new dx (and other things)

Post Reply New Topic

This doesn't have much to do with AS but I wanted to share.

We noticed an asymmetrical bald spot on Nate a few days ago. It seemed to appear over night (seriously in about three or four days).
It is a little bigger than a dollar coin. A dermatologist dx him Alopecia and gave him some steroid shots on the part that is bald. The derm has no idea if this is a one time occurrence or if it's life long. I guess the only consistency thing about Alopecia is the inconsistency. There is a 90% chance that he will grow his hair back in that area. He may develop more patches of hair loss through out his life - severity depends on the person. The derm refused to give any statistics but that one mentioned above. There is also a chnace that he may go completely bald which may occur at any time. It's hard to tell. I guess it's autoimmune.

The spot is on the top of his head so he is unable to notice it. We tell him it's "way cool" so he hasn't been affected at all. He wants to grow a Mohawk and we will let him. We have no idea what will happen but we will let him do whatever he wants with his hair in the meantime - we will let him some fun. We have some hair goo to help it stick up! He seems to be developing another bald spot on the front of his head and the rest of his hair is really thinning in some places. If that's the case, the outlook probably looks long term. We don't make a big deal out of it around him. We are being optimistic because we really don't know. He is a pretty tough young man who seems to have a good self esteem. If he has it, then he has it.

We will just continue to let him be involved in activities he wants to. We just want him to be happy. Right now he seems pretty happy, as long as he sees the neighbor girls.
One girl plays legos with him and helps him build things.- she is pretty good (sister has aspergers, other has ADHD). They just finished a pretty neat kite yesterday and will finish it up today. Tomorrow they will paint a bench.

Next week Nate and I will help our neighbor remodel the bathroom. Nate will have the time of his life!!

It is frustrating to think that he'll have one more thing that kids can tease him about. I hope it proves to be a minor condition.

This probably isn't relevent, but my daughter developed a bald spot a few years ago, along with psorisis (sorry, I can't spell for the life of me and this browser doesn't spell check). ANYWAY, hoping it was just an allergy, I started having her use my shampoo (no sulphates; I have an allergy). It cleared up beautifully. I can't believe more people don't realize how irritating the sulfates can be. Try eliminating them - it not change the condition, but it certainly can't hurt, and at least sulphate free shampoo won't aggrevate it.

I'm sorry that your son is having yet another problem. I hope it will turn out to be mild.

Natesmom,

I think alopecia would be more gradual and random. Do they know if he has allergies, parasites, etc? The THINNING sounds like a hormone problem, but that is more gradual and consistant.

Anyway, if I were you, I would be looking for another opinion.

BTW some IDIOT barber once shaved off ALL my hair! I HATED it! I hope nate has an easier time.

Ah, also if you would like to rule out allergies, but do not want to spend money on a special shampoo you can use baking soda. We recently started using it. You mix a couple of tablespoons in water and just pour it on then scrub.

Actually thinking about it, I guess you would have to try it on a hand first to make sure your son did not hate the feeling of it. Much like salt it changes the texture of the water even if it is dissolved.

If ONLY that were possible! Allergies are RARELY contact only. In fact, those are INCREDIBLY rare and probably wouldn't affect the hair at all. So bakingsoda only has a partial chance of MAYBE limiting the progressive absorption of things still on the epidermis. Items that are being absorbed, have been absorbed, or are later contacted will STILL affect the person. Obviously, it ALSO won't limit the effect of parasites either, for the most part.

Bakingsoda can do a LOT of good, but here it isn't that great. HECK, I guess it won't even help poison ivy!

The derm told us that Alopecia could occur quickly. I have been looking it up on the internet but I am no expert. You could be right. I will get a second opinion, though.

WTH? I barber shaved off all your hair once? I would have been mad.

I was thinking hormone problems as well. Before this all happened, I was thinking about going to an endocrinologist. I have some adrenal problems and just started taking meds this week for it. Other family members have thyroid problems. We need to set up an appt with his gastro pediatrician, too. When I saw her for my other child, she told me she wanted to do an updated panel including hormone tests and malabsorption disorders.

I have always wondered about parasites and have mentioned it but they haven't done anything about it. Perhaps I need to be more persistent.

We use baby shampoo - that is pretty easy on the hair. The derm stated that an allergy wouldn't cause the bald spot. I have never thought about sulfates either I guess there is a lot of things I haven't considered.



I am trying to post a picture on here but my husband uses Ubuntu (open source) and I have been unable to figure it out. I will keep on trying.

I actually meant that you could use baking soda INSTEAD of shampoo! It absorbs your hairs oils, but not as badly as shampoo does, and it has the added benefit of not having a strong odor.