For about the past 18 months or so my 12 yr old daughter's hair has been thinning. The ped has run blood tests for RA, thyroid, and iron--all supposedly within normal ranges. Therefore, the docs basically brush it off since "the tests are normal". I'm upset because it seems that since it may not be what they thought---oh well! They just stopped investigating. I am looking into new pediatricians, but in the meanwhile does anyone else have or know of a situation where a lovely young girl just starts to shed hair with no other symptoms?
Her hair was always fine, but normal thickness, but now it is so thin she gets sunburn easily on her scalp and her hair is getting so oily everyday and she has to wash it twice daily or it looks as if she hasn't showered in a week! She is a very healthy eater, takes a daily vitamin and drinks lots of water. She doesn't have stress (esp. since its summer vacation and she's just doing activities and having fun and relaxing). I'm at my wits end as to what is happening. I'm concerned that I'm not seeing new hair growth. An endo even cleared her and said, "So, she has thin hair." What????? I even showed pictures of how her hair was 2 yrs ago compaired to now---major difference!! Derm said it's not alopecia since not patchy loss or bald spots, but sent us off with $60 shampoo that just started to dry her out and make her itchy, so we stopped that. Please help if you can I really appreciate it and apologize for the lengthy question.
I'd also continue to investigate. Was the derm a pediatric derm? If not, try that subspecialty. Also try taking her to an endocrinologist to see if there are hormone issues.
has she gone through puberty yet? I had SUPER thick, straight hair when I was younger... once I hit puberty it thinned down quite a bit, and went really curly.
I'm really not sure. Has she been on any medications? Has she had vaccinations recently? Any diet change? Water change? Started her period recently? I don't know. I'm just brainstorming ideas. I would continue to seek answers if I were you. Good idea to change peds. Searching the internet can get scary results many times, but I would probably do that (I am sure you are!). I hope someone has an answer. Oh, I would take her to a naturopath also. And a chiro. I just would. They might have more insight than a pharma-trained doctor.
I have a feeling it has to do with hormones as well. I would also take her to another endo and ask her to be checked for PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). You just never know and it is better to check everything out. Check out soulcysters.com - they have a teen message board as well.
You are her mom - the one who knows your daughter the best. If you feel something is not right - keep going until you are satisfied. Good luck and keep us posted.
C.
Is it possible it may be the hormones because now she is getting her period and turning into a "woman?" I only say this because when I got my period when I was 12 I didn't lose my hair but I remember it being SO oily, it was ridiculous. Also when I was pregnant with both my children, I lost ALOT of hair. My hair used to be very thick. Also the hair on my legs grows very slowly and sparse now. It used to grow in like I could braid it! I don't have to shave more than once a month now for the past 5 yrs since I was pregnant with my daughter. I would either A) bring this up to the old or new pediatrician or B) consider taking her to the OBGYN who specializes in the area of hormones and things. Good luck and hope this helps.
I have to talk to a woman I know through my husband (I am an online friend of hers) as she has alopecia and I was surprised to hear that as she HAS had hair, sometimes long, since I've known her! I think it just got really thin with her too. I will ask and write you back. Definitely keep looking for answers. I hate when doctors just throw their hands up. Gee, sorry if you might actually have to look HARD for an answer. <shaking my head at some doctors>
I feel really awful for your daughter. Definitely go to new docs. Research who is REALLY good. New York Magazine does an annual cover story on "the best doctors"-- maybe you could find a new endo/pediatrician that way. Perhaps a specialist in "infectious diseases" should see her. Was she checked for Lyme disease? There is a physician in NYC named Ronald Hoffman. He specializes in medical and natural medicine. He has a radio show on WOR710 am. You could call him (for free) and ask his advice/opinion. Perhaps he would have some insight that would help you when you talk to new doctors. Years ago my friend's daughter had thinning hair at around age 4-5. Apparently she had a viral infection. Sometimes these things are VERY difficult to diagnose.
What is in the vitamin? Any chance she is getting too much of one vitamin? I think too much vitamin A (not water-soluble) can cause hair thinning.
