Comment by amma on August 4, 2011 at 8:52pm

I was diagnosed when I was 11, but mine started falling out around the crown of my head. It was a very depressing time for me, and it still is. I'm 17 now, and I still have problems in high school with people. They can be very cruel. Before I lost my hair completely, it would come out in patches, while the rest was long and thick. Unfortunely, my lucious locks didn't stay long after that. My hair is finally coming back in, a little curly. Which is exciting for me. Don't give up hope, and don't let your son get down. He will over come it. It's an experience that will make him stronger, and he'll even discover his true friends. Hope this helps!

Comment by cindy Babs on August 5, 2011 at 8:43am

Hi. Alopecia is unpredictable ...unfortunately. one doesn't know ever what Will happen next. He could grow it back and never have it again. It could progress to more hair loss and grow back and fall out again. One never knows. For eyebrows there is a steroid cream that can sometimes b effective. I'llfriend u. Its on my comment page. I do know that its on backorder at my pharmacy. My daughter also had steroid injections in her eyebrows. It wasn't effective enough to continue so we stopped but it doesn't mean treatment won't b effective for u. C a dermatologist. No matter what your son will b okay. okay. Try not to despair. There is a ton of support on here to help u. We r here for you :).have a good day.

Comment by Garfield on August 5, 2011 at 9:17am

I want to say thanks for the feedback I have received, trying to digest so much information in such a short period of time is a little overwhelming however the support and feedback helps so much THANK YOU.

Comment by Tallgirl on August 5, 2011 at 1:04pm

He could also look at the alopecian teens having fun at the NAAF Conference at www.naaf.org. Go to Conferences and Events or see lower left for the slide show link (from June's conference in Los Angeles). Next year it is in Washington, D.C. There are also videos made by boys on this Alopecia World site.

Comment by AJ on August 6, 2011 at 7:54am

Hi Garfield.
I was diagnosed quite recently. I came on the site and asked pretty much the same thing - what now?? But as everyone says, it's unpredictable. Could be a mild case, could be a severe case, and might well be worse/better at different times in your life. Firstly - just joining this site was fantastic! There's so much support and information here.
There are treatments that people try, but they don't seem to work for everybody, and the overwhelming view seems to be that they can sometimes be more stress than they're worth. But that's a subjective topic...
For me, in the inital 'dealing' with the diagnosis, it was more about getting my head around it (no pun intended!) mentally.
You're shocked, you're scared, you're confused, you're freaking out. You're embarrassed!! I imagine your son might be experiencing a lot of these things. Kids especially (I certainly remember I felt this way at that age) can really hate to feel they're 'different' from everyone else. It's a fragile stage in life where you're just figuring out your identity, and building the confidence towards becoming more independent.
But try not to worry too much. It is a traumatic thing, to lose hair, but everybody, kids included (kids especially a lot of the time!) has heaps of strength - even if it's a bit wobbly at times.
Your son clearly has loving and supportive family - and that's the main thing taken care of. If I were you, drawing on my own recent experience, I'd advise you try and let your son know that this IS a big deal in terms of he's allowed to feel upset and everybody's there for him - but at the same time it's NOT a big deal, because he's still the same person and DOES NOT need to feel ashamed or embarrassed, and come what may, everything will be fine.
So talk about it, but on his terms.
And make sure that everything else goes on as normal - playing sports, out with his friends, etc. When I first started losing my hair I was in a state of panic and thought, right - everything else is on hold now, I can't go out in case it all suddenly falls out, I need to spend hours on the web reading about treatments, if I go bald what will happen/how will I cope/will everyone judge me??! Then you realise to a large extent, it's out of your control, and obsessing about the what ifs just really gets you down!!
Hopefully your son will have a very mild case. A male friend of mine had some facial alopecia, it didn't spread, grew back after about six months, and years on, he never had more since.
Or there is a chance it could spread, or return in the future. But that is only a CHANCE, not a definite, and whatever happens, it really will be fine.
Good luck x

Comment by Bianca on August 8, 2011 at 9:50am

My son is 8. Alopecia started last year in April. At first it was just a small spot at his head. He didn´t want to talk about it fo ra long time. You should tell him that you will be there to talk about it when he wants too. My son came to ask his questions during the last winter - only 3 months before he lost all his hair.
I told my son that he is still a normal young boy. I told him that there are thin or thick people, some people need glasses and others don´t need it, some people have long hair and some people don´t have hair. It is normal to be like that.
Well, he will have his 9th birthday this week. Alopecia startes 1 year and 4 months ago. I´m so proud that he still does his sports and meets his friends. All children in his class know that he has alopecia universalis. They still visit him, play with him and like him.
It is important that YOU show him that everything is o.k. with him. There is no reason to hide something.....
I always told my son that he still can go out to the playground, without headgear. It was a hard time during the first months, but now it isn´t a problem for him any longer.
Maybe your son won´t lose all his hair. Maybe it is just a short perios where he loses some hair from the eyebrow.
Talk about it to him when HE wants it. If he doesn´t want to talk about it - just tell him that you will be there for him to talk if he wants to......

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