Thinning hair/alopecia in toddler - anyone with experience of this?

[MeOnSea]

For a good few months now my toddler dd has very thin hair on the top of her head - the rest of her hair is very thick and I can see that people are noticing it.

I've taken her to the GP who has said it's alopecia and we're waiting for a hospital referral.

I suspect there's probably not much we can do as steroids don't seem a good move, given her age.

I was wondering if anyone has experience of anything similar and can offer any words of advice?

Her hair is in a short bob, so the thinning patch is very noticeable: would a different haircut help? Or should we just accept it and not try to hide it? She's currently unaware and I don't want to make it an issue - but equally I am aware that people are commenting already...

Is the patch completely bald and smooth? Or is there any little bits of broken off hair around the edge or areas on the bald patch with little dots where hair has broken off?

Alopecia displays as completely bald usually...when you say it's "thin" is there some hair there is what I'm trying to ask...because ringworm can look like alopecia and not all Doctors are that good at diagnosing it...

From what I know about Alopecia in children and toddlers, 95% of them have their hair grow back within a year and don't have a recurrence.

Although this must be very worrying for you, the odds are strongly in favour of a recovery within a year.

In the meantime, as she is small, I wouldn't worry about trying to cover it.

Hi Violet, thanks for your reply.

No the patches aren't completely smooth, but the hair is very sparse there - she's dark haired and the remaining hairs tend to be finer and fairer.

The GP had a good look at her scalp but said it looked healthy - or didn't think it was fungal. He said he could see some 'exclamation' hairs, which is why I think he said what it was. If I peer at her scalp I can see some dark dots / like hairs ready to grow, but they don't appear to be doing anything at the moment.

Anyway, thanks for your kind words. I guess it's a question of waiting really...

Yes....and remember those figures. 95% is a good chance she'll recover totally. If it changes or anything, go back...and don't be shy to phone and push about that appointment.