Causes of Hair Loss in Children

According to Children’s Cancer Research Fund, 80% of childhood cancer cases can be successfully treated. The more common types of cancer in children include brain and neural tumors, leukemias, lymphomas and sarcomas. Just like adults, when children are experiencing their treatments, such as chemotherapy, side effects can cause the child to lose their hair. Typically, hair loss begins several weeks after the first or second chemotherapy treatment — but this varies by individual.

Alopecia areata is labeled as an autoimmune disease. The immune system mistakenly attacks the hair follicles, causing the hair to fall out. Completely bare patches appear over the span of one to several days. There is no cure or drugs approved to treat alopecia, and care is ongoing.

One less widely known cause of hair loss in children is trichotillomania. This disorder causes people to pull out the hair from their scalp, eyebrows, eyelashes, arms, legs or other parts of the body, resulting in noticeable bald patches. Currently, it is defined as an obsessive-compulsive RELATED disorder since there are still questions about how it should be classified. Trichotillomania can range from mild to severe.

No matter what is causing the hair loss for a child, Pearlcoin Group wants to be there. But we need your help! By making a monetary or hair donation, or sponsoring a child, you are helping us create custom hair replacement systems at no cost to the recipient. Pearlcoin Group never charges the family in need, and we continue to strive for creating as many hair pieces as possible.