My 12 year old son

Hi Paula, have you tried joining Alopecia UK or Bebold Alopecia Awarness both thes organisations help and support families who have children with Alopecia in England, Alopecia UK also advertise support group meetings on there web pages for different areas of the UK. Sometimes it helps to talk to people in a similar position to yourself.

Hello Paula,

When my grand daughter lost confidence my daughter and her husband took her out of school for a year.  She recovered and was able to return.  You could contact the Home Education Advisory Service if you think that this might be an option.

I'm so sorry for the emotional pain this causes your 12 year old. This is an important time in life for children, to transition into being a teen. I read below that some  thought  you might consider home schooling for him. This might help him to develop  into a teen in surroundings he is comfortable in.  I live in the USA, and the teens here are  very cruel & bully each other mercilessly. It may not be as  bad where you live, but here the  schools have become " a rough place to be". 

I was born in 1969 and my hair fell out at two but grew back.In 1976 or 77 it all fell off and never grew back after accidents and the tetinus jab,i can`t prove a cause!.After dermatologists used what i can only call voodoo i was given wigs.At school a bad thing and then a good thing.

I now think it would of been better to see a child psychologist and maybe join something like Judo or Karate as i did`nt like football or rugby to build confidence.I don`t think wigs are a good thing or trying to keep hold of strands of hair growth.Another bad thing for your son is don`t talk about film or tv people with hairloss.Keep those patronising relatives or friends away with what he will find as crappy comments.It isn`t cancer but it really is a crappy thing to happen to him.

School with wigs could of been worse but it could of been better.I`d shave my head and be a bald kid at school today but i`d need a child psychologist to help me achieve it.You will get little in the way of drugs from the NHS.They are probably not safe for a 12 year old but long before "Regaine"minoxidil ever became popular and is available at the chemist,i was prescribed it as a cream in the 1980`s.The problem with teenagers and creams is lazy attitudes to rubbing the stuff on the  scalp every night.

You`ll probably get a condisending looking down attitude to you and your son by some NHS staff if you ask about new drugs.When i was given minoxidil i was 13-15 i can`t remeber.I have high blood pressure and my GP years ago could of given me Minoxidil for blood pressure and have they?No!

The NHS can be great but it can be crap.

Hey Paula. Shame you didn't get in touch. I was running the 8-12 year old boys group at Alton Towers. They all supported each other, hats off and had a blast. Maybe next year

Paula. I wouldn't look for any magic potions. And please don't be duped into parting with any money out of love and sadness. Go to Alopecia UK site where they have up to date information and support. They are having a big weekend in Glasgow in September which might be too far but have London support groups also

ust signed up to this never been a forum type of person but i must insist onsaying something, as an ex derm nurse, and the husband of a wife who had this problem,for 20 years  we think we have cracked it,we have been to derm doc, who as usual will give steroid, oh and would you like a wig, she has tried meat free, non alcohol, and all sort of homeopathic nonsence

but i can tell what has worked , keep off bread, pizza , pasta , its gluten she also gets very bad stomach ache from leading up to the patches appearing

the problem only comes back if she goes particularly back on pasta,

3 years on her hair has maintained and all areata has gone, all grown back, but as soon as she tries pasta a small hairless formation starts about 8  days later, along with stomach problems.

i have advised a patient in hospital 18 months agowho was only 20, she also had the samesymtoms andnow she has followed the same as my wife, guess what, yep all hari back no stomach problems0 Report this Reply[darren62159] ★1

darren62159 peter49784 • 25 minutes agoo and by the way she doesnt have coeliac disease, she has been tested but it is a very sensative test so my advice would be to ignore it and have a strict gluten ffree diet for at least 3 months,

also look at the evidence of the link between glten free and hair loss, many times it mentions the stomach flora being unbalanced due to gluten

Hi I have the same problem only my son has lost his eyebrow and it looks as if the other eyebrow is affected too his also starting secondary school and we get asked is he suffering from cancer it's so distressing any ideas how to cover a eyebrow?

Don't worry about him. Just see a Doctor and consult with them as they can resolve your son's problem easily. Don't get panic about anything.