While hair loss is normal in some aging adults, hair loss in children usually indicates underlying conditions ranging from fungal infections to psychological disturbances. Most of the time the cause of a child's hair loss is temporary and easy for a pediatrician to diagnose.
Statistics
According to the American Hair Loss Association, hair loss accounts for about 3 percent of all visits to pediatric offices in the United States. Doctors can easily treat most cases of hair loss in children and the problem may go away on its own.
Fungal and Immune Causes
Tinea capitis, ringworm of the scalp, is a fungal infection that, in addition to affecting the scalp, can affect eyelashes and eyebrows. Tinea capitis typically appears as round or oval patches of hair loss, sometimes with hair still visible and broken at the root, and sometimes with occasional flaking and scaling. According to the American Hair Loss Association, tinea capitis is the most common cause of hair loss in kids.
Alopecia areata, another common cause of hair loss in children, appears as the sudden loss of round or oval patches of hair. Alopecia areata is probably triggered by an overactive immune system attacking the hair follicles.
Natural Cause
A condition known as telogen effluvium often occurs as a natural process in young infants as baby hair is replaced by mature hair. However, if telogen effluvium presents in older children, it is usually spurred by an illness that occurred a few months prior. The illness will only cause a temporary pause in the natural hair growth cycle, but the extreme amount of hair loss can be frightening to unaware parents.
Trauma or OCD
Some hair loss isn't caused by a physical illness. Trauma to the hair shaft, which may occur with too much traction (e.g., continuous styling in a tight pony-tail) or friction (e.g., constant rubbing against the bed), causes some children to lose hair.
A psychological condition known as trichotillomania, thought by many to be an obsessive-compulsive disorder, causes a child to want to pull his hair out. A child who habitually pulls his hair typically has hairs of various lengths in patchy patterns on his scalp.
Treatments
The treatment for hair loss in children depends on the cause of the hair loss. If the cause is behavioral, stopping or treating the underlying behavior will stop the loss of hair. If an illness has caused a temporary pause in the natural hair growth cycle, the hair should fully return on its own between six months and a year. Doctors treat tinea capitis with an oral antifungal such as griseofulvin, or a topical cream. While no FDA-approved treatment is yet known to cure hair loss associated with alopecia areata, some medical professionals will try treatments off-label and achieve varying levels of success.
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