Charity to Hold Easter Alopecia Awareness Away Day at Alton Towers

British charity Alopecia UK, which offers help, advice and support to people whose hair loss has been caused by the autoimmune disorder Alopecia Areata and its related conditions, is once again planning a grand day out at one of the country’s most popular theme parks.

The charity will be descending on Alton Towers on 8th April 2017, for what will be their fourth annual group day out to the theme park, which is home to such world-famous attractions as Oblivion and Nemesis.

As well as raising awareness for people with various forms of the condition - from Alopecia Areata which leads to sudden, patchy hair loss of the scalp, to Alopecia Totalis and Alopecia Universalis which both cause total baldness of the scalp but can also cause facial hair including eyebrows and lashes to fall out, in addition to all body hair in the case of AU  the day is a fantastic opportunity for those affected, and their friends. to show a united front and share a few laughs.

Distinctive blue T-shirt

All attendees typically wear the charity’s distinctive blue T-shirt/hoodie which, says the charity, “creates a supportive friendly atmosphere in the park and gives everyone a confidence boost, enabling those with alopecia to just relax and enjoy their day with family and friends.”

In the announcement for the big day on their website, Alopecia UK point out that people with the condition often avoid rollercoasters and theme parks, possibly because they wear a wig and worry it may fly off mid-ride, or possibly because they shun crowds as they don’t like being looked at.

With around 180 people expected to attend Alopecia UK’s Alton Towers Day, however, thrill-seekers with hair loss can easily get their rollercoaster fix safe in the knowledge that there is someone else with alopecia nearby. Tickets are on sale now from the charity's website.

Alopecia Areata is a condition that will affect up to two per cent of all people in their lives. Often, it will be quite a mild case, with a small bald patch that clears up without intervention after several months. Other times, however, there can be multiple patches and even total baldness which can linger or come and go over the course of many years.

For this reason, many adults with the condition seek out the expert help of a specialist hair loss clinic as the moderate, patchy form of this disorder can often be helped significantly with Alopecia Areata treatment.

New treatments for extreme alopecia areata?

Although there are currently no truly effective methods of treating alopecia totalis or alopecia universalis, in the coming years, treatment options for those affected may widen significantly.

There are a number of trials either in progress or having been recently completed that are pointing medical teams in novel directions. Some of the most promising trials though still rather small in scale have involved JAK inhibitor drugs that were originally developed to treat certain cancers, rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions. Ruxolitinib and Tofacitinib are the two drugs leading the way in this area and these are being trialled as both oral and topical medications in order to help minimise potentially serious side effects.

If the drugs can be proven long-term and also meet the necessary regulatory and safety requirements, it is likely that a new product or products will be available sometime relatively soon, though nothing new is expected to hit the market until 2020 at the earliest.