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Comment by Ellen on June 11, 2016 at 9:34am

YOU GO, GIRL! I wish I was so quick-tongued :)

Anyway, I have something to say on this subject. I had first episodes of AA in my 20's before I had kids.  I also had eczema until into my 20's. Then after I had kids I had another episode of AA in my 30's and finally got AU at the age of 47. Now, on to my kids. My daughter has eczema, which I am pretty sure she got from me, and my son developed Diabetes type 1 at the age of 23, which is very unusual, but the point is  -  ekzema, diabetes 1 , alopecia and even god forbid, cancer are ALL  AUTOIMMUNE conditions, and you MAY pass on some predisposition to an autoimmune disease, but not specifically to alopecia. Diabetes 1 is also an autoimmune disease and there was no way of predicting it would strike a perfectly healthy young man. My kids are aware of this and I think my daughter secretly has this worry, but life will tell..Medicine makes progress, except with alopecia I think that the cure is worse than the condition itself. 

What is more important is that you are beautiful, vibrant and best of luck to you! You summed it up pretty well, you will raise your kids as good people and you will be an awesome mommy, that's what matters.

Comment by Barbara B on June 11, 2016 at 8:08am

What a great topic for an alopecian conversation! I wanted to extend my appreciation for your willingness to accept her curiosity, yet uniquely inform her about her lack of knowledge about the alopecian community. I have been AU for over 43 years and wondered about having children who could be diagnosed with alopecia. Both of my children (32 and 24) have hair and so does my grandchildren. I am the only person who has been diagnosed with AU within our family system. This condition is not genetically "passed" from generation to generation. Studies have shown many different reasons for the onset of the condition, not genetics alone. They have found that other autoimmune diseases (in other family members) have been linked to those diagnosed with alopecia. Fortunately, there is research being conducted to determine what causes the onset of AA, AT, and AU (autoimmune forms of alopecia). Hopefully, there will success for finding a cure! I would encourage the alopecia community to continue educating others about our journey and perhaps it will offer more insight for that person and others. I wish you well, and if you have babies, be the best mom ever!

Bald Mom & MeMee (Dr. Barbara Buchanan)

Comment by Kat127 on June 11, 2016 at 7:55am

I am so glad to have found this post. I have had androgenic alopecia since I was 14. I am a single woman and this has greatly affected my dating life because of this very topic. Although I can wear hair and cover it up will men still be weary to date me bc of the possibility that this could be passed down to my children? I am the only one with alopecia on both sides of my family for 3 generations. In fact everyone else has extremely thick, healthy hair. But since I do carry it, does this increase my future child's chance? I have no idea how to answer this question when posed to me since I simply do not know.

Comment by Shannon on June 11, 2016 at 1:56am

Hello! I'm glad your asked this question. I have actually met several people with alopecia who say they don't want to have children because they don't want to pass it to them. I think that is a very sad reason to choose whether or not you have a family. My father is AT and he and my mother had 11 children. I am the only one with alopecia. Of course it is possible that one of my siblings might manifest it later, but the youngest is 37 and so far no signs of it from the other 10 children. And I can say that my father did feel terribly that i had inherited his autoimmune issues, but he certainly didn't wish I'd never been born. On the contrary, he and I have a very special relationship. I would happily inherit alopecia 100 times over again if I could guarantee having him as my father. A better man doesn't exist. Anyway...I have 4 biological children myself (and one adopted). They range in age from 5 to 14. So far none of them have exhibited any signs of alopecia. And I hope and pray they never do. But that is because it is hard for parents to see their children go thru any hardship. It is also hard to see them fall and scrape their knees when they're learning to run. And I would like to spare them broken hearts and hurt feelings and rejection and sorrow. But that is part of life and makes us stronger... Especially if we have loving and strong parents to help to guide us along on our life's journey. I personally find it offensive that somebody would tell me that I should consider not having children. But to each his own. Best of luck to you! PS I have 4 friends with alopecia and so far none of their children have showed signs of it.

Comment by csmbThomas on June 11, 2016 at 1:41am

Hello everyone. That question was very insensitive. I have had alopecia since I was 9 and I lost all of my hair but after puberty it grew back. I still have a bald spot in the back of my head but that doesn't bother me. I have worked boys and I did pass alopecia on to my youngest son, which was my worst nightmare. He is very strong and I pray we can control it through diet (anti inflammatory). I have done a lot of research on the disease and I will continue to try everything I can to protect him from mean people. If I had to do it again I would have children. We are beautiful people with or without hair....

Comment by The Bald & Beautiful on June 11, 2016 at 1:33am

The ignorance and lack of compassion in some people leaves me baffled at times. To answer your question, yes, I'd be aware and concerned that my children could potentially have Alopecia, but that would NEVER make me question having my own children. I'd rather not have Alopecia myself & would never want my children to suffer from it. However, no person ever born has been physically perfect. Everyone passes on strengths as well as weaknesses to their children whether it be a condition like Alopecia or any other potential health problem. We're all perfectly imperfect and those imperfections make us unique and give us the ability to empathize with other people's struggles. Your children will be beautiful whether they have a full head of hair or they're bald. What they won't be is perfect. None of us are!

Comment by Jen on February 22, 2016 at 1:38pm

And to answer the question of your post- It is often hereditary. I am the third generation of women to have it in my family. My grandmother very mildly, only upon injury to the scalp, my mother a little more so with random AA, and me AU. 

Comment by Jen on February 22, 2016 at 1:36pm

I shared your post with my husband and he had some good insight - "I really feel like the only people who say anything to you are seriously lacking something in their own lives and, whether they intend their questioning in a malicious way or not, the questions almost always end up circling back to their own curiosities and insecurities and have nothing to do with you. I wish there was a way to politely end the conversation before you get to the conclusion above." I have been and will continue politely shifting the conversation to the person asking the intimate questions, by asking them SUPER personal questions. If they think I have cancer and they really want to talk about their own cancer experience I ask them ALL ABOUT IT, what type, what treatments etc. I find most people really want to talk about themselves. I wouldn't have been able to say the IQ thing but I'M SO GLAD YOU DID!!!! If this person did have any empathy or manners, she wouldn't be so rude to ask a stranger about it at all. 

Comment by Sharalexis on February 14, 2016 at 2:22am

there were some tests u could do that I read about in the 90's. but they are uncomfortable and I don't think many people nor children would want to undergo these muscle puncture tests

Comment by Brie on January 26, 2016 at 8:50pm

You are AWESOME! You handle her comments so well and I know i could not have asked that. From what I have researched and been told there is no answer to weather Alopecia (of any type) can be passed down. Hopefully by the time that our children have to worry about it there will be a cure and maybe even ways to prevent it :)

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