No idea what’s happening here, but my little girl is going bald.
She had the standard newborn hair when she first arrived, which promptly vanished and was replaced by peach fuzz within two months. It stayed like that for awhile, but by earlier this year, she was growing it just fine.
And now, it’s simply vanishing. Almost completly gone from the front and top of her head. If you run your hand through what’s left, it just comes right out. We took her to the doc the other day, and he was baffled. She’s not pulling it out, and there doesn’t seem to be any environmental reason. It’s not coming out patchy like you see with some childhood afflictions. She’s growing normally otherwise, so there’s no indication that this is a side effect of something truly bad. She’s simply balding. Fricking odd.
Fortunately, the doc noted that there are indications of new growth appearing, so hopefully this’ll be a temporary thing. She had blood work done yesterday, so we should be hearing the results of that any time now. Fingers crossed.
Oh, poor Shayla! Actually, more like poor you, since I’m sure it doesn’t bug her one bit. I think taking her to the doctor and blood tests are a good idea. Probably it’s nothing, and her final hair is just really going to start growing in now. Lots of babies lose one head of hair - maybe she’s just like those people that have three sets of teeth, only with hair instead.
If nothing shows up in the bloodwork, I strongly suggest taking her to a dermatologist. While pediatricians and other general medicine doctors are worthy of high respect in many areas, skin diseases, which this falls under, need a dermatologist’s care. Some types of alopecia are very treatable. Signs of regrowth are very positive.
We have an appointment on Monday. Our doctor referred us to a dermatologist who, and I quote, “…we don’t send referrals to anymore. We were tired of people coming back to us with complaints about how rude he is, and they’re right. He’s getting way up there in years, and he looks and sounds like an old Gestapo agent. He has no beside manner, and he’s one of the most rotten, hateful people you’ll ever meet. However, he’s also the most knowledgeable dermatologist you’ll ever meet. If there’s really a problem here, he’ll know about it”.
Well, I’m sold. I’m almost looking forward to seeing just how much of an ass this guy is.
As for alopecia, our doctor wasn’t convinced that’s the case here, since alopecia usually affects patches, not the entire head.
I’m really hoping we hear something back on the blood work soon, because when we first looked at a list of possible causes for toddler hair loss, “thyroid condition” jumped out at me. It was mentioned as being rare, but she’s got the family history for it – I have Graves, which would go a long way toward explaining things.
There are different kinds of alopecia, though, and it can be generalized and not just in patches (telogen effluvium). Good luck with the asshole doctor, I bet he will help!
Speaking of which, the other day I was wondering… how the hell does someone pick proctology as their specialty? Are they sitting around one day, thinking, “Hmmm… what kind of doctor do I want to be… oh, I know!”
My father, a surgeon, once asked a proctologist just that. He told him that proctologists have deeply grateful patients. Those are often people who often suffer horribly for years and go out of their way to hide their ailments. There is actually a very good chance that a proctologist can help them and turn their whole life around.
I remember my Dad telling me a similar thing happened to him when he was a kid. All his blonde hair fell out when he was about 3 years old, and a fresh crop of jet-black hair grew in its place!
