What is the Difference Between Alopecia Areata and Tinea Capitis

The key difference between alopecia areata and tinea capitis is that alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes unpredictable hair loss, while tinea capitis is a fungal infection that causes itchy, scaly, bald patches on the head.

Non-scarring focal alopecia is the loss of hair at certain spots without any scarring being present. There is little inflammation or irritation present in the non-scarring focal alopecia. Moreover, the loss of hair can be sudden or gradual with accompanying stress. It can be due to a variety of causes, such as alopecia areata, tinea capitis, traction alopecia, and trichotillomania. Alopecia areata and tinea capitis are two conditions that cause non-scarring focal alopecia.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Alopecia Areata 
3. What is Tinea Capitis
4. Similarities – Alopecia Areata and Tinea Capitis
5. Alopecia Areata vs Tinea Capitis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Alopecia Areata vs Tinea Capitis

What is Alopecia Areata?

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder. It causes unpredictable hair loss or non-scarring focal alopecia. Alopecia areata can affect anyone, irrespective of age, gender or race, but it most commonly develops before the age of 30. The signs and symptoms of this condition may include small bald patches on the scalp or other parts of the body, patches getting larger and growing together into a bald spot, hair growing back in one spot and falling out in another, more hair loss in cold weather and fingernails or toenails becoming red, brittle and pitted. The risk factors for this condition include a family member who has alopecia areata, asthma, Down syndrome, pernicious anemia, seasonal allergies, thyroid disease, and vitiligo.

Alopecia areata can be diagnosed through physical examination, skin biopsy, or blood test. Furthermore, the treatment options for alopecia areata include corticosteroids, topical immunotherapy, minoxidil (Rogaine), and home remedies (protecting the head from the sun, reducing stress, etc.).

What is Tinea Capitis?

Tinea capitis is a fungal infection that causes itchy, scaly, bald patches on the head. It is also called a ringworm scalp. This is a contagious infection. Tinea capitis is most common in toddlers and school-age children. The signs and symptoms of the tinea capitis include the appearance of one or more round, scaly or inflamed patches where the hair has broken off near the scalp, patches that slowly get bigger, patches that have small, black dots where the hair has broken off, fragile hair that can be easily pulled out and tender or painful areas in the scalp. The risk factors for this condition may include age (common in toddlers and school-aged children), exposure to other children, and exposure to pets.

Tinea capitis can be diagnosed through physical examination, KOH stain, culturing, and wood light test. Furthermore, the treatment options for tinea capitis include oral antifungal medications for children (griseofulvin and terbinafine), selenium sulphide shampoo for children, antifungal creams for children, corticosteroids for children (prednisone) and oral antifungal medications for adults (terbinafine and itraconazole).

What are the Similarities Between Alopecia Areata and Tinea Capitis?

• Alopecia areata and tinea capitis are two conditions that cause non-scarring focal alopecia
• In both conditions, hair loss occurs at certain spots without any scarring.
• Both conditions cause little inflammation or irritation.
• Both conditions are not life-threatening conditions.
• Both conditions can be diagnosed through physical examination.
• They are treated through medications like corticosteroids.

What is the Difference Between Alopecia Areata and Tinea Capitis?

Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes unpredictable hair loss, while tinea capitis is a fungal infection that causes itchy, scaly, bald patches on the head. So, this is the key difference between alopecia areata and tinea capitis. The risk factors for alopecia areata include a family member who has alopecia areata, asthma, Down syndrome, pernicious anemia, seasonal allergies, thyroid disease, and vitiligo. On the other hand, the risk factors for tinea capitis include age (common in toddlers and school-aged children), exposure to other children, and exposure to pets. Thus, this is also a difference between alopecia areata and tinea capitis.

The below infographic presents the differences between alopecia areata and tinea capitis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Alopecia Areata vs Tinea Capitis

Non-scarring focal alopecia is usually caused by alopecia areata and tinea capitis, although focal hair loss may also be caused by traction alopecia and trichotillomania. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disorder that causes unpredictable hair loss. In contrast, tinea capitis is a fungal infection that causes itchy, scaly, bald patches on the head. So, this is the key difference between alopecia areata and tinea capitis.

Reference:

1. “Alopecia Areata & Hair Loss: Causes, Treatments, and Tips to Cope.” WebMD.
2. “Tinea Capitis: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Alopecia areata bald spot” By Kevlaraz – Own work (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Teigne – Tinea capitis” By myself – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia