Could this be anything other than alopecia?

[abigboydidit]

DH is pretty hairy and has very dark hair. A couple of weeks ago I noticed he had a bald patch at the back of his head - about the size of an old 50p piece. There was a spot there and DH is a terrible picker so I assumed he's just pulled the hair out through fiddling with it.

However, he's just back from getting his hair cut and I can see about 3 or 4 other patches. A work colleague had alopecia and I remember clearly that was how hers started. But - I remember her patches were completely smooth and shiny whereas DH's aren't. There are some hairs growing there and some hair shafts which almost look like they've been singed off. The hair follicles don't look empty IYSWIM?

He has been under a lot of stress at work so I really don't want to pile on the pressure by bringing it up until I am sure there isn't likely to be a less severe cause. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

My OH has male pattern baldness at the back and this is how his started (he now shaves his head totally) and it was definitely worsened by stress.

Thanks for the reply. How old was he when it started? DH is 48 so I thought he was a bit too old to just be showing signs now

My OH is only 27 but my dad is the same age as your DH and has just started getting it in the last couple of years, again it has started at the back. Doesn't seem to be as bad as my OH's but his hair is black whereas my dad has blonde hair so maybe it just isn't so noticeable.

My dd had a spot of alopecia a couple of years ago, caused through stress (she was being bullied). But it was smooth, where the hair had fallen out. It did grow back though. And last year she had a haircut and sent 10 inches to the little princess trust, for little girls who weren't as lucky as her. It was a major issue at the time, but grew back quite quickly once the bullying stopped and she wasn't feeling stressed anymore.