Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Simone Mitchell on February 19, 2009 at 1:50pm

Hi Debbie- I have a son who has had alopecia since he was about 3. I had tried a few topical treatments early on, as well as some holistic treatments. At best it gave him patches on his bald head. He is now 10. I don't know how old your son is , how long he has had it, and if he is completely bald like my son is. I came to the difficult conclusion that there is no safe, long term treatment for my son, since he lost his hair entirely at such a young age. I think if a child has patches, or it comes and goes, it is more likely that a treatment will be successful. I just keep up with the research through NAAF, and work on education and fund raising. I struggled for many years trying to fix it. If you feel it is a safe treatment, and your son wants to continue, I would give it at least a few months-- keep me posted-Simone

Permalink Reply by Debbie Lopas on February 19, 2009 at 4:52pm

Thanks Simone. My son is 10 also and has AA for about 2 1/2 years. We have tried oral steroids as well as several topical ointments. He is about 1/2 bald with patches and thinning hair all over. It goes through stages but is getting worse the older he gets. The antralin makes his head red and itchy but he does not want to stop using it. We go to the Doctor every 2 months or so and keep trying different things. It bugs me more than him. He is confident and has never been teased. Do you know how long anthralin takes to work or what the long term effects are? Is doing nothing better than trying everything?
Thanks.

Permalink Reply by Cindy on February 23, 2009 at 7:54am

HI Debbie, My 7 yr old does not do this treatment, but does squaric acid. Squaric acid has similar effects and she has goen from being completely bald to a baby head of hair. She still has a long way to go and we have not see the lashes and the brow return yet. It does take time and patience. We did not see any results for 5 months. I too usually keep trying new things because I get frustrated that noting is working, but this is. My doctor has a lot of confidence in this treatment for Sam which is why we stuck with it so long and Sam has been willing and able to deal with the side effects. I think if your son chooses to stick with this go for it. It comes to a point where you need to give something a chance to work. As parents we have to keep in mind that our children's body is not ours and ultimately it is their choice what treatment path that want to take. We can only offer support and guidance and hope that something will work.Cindy

Permalink Reply by Danielle & Lilly on March 8, 2009 at 12:07pm

Anthralin is supposed to make skin itchy and red. We had results with it but Lilly's alopecia just spread so quickly that it ws useless for us. We would treat a spot (remember when you treat a spot that you have to treat the area, up to an inch, around it, because alopecia spreads outwards) and then 3-5 spots would pop up somewhere else. Lilly was on anthralin for about a year. It takes about 2 weeks to a month to see results. keep it up. I hope it works for you.
think anthralin is safe. Minoxidil and other steroid treatments are not safe. My daughter was 6 when we started that treatment and she got very sick with diarrhea and vomitting. From what I understand, there have not been studies on the effects of steroidal treatment on children. Lilly has had alopecia since she was 4. She has lost about 75% of her hair and now we are in the process of getting her a biomatrix from hair club for kids. We are excited. This has been a tough road to travel for our family & I am sure it is tough on everyone. I am so thankful for alopecia world.