Children Hair Loss
Causes and Treatment
Hair Loss in Children is actually not very commom although millions of children suffered from at least one form of hair loss. Hair loss in Children typically and majority caused by the following conditions: Tinea Capitis, Alopecia Areata & Telogen Effluvium.
Those suffering from these conditions of hair loss should be easily diagnosed by your pediatrician or by a pediatric dermatologist.
Children Tinea Capitis
Tinea Capitis is a disease caused by a superficial fungal ( Click Here ) infects the skin of scalp, eyebrows and eyelashes with a propensity for attacking hair shafts and follicles. The disease is considered to be a form of superficial mycosis. It is also call as “ringworm of the scalp” and is the most common cause of hair loss in children. This incidence of Tinea Capitis is increasing all over the world.
Children with tinea capitis usually have patchy hair loss and the scalp takes on a black-spotted stubble appearance from hair shafts broken off at the surfaces. There may also be mild itching and scaling.
“Ring worm” of the scalp is not dangerous but the condition is transmitted by contact from one infected child to another through the sharing of combs, hats, barrettes, pillows and baths towels etc. Minor bruising of the scalp occasionally provides an entry for the microscopic fungus.
Diagnosis: Consult a qualified doctor to diagnose any type of fungal infection in the skin by scraping the area, and looking the specimen under a microscope to see if it contains fungi.
Treatment: It is usually treated with an antifungal, such as griseofulvin, taken by mouth for 8 weeks. Tinea Capitis is also treated with antifungal shampoo such as “King of Shampoo” , which is used as fungal killer to wash the scalp 3-4 times a week. It is very important to continue the use of oral medication and antifungal shampoo for eight weeks. Most children are not contagious when using the oral medication and shampoo.
Children Alopecia Areata
Alopecia Areata is another common form of patchy hair loss of children. This disease shows up as the sudden appearance of round or oval patches of hair loss, sometimes up to two inches of diameter.
Alopecia areata is thought to be caused by the body’s immune system attacking the hair follicles. About one in a thousand suffering from Alopecia areata and 25% of these children also have pitting or ridging af the nails. In 95 out of 100 cases of Alopecia areata, the hair grows back completely.
Children with Alopecia areata should be under the care of a dermatologist. About 5% children with Alopecia areata will go on to develop alopecia totalis (i.e the loss of all the hair on the scalp.) Some of these will develop alopecia universalis (i.e the complete loss of hair.)
Diagnosis: Currently there is no conclusive diagnostic test for alopecia areata. Dermatologist diagnoses alopecia areata by process of elimination of other hair loss causes and the close examination of the bald patch itself. Some people feel a tingling sensation or pain in the affected area.
Treatment: Because the hair loss can sometime be psychologically devastating for the child, dermatologist has tried many different medications in attempt to stimulate new hair growth. Since there is little understanding of the disease, there are no FDA-approved drugs or treatment specifically designed to treat it.
Children Telogen Effluvium
Telogen Effluvium is also another common of hair loss in children. Telogen Effluvium, by nature, is a condition directly related to the cycles of hair growth.
Under normal conditions, follicles will always continue to produce hair. An individual hair follicle has a long growth phase call Anagen (periods of growth) which last for an average of 3 years. This followed by a brief transition phase (about 3 weeks) call catagen when the hair follicle degenerates and cessation of growth. This in turn is followed by a resting or loss phase period (about 3 months) call Tolegen. At this last phase, the hair follicle lies dormant. After this, the growth phase Anagen backs again and the whole cycle repeats. If a significant number of hair follicles simultaneously enter into resting/loss phase(Telogen), the clinical result is likely to be Tolegen Effluvium.
For most of the people, of the 100,000 to 150,000 follicles, about 90% are in the active growth phase (Anagen), about 3% are in the transition phase (Catagen), and less than 10% are in the loss phase (Tolegen). Anagen hairs are firmly attached at the roots whereas Tolegen hairs are loosely attached and hence fall off easily. Tolegen Effluvium is the shedding of hairs prematurely pushed from the growth phase (Anagen) into loss phase (Tolegen).The shedding which is actually a mass exodus of follicles from growth into dormancy, can last for up to six weeks.
The hair loss is not to show up in patches. It is characterized by general thinning all through the scalp and widening spaces in the hair. This sudden abnormal change could be caused by illness, high fever, drugs, stress, surgery etc .
Diagnosis: There are no conclusive diagnostic test to accurate diagnose Telegen Effluvium.
Treatment: The good news is that once the stressful event is over, your hair will be back to normal within six months to one year. Parents are primarily responsible in saving their kids from the great distress that hair falling brings.
As parents, it is their duty to provide their children with proper hair loss help. They should be enough to know whether a child is starting to lose hair and know how to cope with this problem.
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