Management of Pediatric Alopecia Universalis through Ayurveda: An experience

Alopecia Areata (AA) is an autoimmune disorder of the hair follicle characterized by nonscarring scalp hair loss. Alopecia Universalis (AU) is a severe form of AA with more extensive hair loss from various parts of the body. About 20% of the affected patients are from the pediatric age group. Its chronicity and relapsing nature result in significant psychosocial morbidity. The current case report is of a five-year-old boy presented with the complaints of complete loss of hair from scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, and body for the past eight months. He was already diagnosed as AU by a dermatologist and was undergoing allopathic treatments, which included topical corticosteroids and oral multivitamins, for the past three months, but there was no significant response to conventional management. As per the Ayurveda literature, this condition may be correlated with Khalitya / Khalati (~baldness) . Two essential therapeutic modalities, Shodhana (~bio-cleansing therapy) and Raktamokshana (~blood-letting therapy), are integral to the Ayurveda therapeutic approaches for the management of Khalitya . Since the patient belongs to Balyavastha (~below 16 years of age) , Samshodhana (~bio-cleansing therapy), and Siravedha (~venepuncture) are contraindicated. Hence, the treatment modalities adopted for the management in this case include Shamana chikitsa (~palliative therapy) along with topical application of medicines over the scalp. Improvement in clinical features was observed along with improvement in the Pediatric Severity of Alopecia Tool score from 100 to 30. After two months of treatment, hair regrow over eyelashes as well as eyebrows, and during the subsequent follow-up period, scalp hair also reappeared completely. This case report revealed that Ayurveda medications may serve as a promising therapy in managing the clinical condition of AU.