Marissa is 14 years old and arrives at the physician's office with her mother. Marissa lost a large part of the hair on her head. She denies any recent illnesses, or travel outside of the country. Examination of the scalp shows that the bald patches are smooth with noticeable hair. There is a family history of alopecia; both her mother and her grandmother had issues with it when they were in their teens. The doctor did decide to run an ANA test to rule out any autoimmune issues, though he expected the results to be negative. He diagnosed Marissa with alopecia areata and prescribed topical corticosteroids. He counseled Marissa about alopecia areata, and assured her that in almost all cases, the hair does grow back. He told her to call him if she had any questions and told Marissa's mother to watch for signs of depression, or other psychological impacts of the hair loss. He asked Marissa to see him in three months, or sooner if she started losing eyebrow hair, eyelashes, or public hair, as that could indicate alopecia universalis, as opposed to the alopecia areata. First-listed diagnosis: Additional diagnoses:
Large Wolf Spider with young in Michigan
A mother nursing her young blends into a stand of deadwood.
Mother zebra nursing her foal
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Color enhanced X ray of large malignant tumor in the right lung.
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