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Tabitha
August 26th, 2008, 10:06 AM
... dear Liza, dear Liza

Actually, I'm not feeling too much like laughing about it. I'm now realising that I've become quite vain about my thick, healthy wavy hair that's now very close to waist.

A couple of weeks ago I was washing my fringe at the basin when I saw a strand (not a single hair) between my fingers. I was a little freaked but forgot about it. The other day I was blowdrying the fringe (I don't usually blowdry the rest of my hair) and noticed a perfectly round little bald patch where those hairs had come out, right at the centre front of my fringe. It's about 3/8" (1cm) in diameter and in over 2 weeks, no baby hairs have started to grow back there.

Possibly relevant factors: products, drugs, diet, stress?

- I haven't changed my routine or the products I use in any way nor have I used anything sharp in that area; nor have I been twiddling it.
- I've started two new drugs within the last 6 weeks (citalopram and mirtazapine: I stopped the citalopram after 2 weeks, still on 15mg mirtazapine as well as 50mg chlorpromazine long-term).
- My diet is poor as I've been feeling demotivated - although not much worse than normal, as I live alone and I'm not very good about feeding myself. I do take a good multivitamin daily.
- I have been under increased stress recently - in addition to ongoing housing and relationship problems, my handbag was stolen a month ago. Although I wasn't hurt in the incident, it shook me and upset me and replacing the contents and dealing with the insurance proved quite a palaver and isn't yet resolved.

I did have medication-related shed while on an SSRI antidepressant a couple of years ago, but that manifested itself as increased diffuse shedding during washing and an overall decrease in my ponytail circumference of 25% (from over 4" to around 3"). I never had any obvious totally bald patches like this. This seems to be the only patch, but it's hard for me to check my whole head. It seems more noticeable because I have quite thick hair that hairdressers always comment on - I have a small head but my ponytail is over 4" around.

Attached are the best photos I could get - I had lunch with a friend on Thursday and she agrees that it looks more significant in real life than it appears in these pics. The location is unfortunate, right at the centre front of my fringe, where a stubborn cowlick likes to disrupt the smooth lie of the fringe anyway, and so it does show.

I'm familiar with the concept of "hair cleavage" and I have a good example of it due to a double crown towards the back of my head that can be seen in my sig pic. This is very definitely not the same thing.

Has anybody experienced this sort of hair loss? what precipitated it? did you get more than one "spot"? did anything help? MTIA! :flowers:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/brunettegirl/HoleInMyHair.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v396/brunettegirl/TheresAHoleInMyHair.jpg

harley mama
August 26th, 2008, 10:22 AM
Tabitha, have you searched on line for any info on hair loss in patterns?
While my major hair loss was from cancer and all over my head, I am very sympathetic
to your feelings over this loss. It is an awful thing to endure

I'm sorry that I can't offer more than a warm hug from across the big pond!
I am sending positive, healing energy your way.

harley mama
August 26th, 2008, 10:23 AM
I forgot to say- I noticed that you do not have one tiny wrinkle.
You must tell me the secret to such lovely skin!

bunnii
August 26th, 2008, 10:32 AM
Awww you poor thing!! :grouphug: I was on citalopram for about a year (nasty pills IMO) I didn't get any holes but my growth slowed down. It sounds like stress to me, I can relate maybe doing something to help with the stress as a sort of distraction? that's what I have to do, try and forget about it for a while and let yourself calm down. Hope you feel better soon and your spot of hair comes back :blossom:

spidermom
August 26th, 2008, 10:46 AM
Not to scare you, but you should get yourself to a doctor and have this and the rest of your scalp checked out. There are several rather unpleasant things that this could be.

burns_erin
August 26th, 2008, 10:46 AM
I am sorry you are having a rough time. In the back of my mind there is the concept that it may be a fungus or infection, you may want to see a doctor. On the other hand I have one that is entirely due to stress and dead at the front of my part on my forehead, but it is not that perfectly round and completely hairless, so i use EO's which seems to help and at least lets me feel like i am doing something. Good luck to you.

pariate
August 26th, 2008, 11:03 AM
I too would go and see the doctor. Better to be safe than sorry. I'm sending you lots of happy thoughts and good vibes! Look after yourself and do lots of things to pamper yourself help yourself relax - lavender baths, candles, herbal teas, whatever does it for you. :grouphug:

utdesertrunner
August 26th, 2008, 11:07 AM
Ringworm maybe? Do you have cats?

