Hair Loss in Children: Causes and Treatments

The majority of children suffering from hair loss do so because of the following conditions. All should be easily diagnosed by your pediatrician or by a pediatric dermatologist.

Tinea capitis

Tinea capitis is the most common cause of hair loss in children. It is a disease caused by a superficial fungal infection of the skin of the scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes, with a propensity for attacking hair shafts and follicles. The disease is considered to be a form of superficial mycosis or dermatophytosis.

Several other names are used when referring to this infection, including ringworm of the scalp and tinea tonsurans. In the U.S. and other regions of the world, the incidence of tinea capitis is increasing.

Children with tinea capitis usually have patchy hair loss with some broken-off hairs visible just above the surface of the scalp. The patches of hair loss are usually round or oval, but sometimes irregular. Sometimes the hairs are broken right at the surface, and look like little black dots on the scalp. Sometimes you can see gray flakes or scales.

• Diagnosis: The best way for your doctor to diagnose any type of fungal infection in the skin is by scraping the area, and looking at the specimen under a microscope to see if it contains fungi.
• Treatment: Tinea capitis is usually treated with an antifungal, such as griseofulvin, taken by mouth for eight weeks.

Tinea capitis is also treated with Nizoral shampoo, which is used to wash the scalp two to three times a week. It is very important to continue the use of the oral medication and shampoo for eight weeks. Treatment failure is common when medications are not taken every day for the entire time.

Children who have tinea capitis are not required to leave school if treatment is taken as directed. Most children are not contagious when using the oral medication and shampoo.