Sameera Reddy opens up on her Alopecia Areata diagnosis
Highlights
- Alopecia Areata is a common autoimmune disorder that results in heavy hair loss
- Sameera Reddy was diagnosed with the condition in 2016
- Will Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith had been suffering from the same condition
Hollywood actor Will Smith, who bagged the Best actor trophy at Oscars 2022 stunned everyone when he slapped comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss onstage this year. The entire affair became one of the biggest highlights of the 93rd Academy Awards. Apart from being a debatable topic as to Will's violent action on the world stage is justified or not the incident caught the attention of people suffering from Alopecia Areata.
On Wednesday (March 30), Bollywood actress Sameera Reddy opened up about her struggle with the disease. The actress who uses her social media platform as a tool to advocate body positivity and topis of concern shared her experience of getting diagnosed with the condition in 2016.
Along with her few pictures, Sameera penned a long note, writing, "The current #oscar controversy made me want to shed light that we all have our individual battles we are fighting and healing from and we need to create a positive safe space for one other. What Is Alopecia Areata? It is an auto immune disease . When you have Alopecia Areata, cells in your immune system surround and attack your hair follicles. This causes the attached hair to fall out that causes patches of bald spots."
"I got diagnosed with it in 2016 when Akshai saw I had a 2-inch bald spot at the back of my head. In one month I discovered two more patches . It was really hard to deal with. Alopecia Areata does not make people sick, nor is it contagious. It can, however, be difficult to adapt to emotionally. For many people, Alopecia Areata is a traumatic disease that warrants treatment addressing the emotional aspect of hair loss, as well as the hair loss itself."
Talking about her treatment, she shared, "The doctor told me that in most cases the hair can grow back and with Corticosteroids injections in the scalp my three patches grew back slowly . But I’m very aware there in no cure . And there is no particular reason why a person gets Alopecia Areata. Other types of alopecia are—alopecia totalis (when entire scalp turns bald); alopecia ophiasis (when even the hair loss is also on occipital, temporal, and parietal regions of the scalp); and alopecia universalis (when the hair loss happens across the entire body)."
She also informed that right now she has "healthy hair with no patches". "And though right now i have healthy hair with no patches ( that I am grateful for everyday ) I’ve been told I have to be aware it can come back at any point in my life. I do take homeopathy and i holistically hope to keep it at bay. In this fast paced world i pray people will pause , reflect and be sensitive to each other #healing #positive #imperfectlyperfect #alopeciaareata (sic)," she concluded.
Also read: What is Alopecia Areata; condition Will Smith’s wife Jada Smith is suffering from
For the unversed, Alopecia areata is a common autoimmune disorder that results in heavy hair loss in patches. Sometimes the hair loss is very extreme resulting in baldness. It can happen to anyone regardless of gender. It is found in one in five people. The disease is not contagious nor does it make people sick.
