonal alopecia patterns. It could be possible that alopecia is exacerbated by allergies. I think it's best you discuss this with your doctor who knows your history. Best of luck to you.

Dr. T

Jeff Donovan, MD, PhD · Answer

The field of alopecia areata is just starting to research questions like this and the answer appears to be yes - at least in some patients. In other words, allergies like ragweed allergies and seasonal allergies may have nothing to do with alopecia areata for many patients- but for a small subset they could. What is needed in your story is to understand if there are any patterns of alopecia areata flares or not. For many patients with alopecia areata there are no patterns of seasonality. Flares are just as likely in summer as Fall as they are in Winter or Spring. If your alopecia areata has just started recently then you won’t have enough years of experience yet to know if there is such a pattern. However, it is possible that addressing seasonal allergies will help some patients- so that’s really the answer to this question. There are absolutes some patients with seasonal allergies that I advise to use antihistamines during allergy season. I don’t know if you would be a patient who would be likely to receive this recommendation or possibly benefit so be sure to have a good discussion with your doctors. I have many patients with seasonal allergies using cetirizine or fexofenadine for short periods of time. This is absolutely part of an evidence based protocol for managing some patients with alopecia areata.

Can allergies trigger alopecia areata?

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Can allergies trigger alopecia areata?

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