# alopecia areata



## Inesteoynoel (Feb 11, 2014)

Hi

I'm a mother of two with number 3 on the way. My DD (aged 7) has ad alopecia areata since she was 4. It is a mild-moderate form... she is often fine and sometimes has bald patches, particularly in spring.... then it all grows back in summer... then in winter maybe she gers one patch... and it becomes worse in spring with maybe 4-5 patches.

I recently had her tested for allergies (none) and food intolerance (we are supposed to remove chicken,tomato and cow milk from her diet, starting now).

Her blood tests are otherwise totally fine and she is a very healthy child, except from very moderate atopic reactions on face/arms from time t time.

Anyone dealing with this out there?

She is currently taking biotin and zinc phosphate following orders from doc

Thank you


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## tracyamber (May 26, 2011)

Anyone else have any experience to share?


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## Inesteoynoel (Feb 11, 2014)

Thank u Tracey my girl seems to be the only one out here dealing with this...


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## fisherfamily (Dec 29, 2013)

My niece went through about a year of loosing patches, but it stopped.for.her after that. It turned out that she waa very stressed about going to kindergarden.

And one of mine.had really thin hair for a while when she was 2-3 after it having been much thicker. We had been pretty sick, and apparently a virus can cause that. After about a year it started getting thick again.

So, I don't really have much to offer, other than does it coincide with stressful times? And did it come on the first time after an illness? It's a long shot, but I wonder if something like Lyme disease can lie dormat and cause periodic hair loss.

One other thought. Women can loose tons.of hair because of hormonal shifts. Maybe checking those, and her thyroid would help.

Good luck!


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## Inesteoynoel (Feb 11, 2014)

Thank u! The thing is that with her it comes and goes ...
We have checked her thyroid..it is fine ... I don't think Lyme disease is a concern where we live... South of Spain...
I can't associate it with stress... Or illness..
Thank you so much for your input!!!


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## Inesteoynoel (Feb 11, 2014)

The first time it did come after an ear infection, I just remembered... Luckily for us she is the healthiest girl on earth! Virtually never gets sick!


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## jplace82 (Apr 15, 2014)

I posted this on another thread yesterday:
I'm at a loss right now....My soon to be three year old was recently diagnosed with Alopecia. It seems to be affecting her entire scalp and now her eyebrows. Her hair was sort of thin and never grew very fast. I also noticed that the first 1/8" of her hair from her scalp was nearly colorless about 6 months ago. On March 31 (yes this March) she developed a fever blister. Three days later her hair began shedding ...a lot. It continued to shed and on April 8th I took her to see her pediatrician. He diagnosed her with Alopecia and said it may grow back ...or it may not. So, needless to say I was very confused and upset! The following morning I took her to see the dermatologist. She also diagnosed her with Alopecia. She asked if anyone in our family had Alopecia. I told her no, but we do have family members with autoimmune disorders (addisons disease, Thyroid disease, diabetes type 1, and celiac.) The dermatologist did some blood work (TSH, CBC) and all came back normal. She prescribed us a prescription steroid oil (to use on her scalp 1x/day) and told us to follow up in a month. I'm just devastated! This all happened so fast! I just wish her hair would stop falling out. She's nearly bald now.


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## Inesteoynoel (Feb 11, 2014)

Just wanted to say I so know how you feel. In my daughter's case this has been going on and off for three years now... And she also started some heavy shedding yesterday...
Be positive... It can grow back!
Be strong for her... You must be the rock for her to lean on. That is what I tell myself
Big hug


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## MamaOutThere (Apr 6, 2007)

Hi,

My daughter was diagnosed at 6. At that time, she had a large bald spot in the back of head. Now, at 8 1/2, she has a growing bald patch on the side of head, above the ear. It doesn't show much except at ballet where she puts her hair up in a chignon. There is also a general all-over thinning.

I was actually coming here to ask if anyone knows of a connection between this and skin problems. She developed molluscum contagiosium last summer -- still trying to get rid of it -- and very recently developed a particularly ugly case of eczema on her elbows, knees and feet. I'm sort of wondering it all isn't to do with an immunity (or auto-immune) issue.

Do you worry about her losing all her hair? I do. She has beautiful, long, curly hair. Of course, it doesn't define her (I myself had short, short hair -- besides losing it all for cancer and not giving a hoot, except that I would be able to start all over! -- and so does my elder daughter) but it is a part of who she is, you know?

By the way, yes, my daughter is also very healthy and has very rarely been ill in her life.


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## MamaOutThere (Apr 6, 2007)

Interesting: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2763714/

It's all there: AA, molluscum, eczema...

Looks like I need to get her iron levels and a thyroid screen.

Does your daughter have any other symptoms?


