Stop Childhood Hair Loss Due to Tinea Capitis vs Alopecia Areata vs Trauma or Traction Damage ... and 1 more
Edited by Donna, Eng
4 Methods:
If your child has hair loss it is due to one or more of the following conditions and we will explain how to stop Childhood Hair Loss for each condition
Method 1: Due to Tinea Capitis
Tinea capitis is characterized by patches of hair loss and caused by a fungal infection, usually ringworm. Children with this type of hair loss have broken hairs and round or oval shaped areas of thinness. Sometimes the bald areas of the scalp appear to be covered with dead flaky skin cells. It can also appear that hairs are broken off just below the surface of the skin.
A child with round balding patches indicating ringworm.
- 1Your doctor will be able to tell visually if it is a fungal infection. He may shine an ultraviolet light on the balding areas to identify the signature red rings that identify hair loss due to ringworm in children.Take your child to a doctor to confirm hair loss due to tinea capitis.
- 2Usually a child's case of ringworm is treated with a course of an anti-fungal medication such as griseofulvin or a period of 8 weeks. Be sure to complete the full course of medication even if your child's condition seems to be improved.Be sure that your child takes anti-fungal medication as prescribed.
- 3Your doctor will recommend the anti-dandruff shampoo Nizoral as a supportive treatment for fighting the ringworm fungus.Shampoo your child's hair with an anti-fungal shampoo.
Shampoo your child's hair gently with an anti-fungal shampoo to prevent more hair loss from ringworm. - 4Heat helps destroy the ringworm fungus that is the cause of hair loss due to Tinea Capitis.Launder your child's sheets, pillowcases and clothing in very hot water and on a high dry setting.
Method 2: Due to Alopecia Areata
Alopecia Areata is characterized by round or oval patched of baldness and is caused by the body's autoimmune system attacking itself. The patches of baldness are very smooth and there is no scaling of the bald patches or gray flakes. The hair loss also seems to happen suddenly, within a period of three days or less.
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Smooth round patches identify alopecia areata.
- 1Your doctor will be able to tell by a visual examination and by a description of symptoms whether your child is experiencing an auto-immune attack on the hair follicles. Your child may also have pitting or seams in their fingernails and toe nails. As there is no real treatment for this condition, you are not likely to leave the office with any type of prescription.Take your child to a doctor to confirm hair loss due to tinea alopecea areata.
Hair that falls out leaving smooth bare patches is alopecia areata. - 2Consistency of meal times and healthy, fresh food is an important part of reducing the physical stress that might be causing an over-inflated inflammatory response in your child's bodyMake sure your child eats a healthy balanced diet three times a day.
- 3This type of hair loss can lead to total temporary hair loss so do your best to cut out any unnecessary sources of stress including subjecting the child to domestic disputes, too many extra-curricular activities or too many chores. Sometimes the secret cause of the stress is bullying at school or teasing from siblings. Speak to your child's teachers and siblings and ask that they cooperate to make your child's life a little easier for the time being.Eliminate as much stress from your child's life as possible.
- 4A child that does not get enough sleep is one that is under too much stress and a risk for total hair loss.Make sure your child is getting enough rest.
Children experiencing too much stress can start losing their hair. - 5It is very possible that your child is having a reaction to a food or something in his or her environment that is causing the auto-immune system to overreact and attack the hair follicles.Consider allergy testing.
Method 3: Due to Trauma or Traction Damage
Trauma causes the hair to become patchy and thin due to the hair being pulled out by the child or by the wearing of hair styles that pull on the strands an cause traction damage.
A little girl with hair loss due to an obsessive compulsive disorder that causes her to pull it out when s he feels anxious.
- 1If your child is wearing tight braids, buns or twiddling , pulling or sucking on her hair then she is causing traction damage to the hair itself. This can cause it to break off at the scalp and cause bald patches and thinness.Take a few days to practice better perception of how your child is treating her hair.
2
Talk to your child about changing her hair style
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Wearing loose hair styles that do not pull on the scalp are better for your child's hair.
3
Ban all hair clips, metal bobby pins and hair clasps from her daily grooming now
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If your child is eating her hair after she chews on it then take her to a doctor
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To prevent further hair loss make sure your child sleeps on satin or rayon pillow cases
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Encourage your child to wash and style her hair gently
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Teach your child to be gentle with a comb or hair brush to avoid hair loss due to traction damage.
Method 4: Due to Telogen Effluvium
Tellogen effluvium is a situation in which the growing cycle of hair is interrupted by high fevers, emotional trauma, surgery or other factors causing periods of patchy hair growth or baldness. The growing cycle of the hair is temporarily "paused."
A baby with a high fever can suffer from temporary hair loss.
- 1This type of hair loss is usually preceded by an illness or a fever and then followed by mild to drastic hair loss about three months later. #Some children lose 90% of their hair. It can seem mysterious but a doctor can usually help you figure out the physical crisis that triggered this hair loss in the first place. If the loss is triggered by a medication that your child is on, such as Accutane, then he or she may be taken off of it. If the doctor determines that the massive hair loss is caused by an emotional issue, he or she may be referred to a counselor or therapist.Take your child to a doctor to get a diagnosis of telogen effluvium.
Some children who hae Telogen Effluvium may go completely bald, but it is a temporary condition. - 2If a child's hair is falling out completely it means that he or she is still harboring a physical shock from the injury or surgery that caused the complete hair loss and need more rest and relaxation.Ease any stress that may be in your child's life.
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Tips and Tricks
- Tinea Capitis is very contagious in children and spreads easily so be sure to take extra care to follow the doctor's directives because your child is not contagious as long as he or she is using both the Nizoral shampoo and the prescribed oral anti-fungal medication
- If your child has been under a general anesthesia it is not unusual at all for him or her to lose most of his or her hair about three months afterwards
A child that has been under anesthetic could lose their hair two to three months after the operation. - Alopecia Areata occurs suddenly and it is unpredictable; make every effort to eliminate stress from your child's life because 25% of kids who develop this disorder lose all of their hair within one month, but usually it grows back within a year
- Telogen effluvium can be cause by extremely high doses of Vitamin A. If hair loss is sudden make sure that you are not accidentally overdosing your child with this vitamin in some way
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
