Sudden Hair Loss in Child? Any Help?

[mlynn]

I'm really not sure I'll sleep tonight. Yesterday at 4:00 my DH and I dropped off our daughters at the in-laws for the night. My mom picked them up and brought them home today. As soon as my mom saw my oldest DD she called me in a panic. DD is 5 with shoulder length hair-not too thick but a normal 5 year old's hair. Anyway it seems that on the left side of her head she is missing almost all of her hair. VERY noticable. DH calls his mom. She says she noticed it but thought maybe DD had had an indident with scissors at home and didn't want to embarass her. What? When she left it was a full head of hair. It's not cut though it is missing in a gigantic patch (as big as my hand). Her whole head even seems thinner. I went straight to the urgent care. Doc says he doesn't know and refers me to a derm. Called her regular ped. They said maybe come in tomorrow but they can't do labs on the weekend so maybe wait until Monday. I first want to make sure it's nothing serious which the Dr. didn't seem too concerned about. There's not much reddness but there is a bit. So now I have to wonder if my child has a sudden anxiety disorder and is pulling out her hair, a fungal infection which I can't see, alopecia, or something very serious. As a teen I had cancer and hair loss due to chemo. It was really not a fun thing. So I guess I'm worried about the alopecia for my daughter for those reasons. I'm just worried that when she wakes up in the AM more will be missing. Sorry this is long just wondering if anyone has experienced this. THank you...

It sounds like Alopecia my daughter has this. Call a dermotologist they gave me creams to rub on each spot 2x's a day. My daughter only lost her in 1/4 round spots they took a while to come back but the hair came back.
The doctor told me sometimes it can happen from worrying. or sometime the body starts fighting the hair like it is foriegn object in the body.

There are 3 different kinds of Alopecia.

 

[FoundMyPrince]

A friend's granddaughter began losing hair when she was 4. After a slew of tests, they chalked it up to stress. Her parents were on the brink of divorce and she was very worried. She has fine hair as it is, and when she began losing it, it was very noticeable.

 

[Tanuki]

My daughter went thru a bout of this when she was three - it is a classic history for alopecia areata - hair loss seems to occur practically overnight - no evidence for breakage near the roots - just a bald spot. Classic.

The key thing is that if treatment is started early you have a better chance of it being effective - so be sure that whoever is booking your appointment with your pediatrician for your initial evaluation knows that.

Also be sure that if you are referred to a dermatologist that the person booking your appointment with the specialist also knows that. I was first booked for a six week wait and I just politely asked them to put me on the waiting list for an earlier appointment and please ask the dermatologist to review my child's symptoms (note - I didn't raise he double hockey sticks - I just made sure someone higher up than the clerk was aware and then they called her in for her appointment the next week).

She is doing fine now - there are some ointments you put on the spot which helped her a lot.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

It could be several things. Alopecia as others have mentioned or trichotillomania (hair pulling). Did you say that she was there wtih another child? It could be the other child and her got into a fight and it got pulled out but she doesn't want to get that other child in trouble.

I know you're scared, but take a deep breath. Hopefully the doctors will have some more answers for you on Monday.

 

[Mandychelle79]

I want to put another vote in for Alopecia. My daughter was diagnosed with it about a month ago. We had it diagnosed by a pediatric dermatologist, as she has an odd manisfestation of it called ophiasis. Weve been using her medicine for a month and we have regrowth. Feel free to PM me if needed.

 

[bean]

This is the OP..We went to a well known children's hospital today and stumped about 4 doctors. They first made sure it is nothing serious such as anemia, thyroid issues, etc., which it isn't. They also felt like it isn't alopecia because of the way the hair loss looks. There is general thinness everwhere with much more on one side but no smooth patches. They gave a diagnosis of telogen effluvium which is a stress induced loss. I guess the stress could be illness, meds, or life change. We are still following up with a pediatric dermatologist to get a second opinion. She's happy and healthy but I'm still worrying away. A Mom's job I suppose..