Alopecia

Hi S.,
I am not a mom (yet), but my friend told me about your posting, and I joined the website so I could respond to you. I am 29 years old and have had alopecia since I was 13. It started as little patches, but I soon lost all of my hair. I did go through many treatsment of various medications, and over about an 18 month period all of my hair grew back. However, once I stopped my treatments I did lose my hair again. Once I came out to Cleveland for college (I am originally from New York), I did go see Dr. Bergfeld at the Cleveland Clinic, who is renowned determatologist, but I decided I didn't want to continue treatment anymore, and continued to wear wigs. It's a very scary time for parents as I know what my parents went through emotionally and mentally not only because they did not know what to do to help initially but they also knew how scared I was. The best resource I can lead you to is the National Alopecia Areata Foundation website, NAAF.org. It's a great website and a wonderful resource. You'll see pictures of all of the kids (and adults too) who have alopecia. Alopecia is considered an autoimmune disorder, and it can range from small patches of hair loss (alopecia areata) to full body hair loss (alopecia universalis or totalis). Please let me know if you'd like more details on my story as far as my treatments, wigs etc. If you ever want to talk to my mom, I know she would talk to you too, so you could get some parental emotional support. Good Luck, and keep me posted on your September appointment.

This is something you can research yourself and probably get some very good ideas. Since the Drs think it is auto immune related, I would concentrate on how to strengthen the imune system. It may sound complicated but basically better nutrition would probably give your son a big boost in helping his hair loss problem heal. Try cutting out sugar and white refined flour including baked goods and processed foods and snacks. Stick to a whole foods diet and encourage drinking more water. Check out a natural foods store for a good multivitamin and nothing candylike. People there can be very helpful so ask lots of questions. I highly recommend the excellent quality New Chapter products so see if they have a kids vitamin. Check out a bookstore for natural remedies to try too. Hope this helps.

Are you sure that he hasn't been pulling his hair out? My friend's 2 year old developed bald patches on his head, but it turned out that he was actually pulling his hair out as a reaction to stress. He eventually stopped doing it and his hair was fine.

My niece pulled all of her hair out when she was about that age. She is three now and all of her hair grew back in nicely. Hopefully this is just a phase that will pass. My SIL consulted with her pediatrician, but I don't believe they took it further. They had to endure some rude comments, but all is well now.

S.,

I would really like to connect you with a friend of mine & hear how she was able to help her son with Alopecia. Please email or call me. Just briefly building up the immune system is very important. Attached is our library of articles & short videos about various subjects. I encourage you to take a look at it.

http://hopeshared.com/library.aspx

Again, my friend Kari will be very happy to share how she got her son through this.

Sincerely,
A.
www.HopeShared.com
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Hey S.! If your son has alopecia areata, it will most likely resolve itself within 6-12 months. You can get treatment with topical corticosteroids or injections of corticosteroids at the site, but obviously injections aren't the best option for young children. Treatment just seems to make the regrowth of hair speed up for some reason. They don't know exactly what causes alopecia areata. An autoimmune issue in that particular patch of skin is what's assumed, especially since the use of the topical steroids is helpful. I don't think anyone would label your child as having an "autoimmune disease" for having an episode of alopecia areata. And, as far as I know, the only other health issue associated with alopecia areata at this time is thyroid disease (which would not be expected in a child).

Alopecia areata can be a problem that can be chronic or worsen, but as I said earlier, most cases resolve spontaneously on their own. Alopecia totalis and universalis are more extensive forms of alopecia.

Here is a link to a web page of a site that is reliable. A lot of the info is in medical terms, but it is fairly easy to follow even if you don't have a background in medicine. It even explains the proposed autoimmune pathway.
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1069931-overview

Hope that helps!

A.

Alopecia is just a fancy name for hair loss, and it can be due to any number of things, including self-trauma (pulling the hair out). You will have to wait until you see the dermatologist to get answers; any other feed-back you get here is not likely to be relevant to your situation. My suggestion is that you try not to worry about the possibilities until you have more information. :)