There are a variety of conditions which are known to cause hair loss; children are sadly not
exempt from many of these conditions or the symptoms displayed. While most everyone is familiar with the pictures of the brave young cancer fighters who have lost hair because of the cancer treatments, there are other ailments which are also contributory.
Take for example alopecia areata which is a well known illness that causes hair loss. Not only will this ailment lead to visible hair loss on the human head, yet it also directly affects the hair on other areas of the body, such as the pubic area – in case of teens - or the face. At times this leads to the loss of eyebrows, and even eye lashes which causes many a child to feel rather self conscious because of the startling facial difference the lack of this hair makes.
When it comes to hair loss, children will need to be carefully examined and monitored for a host of ailments.
- In cases where alopecia areata appears as a loss of patches of hair – rather than straight up hair loss – there is the chance that an autoimmune disease is beginning to materialize in the child’s overall physical makeup. If caught early enough the odds of effectively treating the condition are high.
- Blood work needs to be an immediate response to the development of patches lacking hair.
- Parents will be wise to take pictures of the bald spots as they develop and also mark down the dates of appearance to assist doctors in arriving at an accurate diagnoses and then prescribing a proper course of treatment.
- Do not seek to undo the baldness on your child’s head or skin until a cause has been found and treated. Thereafter, a number of drugs are available which will successful undo the damage done by alopecia areata.
Later on, treatment with not only an available hair loss drug but also the injections of steroids is a viable treatment, especially if the hair loss temporarily reoccurs in spite of aggressive treatment of the underlying causes. It is very interesting to note that it is not only grown up and children who are affected by this hair loss; instead, it is also noticed within the animal kingdom.
Many an owner of show dogs – dachshunds in particular – has known the sudden onset of alopecia areata to spell the end of a successful show dog career. As a matter of fact, when you peruse the literature germane to the industry you will find that discussions with respect to the early spotting of alopecia areata and hair loss reversal are almost always a topic of discussion. Unlike their human counterparts, dogs experience alopecia areata as a response to a parasitic infection or even an allergy problem; the latter of course is a well documented problem in purebred animals across the board. Treatment of pets or show dogs is not nearly as involved as it is for their human counterparts and an elimination of the allergen or parasite will usually reward the dog owner with an immediate reversal of the condition.