Anje
August 26th, 2008, 11:10 AM
I'm with Spidermom -- get to a doctor ASAP. I don't have much experience with the unpleasentries, but I can think of at least one scary thing that can start out looking like this.

Tabitha
August 26th, 2008, 11:16 AM
Thanks for your quick replies!

harley mama - thanks for reminding me that it IS only a small patch and I'm lucky that the rest of my hair seems unaffected, nor am I dealing with something so scary as you've been through :flowers: Following your very sensible suggestion (why didn't I do that before? a touch of the "hiding my head in the sand" I suspect) I've done a bit of Googling and the main mention of pattern baldness like this I could find was for alopecia areata - where there can be a clearly defined bald patch with smooth shiny skin and no fuzziness (like mine - although I admit it's still very early days). It says regrowth may occur and may be white - I would quite enjoy having a Cruella de Ville stripe.

I also saw mention of traction or heat-related loss, but while I do blow dry my fringe, the fringe is not very thick so I don't need much heat for long, and I don't use straighteners. Also I blow-dried my whole head with strong traction for decades, several times a week, without ill-effects.

Other diseases mentioned were fungal infection ("mainly in children" with red and scaly appearance - my patch is smooth, shiny and white) SLE aka lupus (reddened raised bald lesions on the scalp) - and sarcoidosis (a rare manifestation)

Telogen effluvium, androgenic alopecia and drug-related shedding are all described in terms of an overall thinning such as I had before.

bunnii thanks for the sympathy! you kind of get used to stress in a way, don't you, and then get surprised when it does show effects after all.

spidermom I am one of those people who would on the whole rather know than not know - what specifically were you thinking of? I have a routine GP appointment in a month's time, and the UK system means that you have to be referred by a GP for any specialist opinion, which can take weeks or months depending on the consultant's waiting list.

burns erin I'm sorry that you have a similar patch. I did get a friend who's a doctor (orthopaedic specialist, but did some GP work) to take a quick look and he said no way is it ringworm.

pariate thanks for your lovely soothing-sounding suggestions! I used to love long relaxing baths but alas my rented flat only has a shower. Candles always relax me though, that's a nice idea with the evenings getting darker earlier. I tend to save my scented candles "for best" which never arrives.

ETA you posted while I was posting :)

utdesertrunner - my friend the orthopaedic surgeon was pretty sure it wasn't ringworm - it was one of the first things I thought of so I hope he's right

Anje - what did you have in mind? as I said to spidermom, I'd rather hear specifics than have a vague feeling of unease.

pariate
August 26th, 2008, 11:20 AM
pariate thanks for your lovely soothing-sounding suggestions! I used to love long relaxing baths but alas my rented flat only has a shower. Candles always relax me though, that's a nice idea with the evenings getting darker earlier. I tend to save my scented candles "for best" which never arrives.

No worries! I used to save scented candles like that, but recently it's become a free for all! :lol: Especially now that I make my own ;)

bunnii
August 26th, 2008, 11:33 AM
bunnii thanks for the sympathy! you kind of get used to stress in a way, don't you, and then get surprised when it does show effects after all.


You are most welcome :) too true I think i'm coping but then BAM!! and I feel like i've been hit by a bus. But I reckon a Cruella strip would look awesome!

Alizarin Fionn
August 26th, 2008, 11:37 AM
I had this exact same thing happen to me. The same size, same place everything. Baby hairs took a month or so to start coming in but I will tell you the rest of the story for a little chuckle.

