Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Laura B on September 29, 2013 at 3:37pm

Wow, thank you for posting this. My 10yo daughter was just diagnosed and I am researching and the statistics are terrifying. I don't know how to explain to her that she might lose more hair, and might lose all her hair. So for now I haven't told her any of the results of what I am reading and finding out. It would just make her sad, so I think I will wait until it happens again and address it then.

I am adopted and don't have a medical background, and it is very frustrating to not know. I am going to have DNA and other testing done though, so we can be better prepared for what might come.

It is nice to know that there is hope....thanks!
Laura

Permalink Reply by Annette on October 21, 2013 at 3:08am

Hi - I am a mother of 4 children (13, almost 12, 9½ and 5 years old) - three of my children have alopecia:

My daughter got one spot 3½ years ago (1 cm) - it is still the same size and she didn´t get any other spots (she was 8 when I discovered her spot and she never get a treatment).

My oldest son (now 13) got 3-4 spots when he was 7 years old - and they were pritty big. He got a kind of light-therapy and all hair came back within a half year. About one year later he got 2 spots again - but no treatment - and all hair came back anyway. Right now he has got all his hair.

My youngest son (9½) got 1 spot 8 weeks ago (ca. 1 cm big) - he is loosing some hair but you can´t really see any difference.

(My sister in law has alopecia universalis).

I really hope that we are lucky and that my children "just" have alopecia areata and not totalis/universalis..... But WHO knows??

Permalink Reply by Pam on December 6, 2013 at 9:03pm

Thank you for this post Lynn - My son had his first (and I hope last) bout this year with AA....Thankfully, all his hair has now grown back.  I hope he never experiences this again.....

Permalink Reply by Lisav on January 15, 2014 at 9:13am

Hi

Thank you for all your posts.  My daughter lost all her hair at age 9 in six weeks in Oct/Nov 2012.  In January 2013 she lost her eyebrows and eyelashes.  We decided not to go down the steroid route and yes  - the statistics were scary, especially as it started at the back of her head and that she lost it all so quickly.  However we have followed some natural treatments (vitamins and diet change) and chinese medicine and her hair is growing back patchily on her head and eyebrows and eyelashes. I am a great believer in positive thinking. It was great to hear your positive experiences!!

By the way no one in my family has alopecia, some have other auto-immune diseases but I am beginning to think these conditions have more to do with imbalances in the body, intestinally inefficiencies or hormonal changes and psychological effects.  There is more to it than that of course but Laura B do not feel bad about not having any medical history to go on. I know my family's medical history but it hasn't helped.

I am convinced too that making my daughter believe her hair will grow back has helped.

Keep spreading those positive stories!

Permalink Reply by Laura B on January 15, 2014 at 11:52am

Thanks Lisa! It is amazing to hear your uplifting story and it gives me hope. My daughter's dime-sized patch has seemed to grow back, and it happened back in June, so that is only about a 6-7 month cycle. My mother-in-law does have MS, which is an autoimmune disorder, so it is possible that has some influence. I am so glad we didn't do the steroids, because I have been reading about the side effects and it isn't pretty. I am trying to change our eating habits, slowly but surely integrating more fresh fruits and whole grains. I have been investigating going gluten free after my daughter realized that the pre-made frozen pancakes make her extremely gassy, so we are doing some experimentation to figure out if it was really that or not.

I have started her on some vitamins, like zinc and multivitamins, and biotin. So all we can do is our best to avoid stress, eat properly, and have a great attitude about life.  Thanks for all the support you guys!

Permalink Reply by Laura B on February 28, 2014 at 5:04pm

Update on my daughter Holly and her dime-sized patch....the hair that grew back there sticks straight up in the air and is very curly! Holly has very straight, fine but thick, dark hair (we are caucasian) and the patch that fell  out in a perfect circle and was bright white and shiny now has a tuft of hair about 1.5 inches that stands up high (it is right on the top of her head about an inch back from her forehead on her center part). I have heard stories of when the hair grows back, it can go from straight to curly and vice versa. And sure enough, it is curly and nothing else is. We glue it down with hair gel for now since it sticks straight up, and perhaps as it grows longer the hair will fall to one side or another. Holly is now 11 (5th grade) and mentioned that was where the hair fell out. We did virtually nothing to "assist" the hair growing back. No topical solutions. We did add some vitamins to her daily intake (which didn't really ever stick into the daily routine) and we are eating more fruit. Other than that, she really didn't want to try anything.

Hopefully this gives people hope. For now it is one day at a time. Hang in there!

Permalink Reply by Lynn AKA Mom of 2 w/AA on February 28, 2014 at 9:00pm

Hi ladies!  I apologize that I did not respond to your posts sooner.  My two kids have still not had any re-occurence of A.A., and I've been dealing with hum-drum regular life.  However, I will never forget how I searched for any positive information about young kids having A.A. and how difficult it is when your child is diagnosed.  I just want to write:  Bless your hearts for sharing positive information!  You have surely given hope to so many people :o)

Permalink Reply by Laura B on March 1, 2014 at 11:48am

Also wanted to mention that the first occurrence of alopecia in my daughter at age 10 was around a very stressful time in her life (all of our lives). We had our house up for sale because I simply was going in debt trying to keep paying for it. I was selling it myself, which made me stressed, plus we had to keep it tidy EVERY single day bc people were coming over with only 15 min notice to view the house. We were purging lots of old stuff and she was having to donate lots of toys so we could clear stuff. We put lots of stuff in a storage unit. We were packing as we were purging. The stress was unreal. Then to top it off, my 15yo daughter, who had been struggling with teen hormones plus what we now know is ADD and bipolar disorders, was really in a bad place and we had to put her in a hospital for a few days due to cutting issues, severe depression, and some suicide attempts. Then she moved out to stay with a family friend in an effort to give me and Holly some relief from the constant arguments, violence, and hurt. So I honestly think all this happening in March of last year had something to do with Holly's hair falling out about 6-8 weeks later. 

Now to avoid other occurrences of alopecia, I really try to keep the stress levels down, I keep my voice calm no matter what, and I try to have better ways to deal with her roller coaster of hormones that is starting. Those of you with girls know exactly what I mean: the way-too-easlily hurt feelings and the sobbing that results from simply asking your daughter to brush her hair! Things like that. So when she starts escalating her emotions, I try to stay calm and back off and give her time to cool down. it isn't worth proving my point and making her feel bad or like an idiot because she forgot to do something. I have found that this works really well. And I can give myself time to cool off too and decide if it is even worth addressing later. Often it isn't. I pick my battles. Nothing is worth stressing her so much that her hair falls out again. Except safety issues. Those I address later and explain why it is important to follow safety rules.I am saying all this bc in my research, I read about a woman who lost her hair at three critical stages in her life, like college exams, wedding, and something else, and that the stress of those events caused hair loss that worsened with each event. So I am trying to not have anymore of those events. :)

So stay positive, and when annoyed with your kids just count to ten and try to say your reminder like you were talking to your boss. You will be amazed at how much better it sounds and how it is received.