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9 year old daughter diagnosed with alopecia
So my story begins with summer fun! We had just purchased an above ground pool which my daughter had never been in one before. Like 2 weeks later i was combing her hair and noticed a bald spot size of a dime towards her neck n the back of her head, i was jolted thought omg is this ring worm so i called my daughters ped. And was trying to tell them what it looked like while looking again and noticed 2 more same size to the side of that, doctors office said she needed to be seen just incase because ringworm is contagious, so after the phone call i went online to research, it had no characteristics of ringworm,besides being round. Then went on to look up baldspots and seen alopecia felt relieved, knowing it wasnt ringworm, but then i began to feel sad. My daughter already has severe allergies, asthma and eczema..... now this.. i got her into the doctor. The ped had confirmed it was alopecia, she said its minor that if it got worse she would refer me to a dermatologist if id like, but that theres no known cure that they have ointment and creams but they dont really do much and because of her being on so many meds now she didnt want to add more to the plate.and i trust my ped's advice 100%. So a couple weeks pass and all her hair grew back in then a couple weeks after school began she now has a quarter sized one on top kind of in the hairs natural part, its visable. Recently its grown in a couple of hairs. Im jus worried if it worsens, do school even allow head scarves or bandannas.. what if she goes into a depression... any input?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by wtfsamikinz on
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Thankyou Aimee i will def check those out :-)
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Hi! My daughter is 9 and has extensive hair loss. I told her teachers and the principal about her alopecia and I just said that my daughter wears bandanas to cover her spots. They simply said ok. One of her teachers wanted to know what to do if others want to wear bandanas too because my daughter is. I simply suggested that he tell them that she wears it because she has a hair allergy. My daughter has not wanted me to come in and speak with her class and does not want me discussing her alopecia with her classmates or her friends. I take my lead from her and so far she has been ok. Good luck!
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Thankyou patty from nj. Love the idea to let them take the lead
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The one thing alopecia is in unpredictable, and while being aware that it could get worse is good, it may not. I apparently had alopecia as a child, but it never spread and never bothered me (I think I was more like 6 than 9 when I had a sizable bald spot though). Through my 20's and 30's I had an occasional spot, mostly in the nape area, that I never did anything about because they didn't cause a problem and seemed to eventually grow in. It took being in my 40's with a baby and an incredibly stressful, draining couple of years to convince most of my hair to fall out, so the way I see it, I was pretty resistant to widespread alopecia even having had some bald spots as a child.
I have yet to meet any children in our school system with alopecia, but every time I let a teacher know or explain to a curious child about my condition (I tend to wear a wig to help in the classroom but just a hat or scarf at other times, and I don't want grown ups wondering if I am sick), it is in the back of my mind that someone might know a child dealing with this too. If it were my daughter I would be sad and expect her to be upset, but at the same time I would absolutely not want to send the message that this is something which has to be covered up or kept a secret, because, I feel, that when you do that, it is hard to escape from some sense of shame, and alopecia is nothing to be ashamed of. As other strong women have posted on this site, alopecia doesn't ruin your life. It is something to deal with, and we all have things to deal with. And, in the big picture, it might not be entirely a bad thing for a girl to know upfront that her worth is based on so much more than her appearance.
If she wants to wear a scarf or cap, I would talk to the school. Another option that might work for her are wide headbands.
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Thankyou garden jess, she hasnt came home upset yet, she has let anyone who noticed what it is, we Are just playing by sight and ear untill we see it bothering her fingers crossed it doesnt worsen also offering the love and support the size of any army if it does.
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Hi
My daughter was diagnosed with alopecia when she was 12...in the last 11 years she has had varying degrees of alopecia Areata....totalis and universalis.
At this stage it is too early to know what is about to happen (or not happen). What I do know is that you can't control this at this time and as it is minor at the moment I would just suggest you carry on with life. If this was to get worse, then different options will need to be looked at (education, hair alternatives, scarves...what ever works for your family and your daughter). But I don't feel this is needed at the moment. This may go away and not be an enormous part of her life...so while it isn't being a big part let it go.
If I can help with any information that you may feel could put your mind at ease feel free to contact me.
Hugs
Rosy
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Rose marie ty very much! You sorta just jotted down my feelings,
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Permalink Reply by Lillian (Tracy-mom) on
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My daughter too developed Alopecia in the 3rd grade and also has asthma and allergies. She is now in the 9th grade and though she never lost it all, she did have times when she had several large patches which she used clips to cover. We tried everything from the shots to naturalpathic medicine. Nothing really helped for long. She is strong though and isn't much bothered by it. It seems to bother me more than her. My advice is to be honest with her about the disorder to prepare for the worst but let her know that she is beautiful and loved no matter what. In the beginning, I told my daughter that if all her hair fell out that we would go get her all kinds of wigs of different colors and styles. She loved to be fashionable so that intrigued her. I do hold out hope that there will be a cure someday. They are doing some research right now that is showing promise. For now, try not to make it a big deal. A very hard thing for a mother!
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Hi lillian :-) like your name, my daughter loves the ideas of wigs she thought right away of katy perry lol.
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My 7 year old son has just had a biopsy to see if he has AA. Right now we are talking to him about possibilities of having it. His head started out with one spot, that grew to four and now month later he is sporting a cheetah look all over. His school is aware of what is going on and we have their full support. At any time that he feels the need to cover his head with a hat or hoodie, he can. We are experiencing some regrowth but for now we are sticking to brewer's yeast pill and half olive oil and half castor oil on his stalp daily.
Keeping fingers crossed because he wants his mohawk back but this time he wants to blue. I'm preparing him for both outcomes. I told him if he looses it all we will find the nearest henna tattooist and he can get whatever he wants.
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Thats really cool, i still havent pushed further into treatent.. just seeing how it goes. Her spot shes had for a while is still the same no regrowth yet... i try to not mess with her hair much. Im affraid ill make mattersworse but like my friendtold me today enjoy it if its gonna fall out it will fall out.
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My (almost) eight year old daughter has had AA for years and started similarly to what you are describing. I also have a friend who's daughter lost all her hair and through naturopathic treatment regrew 100% hair back but then had exposure to chemicals in a pool on vacation (for two weeks) and lost it all 100% again. Private message me and I'll send you my phone number and am happy to share my experience, what we've discovered over the last 6 years and what has been useful. Best of luck to you in this journey. Regarding how your daughter will handle it, it depends on her personality. I don't make a big deal of it and my daughter isn't bothered at all. She doesn't need to wear a hat, wig or scarf yet.
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