I had an itch one day and about 3 days later drying my bangs noticed the missing patch. I had an internal interview for work and so decided that the missing patch was close enough to the hair line that I would shave the hair around it and give myself a new straight hairline. Once shaved I now had a receded shaved hairline and there was a very clearly visible tan line from where my scalp had never been tanned. My master plan now extended to the liberal use of self tanning cream on the white scalp area to hide the pale skin.:doh: The self tan did not "develop" quick enough so I ended up using a tinted moisturiser and light dusting of bronzer to cover the white strip. I had to leave for work then and when I got home and looked in the mirror the strip had turned orange and I had bronzer in the pores - what a disaster. My family where absolutely hysterical with laughter and I just could not believe I had conducted an interview like that.

Moral of the story is that like the song if there is a hole in your hair fixing it is going to be a pantomime and make lots of people laugh.

Alun
August 26th, 2008, 11:46 AM
I had a round bald spot about that size in my beard once. The doctor told me it could be alopecia aureata and prescribed an antifungal cream, which apparently worked, although it took quite a while for normal growth to come back, and at first it came back with fine hairs in white or blond before thicker hairs with dark pigment would grow.

OK, so I know you don't have a beard, but this could be what you have, and you need to see someone ASAP to get a prescription.

BTW, the doctor was quite frank that alopecia is just Latin for hair loss, and they don't know what causes most of it, but a small round patch that suddenly goes bald like this can be fungal (uugh!), especially if the hairs are left with very short blunt ends.

pariate
August 26th, 2008, 12:04 PM
Once shaved I now had a receded shaved hairline and there was a very clearly visible tan line from where my scalp had never been tanned. My master plan now extended to the liberal use of self tanning cream on the white scalp area to hide the pale skin.:doh: The self tan did not "develop" quick enough so I ended up using a tinted moisturiser and light dusting of bronzer to cover the white strip. I had to leave for work then and when I got home and looked in the mirror the strip had turned orange and I had bronzer in the pores - what a disaster. My family where absolutely hysterical with laughter and I just could not believe I had conducted an interview like that.

Moral of the story is that like the song if there is a hole in your hair fixing it is going to be a pantomime and make lots of people laugh.


I am, of course, sorry that you had all that stress and hassle... but OMG that is funny! :rolling:

pariate
August 26th, 2008, 12:04 PM
I had a round bald spot about that size in my beard once. The doctor told me it could be alopecia aureata and prescribed an antifungal cream, which apparently worked, although it took quite a while for normal growth to come back...

Monistat thread, anyone?!

:lol:

Kleis
August 26th, 2008, 12:08 PM
That looks like pretty classic alopecia areata.

I've had breakouts for years, although not for the last 2.5 or so. Mine were always a delayed reaction to a stressful situation and hung out for a month or two before it started growing back. I've tried various medications, but it usually didn't matter and will grow back on it's own soon. My most serious suggestion is to color in the patch with eyeshadow if it bothers you, and forget about it.

burns_erin
August 26th, 2008, 12:11 PM
Come to think of it, my nephew had "alopecia" and they injected his scalp with cortisone, if i am not mistaken, and then he had a topical creme that I think was antifungal. His hari grew back kinda silvery in four different almost egg shaped placed. Very interesting considering they keep his hair quite short.

Morticia
August 26th, 2008, 12:28 PM
(((Tabitha)))

I'm sorry you are going through so much stress right now. I think it also looks like it might be alopecia areata.

Tabitha
August 26th, 2008, 12:29 PM
Tabitha remembers the multiquote function!


I forgot to say- I noticed that you do not have one tiny wrinkle. You must tell me the secret to such lovely skin!
Sorry I missed this earlier ... the secret? camera shake :lol: they are there, alright! :agree:


Ringworm maybe? Do you have cats?
While I don't have cats myself, I do spend a lot of time with a friend who has a cat. Said cat has shown no signs of ringworm so far, though.


I had this exact same thing happen to me. The same size, same place everything. Baby hairs took a month or so to start coming in but I will tell you the rest of the story for a little chuckle.

.../...

Moral of the story is that like the song if there is a hole in your hair fixing it is going to be a pantomime and make lots of people laugh.
Thanks for sharing the laugh!


