Help!! No Eyelashes

I saw let her talk to someone. I did that to my hair when I was in school. Because I hated it and wanted to be with my mom. I hope she stops. but it's ok to let her talk to someone. maybe someone in the family that she feels comfortable to talk to. Best wishes too you

There is a condition called Trichotillomania that effects 65% of females. This condition entails the pullig of eyelashes, eyebrows and other types of body hair. This may not be the case, but it is worth looking into.

Hi H.,

Here's what I did when my son was thumb-sucking. Beyond the standard methods (hot pepper sauce on thumb, wrap in bandages, and constant cajoling we had to be inventive. We offered a price for being caught not sucking and he has to pay a price when we catch him sucking. He really wants a Nintento Wii so this price is very important to him. Noe when we pay him we remind him that he can spend it anyway he wants or save it for a Nintento Wii. 9 times out of ten He saves the money. He is no longer a thumb-sucker.

Good luck,

W. Q

Hi H.,

I'm sorry to hear about your daughter, once a habit begins it is very hard to stop. Their is a diagnoses for that and it is called trichotillomania. You might want to talk to your daughter's pediatrician regarding it and see if they can help. Google trichotillomania and you might be able to get some help or suggestions on the websites. I hope this helps.
J. C

It is not a habit it is a condition and you need to seek help for her.

This could be a sign of Trichotillomania, commonly known as an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pull out scalp hair, eyelashes, facial hair, nose hair, pubic hair, eyebrows, or other body hair.

Characteristics:
People with trichotillomania (nick-named trich-pronounced trick)have a tendency to literally yank out their hair. They feel isolated and angry because they feel like no one else does what they do. What many trich victims don't know is that trich affects about 11,000 women and 9,000 men in the United States. Trich is a mental disorder. People with trich may pull hair from their scalp, arms, legs, eyelashes, eyebrows, stomach, armpits, and pubic areas. There is treatment for trich. Antipsychotic medications like Risperdal are very effective. Trich can cause muscle tiredness, carpal tunnel syndrome, bald patches, itching, dandruff, and scabs. People with trich often wear scarves, hats, sunglasses, shave their heads, wear long pants, long shirts, apply fake eyelashes, and draw on their eyebrows.

Treatment:
Trichotillomania is a chronic problem, meaning that although one can recover from it, there is currently no specific cure, although OCD medications are highly effective. It can be stubborn, but with proper treatment and persistence, picking and/or pulling hairs can be greatly reduced and even brought under control (often called "hibernation"). Clinicians who are specialized in treating this problem are not always easy to find, but do have the techniques and training to bring about substantial improvement. Some often-prescribed medications include Zoloft, Celexa (Citalopram), Prozac, Risperdal, and BuSpar.

SEE CHILD'S PEDIATRICIAN.

Yes, this is a problem and I agree with alot of the others. I would get it checked out right away. Good luck and let us know .

http://www.trich.org/about_ttm/intro.asp

My friend's daughter went through the same thing. I would have the doctor check it out. There are ways of redirecting the behavior but usually in conjunction with medication.

Hi hun... I would ask your pediatritian about what you should do... I know my friend had a little girl who did it also, and it turned out to be anxiety... I would definitely discuss it with the doc... There are many things that can be done... I dont think I would punish as it is a nervous habbit like biting nails... And she may not even realize she is doing it... So I hope you find out an answer soon... Good luck...

M.

Hello H.. I agree with the other responses about OCD and trichotillomania. I guess medication is one way to go. I've heard that there can be a lot of side effects. However, OCD rituals are usually performed because the person is under some sort of stress and the rituals help to calm that stress. Something that my friend told me about is making a "Worry Box" for my son and have him write down, throughout the week, things that worry him and put them in the box. Then have a set time every week, or however often you feel necessary, and talk about those things. If you don't think she will do this with you I would definitely recommend a child psychologist who would have tricks to get her to talk about her stress. This may be something that she physically wants to stop doing but psychologically doesn't know how to cope any other way. Good luck!

