By: Liz Hull
A schoolgirl has described how she went bald in three days after developing an extreme form of alopecia.
Jordana Seville, 15, spotted the first bare patch among her thick blonde locks last Wednesday.
The same day further large clumps of hair started falling out. Within 72 hours she had lost nearly all the hair on her head.
“It was really scary when my hair just started coming out for no reason,” she said.
“At first I could cover the front with a bandana, but then the back started falling out too so I had to shave it off.
“People have been really shocked to see me but people have reacted much better to it than I thought.
“Last week I had a full head of hair and now I have none.”
It is not clear why Jordana developed alopecia although it can be triggered in teenage girls by hormonal changes or stress.
Jordana’s mother, Ashley, 43, took her to see their GP who has referred her to a specialist dermatologist.
“I’m a qualified hairdresser so as soon as Jordana showed me the bald patch I knew to take her to a doctor,” said the mother-of-three from Poulton-le-Fylde in Lancashire.
“At this stage we don’t know whether or not her hair will grow back, but I have to say I’m very proud of the way she has coped.
“I actually think her new look is quite striking. Many people have commented that it looks nice.”
Jordana, who has been off school since her hair loss began, said: “I’m a bit worried about going back. A lot of my friends have long hair like I had, so I’m not sure what people will say.
“I wanted to speak out because alopecia is more common than people think and often occurs in teenage girls.
“It isn’t all that bad, the doctor has been brilliant and I have looked into the possibility of wigs.”
Alopecia is believed to be an autoimmune condition in which the body is attacked by its own defences.
The cells that control hair growth in the follicles respond to assault by shutting down.
One theory is that a virus or exposure to extreme stress overstimulates the immune system and suppresses hair growth.
Another theory is that fluctuating hormones play a role. The female hormone oestrogen affects the immune system directly and this could explain why young women in particular are prone to the condition.
The television presenter Gail Porter lost all her hair in the space of four weeks in 2005 after suffering stress.
Jordana attends Hodgson High School in Poulton-le-Fylde.
The original article can be seen here at The Daily Mail
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What an amazing outlook this young girl has… wow. She is truly an inspiration!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
wow! she’s so nonchalant about the whole thing! i wish i could be like that…
I have alopecia too, and i have to say.. she handled the whole thing very humbly and acceptingly. I have never been able to do that. Somebodys gotta be the strong spokesperson for us out there. its people like her that can do that to give the rest of us encouragement. i thank her for that
heya i got alopecia 3 weeks ago and i cant cope i cry myself to sleep some nights. how can you be so brave.i don’t know where to get a wig from either.
Harley Woodhall
Lincoln xx
well i think i have alopecia! i noticed i had a patch of hair the size of a quarter missing from the top of my hair it continued to fall out till the patch was a little bit bigger than a half dollar. it finally grew back and i noticed everytime it falls ou it starts growing back and one more would shoow up. as of right now i have 3 patches missing hair! so can anyone tell me what you think?