He has a beautiful head of curly hair & in Feb it started to get very VERY thin/balding in the back only- took him to the ped & he said there is nothing to worry about...but WHY??? he dosn;r just sleep on his back...what else could this be???
If he sleeps on his back that is a real reason and happens often. This is still baby hair and as long as he sleeps on his back this can happen. Try getting him a toddler pillow as that isn't as abrasive as just the crib on his head and wearing it away.
Maybe hypothyroidism... signs and symptoms are weight gain, being cold, hair loss... maybe go to a health website and type in hair loss and see what else pops up. I wouldn't let the pediatrician minimize it if you are concerned. It may mean your child will have to have a blood draw to know for sure. Perhaps you could get referred to a pediatric endocrinologist since they would specialize in any of those complex hormonal issues if it is something like hypothyroidism.
R.
My niece went through this. She had the most beautiful long wavy hair and all of a sudden it just started falling out (all over her entire head). When it did start growing back in she looked like a baby duck with all that fine down. Her hair did all grow back in as full as it was before. She also got a clean bill of health from her doctor but her parents were told it could be stress related.
Has your family gone through any big changes or had any emotional events in the past little while? Whatever the cause as long as his doctor has checked him over and says he is alright I wouldn't worry about it too much.
My daughter was four when this started happening to her. She had gorgeous hair that was coming out in handfuls. I took her to the doctor, and they ran several blood tests, checked her thyroid, everything came back normal. We couldn't fighure out what was happening, until the doctor finally asked if she had been under any stress recently. A few weeks earlier, my mom had taken the kids over night and had let them watch Van Helsing (a VERY scary movie). My son had nightmares for a few weeks and my daughter's beautiful hair fell out. I have the same reaction to stress. Maybe that's all it is? Did your doctor run blood tests to make sure that there is really nothing wrong or did he just say it's normal? If he didn't do anything, he doesn't know anything, and I would take my children to a different doctor. Good luck!
He's probably rubbing it off when he looks around. My daughter lost all her hair there,and when she started walking it looked I had turned her head upside down and shaved all but the crown...her ponytails looked pretty goofy...
but it all grew back just fine!
I found that this was caused from riding in the car seat also. They rub their heads on the back as they turn side to side to look around. I am sure there is no need for concern.
KT
If you want your son to have thick long hair I would take him for regular haircuts or trims. That will help the hair grow longer and thicker faster.With all 3 of my boys that seemed to solve the issue of balding and losing hair during that phase of getting older.Now at ages 2, 3, and almost 6 they all have nice full heads of hair.
You didn't say how OLD your child is, but 3 out of my 4 kids lost hair as babies.
My oldest (now 17) lost his hair completely- and it all grew back soon. He was probably a month old.
The twins-- my boy didn't lose any, but my daughter lost a spot on the back of the head at a couple of months old- no big deal, it all grew back in, except that my husband joked that it was because I never picked her up- LOL!
My youngest, now 8 mo old, is getting her bald-back-of-the-head spot growing back in nicely now. Hers did the same as my girl-twin's did.
HI! Is a old Wise tale that hair will come back thinker if you shave it. The reason it seems thicker is you cut it and leave a blunt hair that feels thicker. Your child will rub it off as he gets older. Hope this will help
C. J.
Hey C.,
You know I read the other posts, and the stress related advice sounds good, but since your child is only 4 months old, I would tend to agree with the lady who spoke about the car seat. It is very normal for babies to lose that small patch in the back of their head and I would assume it's getting rubbed off somewhere else if it isn't in bed at night. Even if he's in a bouncy chair for infants, the back of his head will have contact with the back of the seat.
Prudence :)
Does your son wear hats a lot? If so, that could be what's causing the back hair to fall out. And, as kids get older their hair changes some.
Hi C. - My son was 18 months old when his hair started thinning. Two months later his eye lashes and eyebrows started going. Good news... he's got the personality and attitude to deal with it! He is now 7 and doing great!!! He has a beautiful bald head! His hair grows back in patches - sometimes. It's called Alopecia! I noticed another family mention this. It's basically an allergy to his own hair!. It COULD BE just the basic hat or rubbing while he is laying down but if it's more, ask your pediatrician about Alopecia. They may have to look it up in a book. It's not all that common. If you have more questions, we do have a support group which is VERY supportive and I would love to answer more of your questions. Hang in there. I'm here. :) D
Try looking for the simplest answers first....your doctor says that he's healthy right? Of course doctors can miss things, but I would try looking at his daily patterns. You said that he doesn't sleep on his back....ever....are you sure? My daughter was mostly a side sleeper, but did occasionally sleep on her back and she had quite a bald spot on the back of her head. Also, how much time does your son spend in the car? His head could be rubbing on the carseat....especially if he shakes his head a lot. Is he a nuzzler? Does he have a blankie that maybe he holds up to his head and rubs against? I know this sounds weird, but my son did that with his special pillow. It actually doesn't take much friction for a baby to rub off their hair....which makes it more frustrating for us!:)
When my sister lost all of her hair it was due to an allergy of dogs.
When my son was 3 he started losing his hair in patches. At first I thought it was from wearing his new bike helmet. We found out he had alopecia. His pediatrician said there was nothing we could do, he would just probably go bald. We took him to a dermatologist. She started with some very aggressive lotions. She said it was better to start off aggressive, they had better results. My son is in 5th grade now. He has had all of his hair back since 1st grade. I would highly recommend checking with a dermatologist. Good luck!
S. P
