Plucking out hair (Trichotillomania)
Berkeley Parents Network >
Advice >
Worries Big & Little >
Plucking out hair (Trichotillomania)
Dec 2002
A 4year old girl in our family plucks her hair out and eats it.
She has never had a haircut but is completly bald. There is more
to her behavior than just pulling her hair out but I will not
get into it. It seems to me that this behavior needs some
attention. Does anyone have anything to say about it? Please
help.
worried relative
This condition is called Trichotilomania. You can surely find
information on the web. It is treatable.
Good luck
It's called trichotillomania and it's a treatable, obsessive-
compulsive type disorder. There's a place in the South Bay,
Santa Cruz maybe?, dedicated to helping people with it. Their
web address is http://www.trich.org.
Get her some help while she's
young; maybe it'll be easier to deal with.
anon
Her condition is called tricatellamania (sp?)...sorry, don't
know how to spell it. I have it too and never got treated for it
and wished that i did. I had it since I was 15 years old. I've
heard that it is more common in women than in men, and it
is usually associated with some kind of childhood traumatic
experience. I've had some bad experiences from my
childhood, but I never talked to a psychiatrist about it to
know wether or not it is related. Apparently there is a
specific medication that helps with it. One of the symptoms
in older children and adults is shame and embarrasment.
That is why i haven't seeked out help. I strongly encourage
you to speak up or seek help for this child. It could be a sign
that something very stressful or traumatic is going on for
her. It shouldn't be ignored. My condition was ignored when
I was young...a big mistake. I now have areas of my hair that
will never grow back.
Anon
Your child needs to see a pediatric psychologist. Another possibility
would be going to a Pediatric Dermatologists first. These kids
usually respond to medical therapy for a six month period of time. I
had one patient who stopped pulling out her own eyelashes and hair and
then even pulled out the hair and ate it of her Barbie. It is
correctable.
Don't Worry But get it Treated
I have a VERY similar sort of behavior. There is actually a name
for it, trichotillomania. You can find out more about it at
http://www.trich.org/
. It's basically a form of impulse
control/obsessive compulsive disorder. It can be associated
with other similar disorders/habits (for example, I also
compulsively doodle, destroy napkins and roll them into little
balls, chew pens, etc.) As with other disorders of the type the
typical treatments are cognitive behavior therapy and drugs. The
girl's parents would do well to take her to a psychiatrist with
experience in this type of disorder
anon
Hair pulling or plucking anywhere on the body is also called
Trichotillomania and is a subset of Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder (OCD), and has to do with altered brain chemistry and
possibly genetics. You can get a vast amount of information
about it by searching with that word at www.Google.com - for
example www.trich.org and others
Also there is a yahoo group for people with Trichotillomania
that you could join and ask questions. I found then just now for
you, again by using Google
groups.yahoo.com/group/Trichotillomania-friends/
''A community to support people with trichotillomania (compulsive
hair pulling). We aim to discuss, help and mutually support each
other in our efforts to understand and control this impulse
control disorder. We are a group of lay people who have lived
with this difficult condition for some time.
Anyone who has trich or has a relative or friend with trich is
welcome to join. We aim to include all opinions and age groups
and talk on issues mainly related to trich but also sharing some
of our other lives.''
Good luck!
Christine
Home |
Reviews |
Advice |
Members |
Post a Message
Join BPN |
Help |
What's New |
Search |
Contact Us
Last updated: Aug 26, 2007
Copyright © 1996-2008 Berkeley Parents Network
The opinions and statements expressed on this website
are those of parents who subscribe to the
Berkeley Parents Network. Please see
Disclaimer & Usage for
information about using content on this website.