I have a 10 year old boy who pulls out his eyelashes. I noticed it about 2 months ago and I talked to him about it and he says it is a habit. He stopped for a while but then I noticed he started up again, but worse, now hes pulling both his top & bottom eyelashes out. It is becoming very noticeable. I dont know what to do. I thought it was maybe something is bothering him, but I wouldnt know what. He gets very good grades, hes very well behaved, he has lots of friends at school and hes on the schools basketball team. I am with him all the time so I know no one is hurting him in any way. Im very worried because I keep thinking something is bothering him.
Should I talk to his doctor? Is there a way I can get him to stop? Has anyone been through this??
I am happy to say my son is no longer pulling out his eyelashes. I have a bad habit myself which is biting my nails & we talked,and we decided to stop our bad habits together. His eyelashes grew back in, & I am keeping an eye on him to make sure they stay that way! thanks for everyones advice!
Most likely he is nervous about something. I would try talking to him. Kind of ease into it so he does get nervous about talking to you. I found with my son, when he was nervous a habit would arise that I did not like but after talking about it the habit was resolved.
Hi L.!
Wow! I went through the same thing with my daughter when she was about 9 years old. I still don't understand why she did it. She said she would be doing it without realizing it like when watching TV. Although I never actually saw her doing it. It was a habit for her. She was a great girl too...all A's on report card, very athletic, popular. I just kept telling her that she needed to try to stop so that she could begin wearing makeup in middle school. It did take her about a year before they grew back in.
My guess is that it is just a nervous condition. There is a medical term for it...really long word! But it's like nail-biting...they just have to get control of what they are doing and stop. Just keep encouraging him to try to stop and explain how important it is to have eyelashes. Good luck!
AMH :)
My sister had the same problem, but more severe. She was pulling out the hair on her head too. It's called Trichotillomania. You can do a search on it on the net. It's a form of obsessive compulsive disorder. My sister started when she was 13 and it continued until she was in her late teens, around 17-19. It did get better. She just had to be aware of it. It's subconscience! He probably doesn't even realize he is doing it. Nothing was bothering my sister and it was something my mom couldn't stop. Her doctor did recommend sleeping with gloves on, because she was pulling her lashes and eyebrows out in her sleep. With my sister she just found other things to keep her hands busy. This one won't work with your son, but for instance, she would paint her fingernails over and over during the day just so she could pick the paint off. She also got fake fingernails, long, so that she couldn't grab on to the hair and pull. My mom did take her to the doctor and they really couldn't do anything. I recommend reading up on the subject. It's nothing you have done and nothing that he can control. He has to be aware of when he's doing it and try and manage the control to pull. Good luck! I hope this helps.
L.,
This has never happened to my own child, however, I am a teaacher and had a student who was doing the same thing. It turned out the child had an anxiety disorder. He would pull out his eyelashes everytime he felt stressed or pressured to succeed (taking tests, etc.) He ended up going to see someone that he could talk to and within weeks there was a drastic improvement. Hope this helps
E. W
Hi L.,
My sister did the same thing when she to was about 10 years old and it really just was a habit. My mother would all ways stop her when she saw her pulling at them. What made my sister stop was one day when she saw how bad her eyes looked. Make sure everyone in the house reminds him not to pull at his eyelashes. Make it a fun game too. Reward him each day when he doesn't pull at them and tell him when they all come back you will take him shopping for something he really wants. Keep track of his eyelashes everynight. I wouldn't worry. Good luck!
There is a condition called trichotillomania that causes people to pull out hair from their bodies. I would definitely check this out with his doctor. Good luck!
Talk to his doctor. Let him or her guide you as to what to do next. There may be medications or behavior therapy that can help.
L.,
I was a special ed teacher for a few years before becoming a mommy and as another mom said, tricotillimania came to my head as I was reading your post.
M.
L.,
I'm a 34 yr old mom of 3 children under 5. I have suffered from this since I was a teen. It is a disorder, and typically a nervous habit. It is called Trichotillomania, or TTM. You can find out more about it here
http://www.trich.org/about_ttm/intro.asp.
Be loving but diligent about helping your son to stop. Make him aware as much as you can, but be supportive. If you want to talk, just email me/send me a message.
It's wonderful that you notice his behavior and that you're taking steps to help him with his problem.
Blessings,
Rolinda
Wife, Mother, Friend
Hi L.,
I know this sounds like an odd thing to do, but believe it or not, I went to high school with a girl who did the exact same thing. She didn't have 1 single eyelash, and while it did look a little goofy, she was an extremely popular girl, had a million friends, was a cheerleader & got great grades. I asked her about it one day & she said it was a nervous habit she had done since she was little. She said it was akin to someone who bites their nails all the time. So, basically, it is just a bad habit. But if it really worries you, try talking to your son some more & see if you can figure out the cause. Just don't get yourself worked into a frenzy if there doesn't seem to be one. Good luck!
I've never been through this personally, but I have a friend who pulls out her hair. She once told me it started when she was in high school and that she started doing it because she was so stressed out. Id talk to his doctor, personally Id figure it couldnt hurt to call and get his (or her) opinion. Even the most behaved well adjusted kids get sterssed and try to relieve it in seemingly strange ways. Good luck.