H.:

Your daughters tick (pulling of the eyelashes) could be due to anxiety or medication. Is she taking any type of meds? If not, what would she be anxious about? How do she feel about the upcoming pregnancy? If it is anxiety, she needs to find other outlets to express her feelings, and reduce her anxiety. Punishing her, will do no good.

A. L

Hey H.
I don't want to worry you anymore than you already are, I just want you to have more information. I took a psychology class sevderal years ago. I remember touching on that subject. It is an actual condition. I can't remember the name of it. I'm sure if you looked it up online you could find some type of literature. It may be nothing but a phase. I just remembered it when I read your request and thought you might be interested on looking into it more. Good luck!
M.

I am certainly no expert in this but have you talked to her pediatrician about the possibility that she may be suffering from Trichotillomania? It is compulsive hair pulling, our next door neighbors daughter suffered from it years ago. She pulled out all of her eyebrows, eyelashes and began pulling clumps of hair from her head. It took psychological and pharmaceutical intervention for her to recover. Here is just one of the websites that I found that might have information for you.

http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/mental_health/tr...

R. Ann

My 9 yr old daughter has similar issues. She also twirled hair as a toddler. Her most recent issue was to chew cloth. I think you're right about it being a comfort issue. My daughter can really stress. With the toxic toy crisis, I explained why she couldn't chew her stuffed toys anymore, and have replaced that with a stress ball--squishy, nice texture. She does seem to have stopped chewing toys. For us it took a combination of explanation and replacement. You might try giving her something else to do that's safer.

That sounds very much like an obsessive compulsive disorder called Trichotillomania, it's a mental condition characterised by pulling out body hair such as scalp hair, eye brows, eye lashes. I'm no doctor but you should definately discuss this possibility with her pediatrician as it's treatable.

My guess is that it is a stress reliever for your daughter. I am 25 and I do the same thing, I started it when I was a kid and I still to this day pull out my lashes and brows when I'm stressed out, I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time until I already look like an idiot with half my brow gone and a blad eye! I have thought about trying an anxiety medicine as I have been told that would help, but meds just aren't my thing. Hopefully you can direct your daughters anxiety onto something else and will save her a lifetime of weird stares at her wonky looking brows and lashes! lol!

Maybe you should have her tested for OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder). This is sometimes a symptom and can easily be controlled with meds. Other things that might indicate if that is the case would be irritation from the tags in clothing or the seams in socks, disliking sticky things on her, or needing things done in a certain order or counting.

You might point out to her that it takes two years for an eyelash to grow. That's a long time!

I went to high school with a girl who did that--I think it is actually a physical or pyschological disorder. You might talk to your doctor about it. I think it even has a name.

Hi H.,

I am so sorry to hear about that! I hope it is not something that will give you both trouble.
I have a suggestion in cas eit is not the condition mention before.
I used to mess up my hair when I was a child to confort me and then found that it couldn't be combed in the mornings because I have it so tangled! I did it mainly when I was going to sleep.
I would talk to your doctor first and make sure that it is not a medical condition, and if it is not, try switching her hair for a doll's hair, one with pretty soft hair (poor doll!:) It will be worth it if she can switch to the doll instead of herself and it won't hurt!
My daugher needs to massage something soft and silky when she goes to sleep, a ribbon, a night gown, a doll with a saten dress, etc.
If it is conforting at night time, that might be it, you never know and if it has turned into a habit like thumb sucking (my little one does it) it is difficult to break. Somethign soft or cuddly can also work. Show her how to pull a doll's hair and see what happens, she might realize about the whole thing too.
Well, just a thought, hope you can help her and let us know how it turns out.
Best of luck!
Mariana Abadie
www.MyKidsFirst.com

maybe try to talk to your dr b.c there is a condition where for some reason people will pull out their hair I'm not sure if that covers eyelashes and eyebrows but it might be something you might want to check into.