A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:
- General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; furthermore:
- Inspection (viewing).
- Hairiness (head and body hair); inspection under Wood light – Wood light (Wood lamp) is used in dermatology to inspect fluorescent disease foci and pigmentary changes on the skin. The light of the Wood lamp is in the range of long-wave UV-A light (340-360 nm). Dermatoses that produce a special fluorescent effect on the skin include tinea capitis (head fungus)
- Alopecia areata – round/oval foci of complete hair loss (preferentially in occipital and temporal regions (occipital and temporal regions).
- Alopecia androgenetica (in males) – secretion corners (grade 1); tonsure at the back of the head (grade 2); hair thinning of the vertex/confluence of areas (grade 3); horseshoe-shaped hair band (grade 4); baldness is sharply defined, hair growth in the hairy area is normal, the skin is not atrophic
- Alopecia androgenetica (in women) – clearing of the frontal area (forehead area) (grade 1); clearing of the frontoparietal area (forehead and side area) (grade 2); extensive clearing of the frontoparietal area (grade 3).
- Alopecia cicatrica (scarring alopecia) – scarring areas.
- Alopecia toatalis (total alopecia) – complete hair loss of the scalp hair.
- Alopecia universalis – hair loss of the entire body hair (autoimmune disease).
- Nails [spotted / dimpled nails]
- Hairiness (head and body hair); inspection under Wood light – Wood light (Wood lamp) is used in dermatology to inspect fluorescent disease foci and pigmentary changes on the skin. The light of the Wood lamp is in the range of long-wave UV-A light (340-360 nm). Dermatoses that produce a special fluorescent effect on the skin include tinea capitis (head fungus)
- Inspection and palpation (palpation) of the thyroid gland [due todifferential diagnoses: hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid), hyperthyroidism (hyperthyroidism)].
- Inspection (viewing).
- Dermatological examination [due toDifferential diagnoses: alopecia areata.
Alopecia androgenetica
- Diffuse hair loss
Other forms of alopecia
- Alopecia areata (round, localized hair loss).
- Alopecia androgenetica (androgenetic alopecia).
- Folliculitis decalvans (inflammation of the hair follicles, which occurs rarely and is chronic).
- Lichen follicularis (skin lichen)
- Pseudopelade Brocq (hair loss with atrophy of the scalp).
- Telogen effluvium (non-scarring diffuse hair loss due to failure of the cob hairs of hair follicles in the resting phase (hair thinning)).
- Tinea capitis (fungal disease) (the head fungus is caused by infection with dermatophytes).
- Traumatic alopecia (hair loss due to chronic pressure on the hair).
- Gynecological examination [secondary stage of syphilis (infectious disease, the second stage of which is notable for syphilides (skin/mucous membrane manifestations)) (differential diagnosis)]
- Cancer screening
- Health check
Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.
