Virtual Pokemon Go Run for Alopecia UK Hair Loss Charity

Keen runners, walkers and indeed all those who like Pokémon Go are being invited to take part in a 5k event that will raise money for Alopecia UK, the popular charity that helps people with hair loss that has been caused by the autoimmune disorder Alopecia Areata.

The Belgravia hair loss clinic opposite Liverpool Street Station in the City of London has its own Pokémon!

Anyone can sign up for the event and the goal is to complete the distance in one go on any date and route you choose up to May 31. It costs £12 to enter, 20% of which is donated to Alopecia UK.

Limited-edition medal

The entry fee earns anyone who completes the 5k run a limited-edition medal that will be sent out in the post within 30 days after entrants have confirmed that they’ve finished. Event organisers Virtual Runners say that catching Pokémon on the way is optional.

Alopecia UK added details and a link to the event on its Facebook page, and what is especially nice is that entrants can take part anywhere, meaning that groups of friends all over the country can plan their run at a place local to them. In essence, the motivation is the Pokémon medal but the chance to raise money for people with Alopecia Areata is a great boost, too.

For people who have lost hair to Alopecia Areata, Alopecia UK are a great source of support and a fount of wisdom in those difficult first few months after a diagnosis. The condition normally causes bald patches on the scalp, and these usually appear rapidly and without any other warning signs or symptoms.

Click to View Belgravia's Alopecia Areata Treatment Success Stories (Results may vary and are not guaranteed)

What is especially troubling about the condition is the uncertainty it can bring, as the hairloss can come and go. While some people who see their hair return find that this marks the end of their struggles with Alopecia Areata, others see bald spots come back months or even years later.

Suspected triggers

Experts believe there are a number of triggers that cause the onset of the disorder. These include psychological long-term stress, physical trauma such as a car accident shock and sudden extreme stress and local skin injuries.

A great comfort to many people aged 16 and over who have been diagnosed with the mild version of this condition - Alopecia Areata as opposed to the more severe Alopecia Totalis and Alopecia Universalis - is that Alopecia Areata treatment can often help to promote hair growth on the scalp. At Belgravia we offer bespoke courses tailored to the individual client's needs and featuring topical applications of high strength minoxidil - a vasodilator that is applied directly to the bald spots - and a range of hair growth boosters.

One of Belgravia’s most recent Alopecia Areata success stories involved a female client aged 18, who wrote in after three months of treatment to say that she had felt insecure and alienated when she started losing hair to the condition, but that her first visit to the clinic put her “immediately at ease.” Now sporting new growth on the areas where there had been bald patches, she says that she has seen “nothing but positive results.”