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## waywornwanderer (Jun 14, 2012)

jplace82 said:


> I posted this on another thread yesterday:
> I'm at a loss right now....My soon to be three year old was recently diagnosed with Alopecia. It seems to be affecting her entire scalp and now her eyebrows. Her hair was sort of thin and never grew very fast. I also noticed that the first 1/8" of her hair from her scalp was nearly colorless about 6 months ago. On March 31 (yes this March) she developed a fever blister. Three days later her hair began shedding ...a lot. It continued to shed and on April 8th I took her to see her pediatrician. He diagnosed her with Alopecia and said it may grow back ...or it may not. So, needless to say I was very confused and upset! The following morning I took her to see the dermatologist. She also diagnosed her with Alopecia. She asked if anyone in our family had Alopecia. I told her no, but we do have family members with autoimmune disorders (addisons disease, Thyroid disease, diabetes type 1, and celiac.) The dermatologist did some blood work (TSH, CBC) and all came back normal. She prescribed us a prescription steroid oil (to use on her scalp 1x/day) and told us to follow up in a month. I'm just devastated! This all happened so fast! I just wish her hair would stop falling out. She's nearly bald now.


Don't despair! I have AA- around that age, I was almost completely bald. My treatment plan was similar to your daughter's, with coal tar shampoo as well as iron and zinc supplements.

Nothing worked with tremendous efficacy, and I had off/on bald patches until early puberty. (Note: stress was a big trigger for me, as well as dairy.) When puberty hit, I struggled less with hair loss.

Now, I'm 25 years old and I do experience more hair loss than most, but no visible bald patches. I don't do anything in particular other than try to eat a healthy diet and manage my stress levels.

Good luck to all! Auto immune disorders are so poorly understood, and I know how frustrating/maddening it probably is to see your kiddos struggle with hair loss.


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## Inesteoynoel (Feb 11, 2014)

hI to all!
Yes hair loss in children is really devastating...
My daughter currently has one patch above her ear like yours and one on the back...the ear one is already covering up but I am more concerned about the other...

Of course I worry about her losing it all! I worry about that almost every day... She has amazing hair...really thick and wavy..and a beautiful golden shade of blonde.
My daughter also has skin issues...she has very mild atopic eczema. I do too though and I hardly 
ever lose hair...
She is taking iron and biotin supplements.doesn't eat dairy tomatoes and chicken as blood test results showed she was intolerant.

No thyroid issues or any others really.

Thank you all for sharing your experience
Big hug


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## MamaOutThere (Apr 6, 2007)

My daughter's hair is getting really thin. When I look at her head I can see not bald spots but, you know, her scalp, as if she had several part lines, kwim? It's not straight or delineated, just visible scalp.

She's starting at a new school in a new country next Autumn, and I'm worried.

I'll be in home in the States in two weeks. I think I'll show her to my mom's nurse.


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## Inesteoynoel (Feb 11, 2014)

Maybe it is seasonal shedding... Is it thin everywhere or just the hairline??? Mine had a big loss all over her hairline last year and it got better with minoxidil and clobetasol.
Does she lose a lot of hair when you brush her hair? Is she taking biotin and zinc supplements? 
I can also recommend doing the alcat blood tests... Removing things from her diet may also be good for her skin


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## Miss Muffet (Jan 31, 2014)

*Btdt*

My daughter had a bout of it after a tick bite. The dermatologist said it was a form of alopecia but had never heard of a tick causing it.

He prescribed a cream that we had to apply twice a day. It took about 4 months for the hair to start to re- grow.

The way it was described to me, the immune system (white cells) freaked out over the tick bite, the intruder. The army of white blood cells couldn't find the intruder and over reacted in their search and was clearing out the hair in its search. The cream was to tell the white cells to chill out - the intruder is gone- stop over reacting. Clobetasol - I think was the cream name, or something similar.

I know that description is completely unscientific, but I hope there is something in there to help. It took about 6 months for everything to be completely 'normal' again.


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## Kapusha1234 (Oct 24, 2018)

Hello everyone, my 5year old has been diagnosed with Alopecia areata a week ago. Prior we have been told that it was Trichotillomania, because the pattern of his hair fall was not patchy at all.., it was overall thining and when I noticed this sudden hair loss, he already didn’t have much around the nape of the neck, above the ears.., but he didn’t really have any patches, maybe one, and it was on his hair line.. I still can’t believe it is Alopecia areata.., it happened so sudden, and nothing is growing... after diagnosis of Trichotillomania, which is pulling of the hair that he didn’t do it.., we were advised to shave his hair and we did.., but it has been 2 months and only 20% is growing.. he had beautiful very thick hair from birth.., and he usually had longish hair style.., and now over few months she is bold with a little bangs that we left like a style of his new hair.. it is so frustrating, we started topical steroids for over two weeks now, no results so far.., trying to find what else I can check or what route to go to get this resolved.., I have a feeling like it is something else.., because of the sudden, drastic nature of how it happened. 
If anyone has something to share or advice, please, respond!


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## franckParedes (Dec 23, 2020)

tracyamber said:


> Anyone else have any experience to share?


Here you can find some more info on Alopecia areata, it´s a great medical article









Alopecia caída del pelo en el cuero cabelludo o en cualquier otra parte del cuerpo


Caída del pelo en el cuero cabelludo o en cualquier otra parte del cuerpo. Descubra las causas, tipos de alopecia que existen, síntomas, tratamientos y preguntas frecuentes.




www.doctoranytime.mx





Alopecia areata


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## DanielaCaratachea (Jan 15, 2021)

tracyamber said:


> Anyone else have any experience to share?


Hi Tracy!
I found this site with a lot of information, just click *here**.*


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