Why does the hair on the head fall in newborns?

For any parent, the birth of a child is a great joy. But, unfortunately, often young mom and dad are faced with inexplicable phenomena that can cause a lot of trouble. In this article, we will try to figure out why the child may lose hair on his head, whether this is a pathology, and what can be done if you notice that your child has begun to lose hair.

Infant Hair: Interesting Facts

They appear in the baby long before it is born - from the 15th week of pregnancy they already begin to grow. Of course, it is difficult to call this gentle fluff hair, experts call it lanugo. It covers the whole body of the child, over time, the fluff replaces the intermediate version of the hairline. It is noteworthy that the lanugo perfect does not have pigment, but the latter is already pigmented, although it still remains very soft.

After birth, at about 5 months, the baby begins the so-called juvenile molting. After it, coarser hairs already appear on the head, naturally, they are also pigmented.

Nevertheless, even these hairs still remain very thin - approximately 5 times thinner than that of an average adult. Therefore, these hairs require special, delicate care, parents will need to use specialized shampoos designed specifically for small children. If the necessary measures are not taken, then in this case the baby may experience a phenomenon such as hair loss.

Causes

It is also worth noting the fact that in children quite often the hair color changes over time. This is due to the fact that the hair shaft finally forms only by the age of 5, and by this age the hairs are already becoming coarser, thicker.

Interesting: many parents mistakenly believe that in order for a baby to grow healthy, thick hair, he needs to shave his head. This is actually a mistake - shaving can lead to trauma to the follicle.

So, consider a number of reasons why a child may begin to lose hair:

• weakening of the immune system;
• mental problems;
• experienced stress;
• thyroid problems;
• diabetes;
• ringworm;
• excessive consumption of vitamin complexes or medicines;
• infectious lesions;
• lack of iron;
• shaving the head, resulting in trauma to the follicle.

What are the types of alopecia in children?

1. Nude baldness. The hair falls out partially, while smooth sections remain on the baby’s head. This process proceeds in an accelerated form, and in just a couple of days the head can become completely bald. This condition without fail requires the supervision of a doctor, as well as the use of appropriate therapy. Basically, the cause of such conditions is a malfunction in the immune system, problems with the hormonal background, thyroid disease.
2. Total baldness. It is the second stage of nesting baldness, in which the hair falls out completely.
3. Follicle injury. This type is associated with the termination of the follicle due to trauma - for example, if parents shave the baby's hair, they can be damaged due to the fact that the follicles are close to the surface.Damaged follicles never repair! And do not believe the advice of grandmothers - that the more often an infant shaves his head, the thicker and better his hair will be. The opposite is true - hair will be less frequent due to the fact that the functioning of the follicle ceases.
4. Telogen baldness. This is the state of the body of the hair, in which its growth stops completely, later it falls out. The follicle remains inactive. In this case, the cause of this condition may be excessive use of vitamins, traumatization of the follicle, an overdose of pharmaceuticals. This type of alopecia is not eternal - after eliminating the cause, the problem will go away.
5. Ringworm. This disease causes a fungus. Outwardly, the disease manifests itself in fairly large spots, they can peel off. Within these limits, the hair may appear as short-cropped or absent altogether. To eliminate the disease, you must first consult a specialist - this is a dermatologist. The doctor will prescribe antifungal therapy, after which the problem will be eliminated.

What problems can parents face?

In the baby in the first months after birth, a very common, but very unpleasant disease can occur - seborrheic dermatitis. Outwardly, the baby has oily scales above the fontanel, they can cause him discomfort. The cause of this ailment has not yet been determined, but some dermatologists claim that this is a consequence of the manifestation of allergic reactions. If the form of the disease is mild, then these scales may look like dandruff.

The main problem of seborrheic dermatitis - scales prevent hair growth, sometimes even contribute to baldness. Parents need to know that you cannot wash your hair too often - this will only aggravate the situation. To soften these scales, the child needs to rub olive or sunflower oil an hour before bathing. After that, the baby needs to comb out these crusts, and wash their hair with a special shampoo that does not contain alkali. If these manipulations do not help in any way, then it is better to consult a doctor - perhaps the mother’s diet is incorrectly drawn up, and the child’s products have an allergic reaction.

What other reasons could there be?

In general, in dermatology, there are two concepts of alopecia - full or partial.

The last type of baldness can be associated with several factors:

• the child lies in one position for a long time;
• excessive nervous excitability - this pathology may be associated with lesions of the National Assembly;
• pustular rash;
• partial baldness may be one of the manifestations of rickets.

The problem may begin due to the fact that the mother did not pick up the baby shampoo correctly, wipes her head too thoroughly after bathing, or puts on too tight hats. All of these factors can trigger hair loss.

In any case, it’s not worth worrying and panic ahead of time. The best option is to tell the pediatrician about the problem, he will conduct a visual examination, talk with his parents and help correct the situation.

Video: hair loss in a child