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How do you get diagnosed? Could it be something else?
Ive noticed recently that my 16 month old started balding....i took her to her doctor and was told that she has alopecia...do they just know this without any testing,im worried that maybe it could be something else...just wondering how everyone else is diagnosed..the same way??
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cindy on
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When the hair falls out it starts with small smooth bald spots. Does you child show this? Unfortunately, Alopecia can occur at any age. How are you?
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Permalink Reply by Andrea on
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Unless she expresses symptoms of something else (lethargy, irritability, fever, pain when you pick her up, etc) your pediatrician is probably right on the money. I'm not aware of any testing other than empirical evidence, but apparently a scalp biopsy can rule other issues out, but from what I've read the pull test, pluck test and daily count are considered sufficient. In a toddler, things are hard to diagnose because she can't tell you if something is wrong, but her behavior should be a clue. In my own case, my hairloss is resultant of my health. The health started deteriorating well before the hair started coming out. It is my understanding that most health conditions that cause hairloss are similar. One is aware something is wrong and the hair starts falling out. Of course, this is based only on casual research and conversation so don't take my word for it. If she seems like a healthy, happy little girl, she probably is.
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Permalink Reply by Georgie on
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Ditto. Except that I don't have Osteopenia. Still working on getting the iron levels up. I've only had AA for 2.5 years, Hashimoto's for 7 years and I've been gluten-free for 9 months.
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Permalink Reply by Pradha on
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I took my daughter to the pediatrician last month for her 3 year check up & showed her doctor her growing "bald spot" at that time. The doctor said it looked like AA, but she also ordered some blood work to rule out a thyroid condition & other autoimmune disorders. Those results came back fine, so we are returning to the doc next week to get a referral to dermatology. If the dermatologist has any other info on diagnosing, I will be sure to post an update. Hope you & your little one are doing well.
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Permalink Reply by Alicia Duncan on
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Hi Deanna
I also went through a series of assessments to determine the cause of my hair loss. My experience was blood test for hormones, thyroid, and vitamin deficiencies. I was also assessed for other autoimmune diseases which, thank god, I have none.
My dermatologist took a biopsy of my head (a little pinch behind my ear) and sent in for assessment to U of M labs. It came back positive for Alopecia. I asked him what exactly that meant, how can they tell, etc, and he said the presence of excessive white blood cells in the scalp region indicates that my immune system is attacking my hair.
Don't know if this helps or not but I hope you find out that your little girl is healthy with or without Alopecia. Hope you two are doing well.
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Permalink Reply by Deanna on
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Thank you all for your replies!I Just thought it was weird that the dr did not reccomend any further testing at all...At first i thought that her twin sister was pulling her hair out because they seem to be fighting all the time!But im pretty sure that it probably is alopecia....she has been starting to get more bald spots now and the little spots are now getting bigger.I guess time will tell if she will lose it all or it will stay patchy.Im just glad she is healthy....really i know it is just hair...but i have had a good few cries over it....just hope that i can raise her to give her the confidence she is going to need:)
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Permalink Reply by Lara (Becca's Mom) on
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Deanna, I brought up this issue on several occasions to our pediatrician and he did not order any additional testing. It wasn't until recently that i started doing allot of research. This website has been very informative for me. Friday, I will be taking my three year old daughter to a new pediatrician and I will be going with a notepad of requests for blood tests and allergy testing. I am not going to allow doctors to wave it off like she is going to grow out of it. It's very frustrating that we have to do all our own research as half these doctors don't even know what they are looking at when they see it in front of their face.
-Lara (mom to Rebecca)
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