Are you sure it's more thin overall, or is it just that her scalp area is getting bigger as she grows and her head gets larger, but the volume of hair is the same? It's not fun to have thin hair, and she may just unfortunately be cursed with it. Keep researching, but check out the toxic effects of too much of certain vitamins.
There are many reasons for thinning hair.
When it is thinning up in the front on top of the head, my first thought is a fungal overgrowth infection in the gut.
Thyroiditis is still a possibility- most of the thyroid tests are a joke. You have to be super over the top out of whack to register illness on them. Many sick people register normal on them. It's because of the way they set the limits on them. Taking her basal body temp in the morning , right when she wakes but before rising, will give you a better picture that something is amiss. Go online and look up basal body temp for thyroid.
I am on an yahoo e- loop for iodine.Many people on there support the protocol of taking internal iodine to support the thyroid.
taking raw virgin coconut oil, a couple teaspoons a day by mouth, benefits the thyroid. The EFA'as in it are the needed precursors to building thyroid hormones. specifically, progesterone.
Progesterone keeps the testosterone and estrogen from becoming dominant. Both testosterone and estrogen dominance can make hair thin and fall out. Along with taking raw virgin coconut oil to make progesterone, stay away from soy products which are estrogenic(watch labels, it is in everything.) There is a product online called progestille which can be applied to the skin- it is progesterone.
Check out the website: wrongdiagnosis.com...type in her symptom- it will give you all the possiblities for thinning hair..
Starting in my tween years until after menopause my hair was oily. I learned that the more I washed it the oilier it became. A doctor told me that washing hair stimulates the oil glands. The shampoo briefly dries out the skin which kicks the oil glands into producing more oil. I suggest that if she continued to wash her hair twice a day with the prescription shampoo the shampoo probably made her condition worse by drying out her scalp and creating a dry scalp along with more oil or perhaps less oil but with the itchiness.
I found that I had to stop washing my hair everyday and that there was a transition time during which my scalp continued to produce too much oil but gradually my hair became less oily. I think I shampooed twice a week using a very mild shampoo. I also stopped using conditioner which adds more oil to the oil produced by my scalp.
As an adult, I began shampooing every other morning . I found a shampoo for oily hair and I only lathered once with a very small amount of this special shampoo. I did not scrub my scalp. I tried 2-3 shampoos until I found one that worked for me. I still did not use a conditioner. I think the shampoo I used was from Mitchell. I used the one recommended by a beautician for oily hair.
After menopause I've been able to shampoo once a week. This causes me to believe that the oil scalp is related to hormone production. I still do not use a conditioner. Now that it's summer I'm back to twice a week but come winter I can go back to once a week.
Shampooing less often feels counter intuitive but it worked for me.
I suggest that over shampooing could irritate the scalp and cause hair thinning. My hair is gradually becoming thinner since menopause which could also indicate a hormonal cause for your daughter.
Here is another product to try:
http://healinghappens.myshaklee.com/us/en/products.php?sk...
I also use a shampoo and conditioner that go along with it. I don't think it will dry out her hair, but it can be returned if it does.
It is most likely the change in hormones. Hair loss is totally normal for a woman after she has a baby due to the change in hormones, and after breastfeeding ends, it thickens again. Did that happen to you? It did for both my babies and it was awful having chunks of hair come out in the shower and the first time it was totally scary and I thought I was seriously going to go bald, but eventually I learned that everyone else I knew experienced the same thing and I stopped worrying and lo and behold, it grew back!
Hopefully that's all that's happening with your daughter but I'm not an MD and I'm just offering a thoughtful guess...Good luck!
try a low iron supplement. my blood always reads in the normal range, but i was always tired and i felt like my hair was thinning. i have been taking an extra iron supplement for a while now and definitely see an improvement.
Have you covertly watched her to see if she's pulling it out herself and is too embarrassed to tell you? Right about her age is when trichotillomania manifests. It's compulsive hair pulling. It would explain the thinness AND the greasiness because running your fingers in your hair for long periods of time to pull out strand by strand can grease it up.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trichotillomania
She may not even realize she's doing it. Night time right before bed or during study time when she's zoned out in a book could be trigger times.
How is it going for your daughter? I have the same situation with my 17 year old. I don't understand how a thick head of hair has become so thin, with the same doctor responses you noted. I am so worried!
