Childrens Hair Loss - Alopecia

As the parent of a child suffering from hair loss, you want the safest solution to your child's problem. However there is a lot of conflicting data on the web.

The good news is that in many children with alopecia hair loss, a small patch can correct itself without treatment. In many children it reverses on its own and may be gone for ever. In some cases the childs alopecia may return at a later date. There is currently no way of being certain.

However the dilemma that a parent such as you faces is that in many children the patch (or patches) can spread rampantly and may extend to the eyebrows and eye lashes too. So it is difficult to just wait and hope that in your child it stays contained.

That is why we encourage parents of such children with alopecia hair loss to seek help as fast as possible. The standard medical treatment is Corticosteroids which act on the immune system by blocking the production of substances that trigger allergic and inflammatory actions.

However, they also impede the function of white blood cells which destroy foreign bodies and help keep the immune system functioning properly. This immune suppression increases susceptibility to infection so this is not a treatment that can be used over a prolonged period of time.

What is known about alopecia areata in children is that it is a malfunction of the auto-immune system. Many parents try to pin-point what exactly brought about its onset. Whatever the reason for the onset of your child's alopecia, the treatment we use is always the same.