I had a round bald spot about that size in my beard once. The doctor told me it could be alopecia aureata and prescribed an antifungal cream, which apparently worked, although it took quite a while for normal growth to come back, and at first it came back with fine hairs in white or blond before thicker hairs with dark pigment would grow.

OK, so I know you don't have a beard, but this could be what you have, and you need to see someone ASAP to get a prescription.

BTW, the doctor was quite frank that alopecia is just Latin for hair loss, and they don't know what causes most of it, but a small round patch that suddenly goes bald like this can be fungal (uugh!), especially if the hairs are left with very short blunt ends.

How do you know I don't have a beard :wink: but thanks for the reassurance that it grew back in time. Guess I should get myself down to the doc. earlier than my planned appointment. In the UK one is always so afraid of being thought a timewaster. :rolleyes:


That looks like pretty classic alopecia areata.

I've had breakouts for years, although not for the last 2.5 or so. Mine were always a delayed reaction to a stressful situation and hung out for a month or two before it started growing back. I've tried various medications, but it usually didn't matter and will grow back on it's own soon. My most serious suggestion is to color in the patch with eyeshadow if it bothers you, and forget about it.
Thanks for that, interesting and reassuring especially re. the delayed response to stress. Glad to hear it did grow back with time and I will bear the eyeshadow suggestion in mind if I go out anywhere - because my skin is so pale and my hair comparatively dark, this makes it more noticeable.


Monistat thread, anyone?!

:lol:
Maybe I should try a dab of the old athlete's foot cream that everyone seems to have hanging round the back of their bathroom cabinet - I think I could manage it just on that small spot.


(((Tabitha)))

I'm sorry you are going through so much stress right now. I think it also looks like it might be alopecia areata.
Thank you Morticia :blossom:

HappyKarin
August 26th, 2008, 01:03 PM
I can alsow say it's NOT ringworm. Me and my son had it some of years ago and unfortnally he lost a patch of his hair. And the lost patch was sorrunded with a red ring.

Anje
August 26th, 2008, 01:07 PM
Hi Tabitha, sorry I'm late responding.

My main concerns were alopecia areata or even alopecia totalis. I tend to regard them as "the disorders that shall not be named" around here.

dor3girl
August 26th, 2008, 01:11 PM
Ack! I totally feel for you! Have you tried any of the OTC scalp stimulating products for hair loss? They have cheaper ones than Rogaine--some with stinging nettle in the ingredients (which leaves your scalp reddish temporarily). Hopefully, the hair will come back with less stress & improved diet! *crossing fingers*

Kleis
August 26th, 2008, 01:34 PM
Thanks for that, interesting and reassuring especially re. the delayed response to stress. Glad to hear it did grow back with time and I will bear the eyeshadow suggestion in mind if I go out anywhere - because my skin is so pale and my hair comparatively dark, this makes it more noticeable.

Yes, it will come back. It just may take a little while.

Here's a rundown of the alopecia therapies I've tried.
1. Injectable cortisone - waste of time. Didn't do anything, but created minor dimpling in my scalp.
2. Rogaine - waste of time. Didn't do anything but create a reddish, crusty scab.
3. Antifungals - not sure if this did anything or not. I'm leaning toward not. I just used tea tree oil. Harmless to try. *shrug*
4. Other herbal oils: basil, rosemary, etc. - not sure that they did anything, again leaning toward not. However, it's harmless and it feels good to do something.

My therapy of choice is honestly to work on finding outlets to stress that lead me away from internalizing it so bad I lose my hair! :lol: But yes, color it in and don't stress about it. You'll start getting peach fuzz in a month or so, then will have a lovely little short piece of hair until it grows long enough to blend in. It may grow back a little differently. The front part of my hair is finer than the rest and still shorter, even though I lost that batch ~15 years ago. Of course, my hair grows insanely slowly.

Merkaba
August 26th, 2008, 01:38 PM
Whoever said ringworm is probably right. I had it last year and my hair was falling out in CLUMPS, I figured out what it was because of a shape like that in the back of my head.

Got rid of it with Nizoral shampoo and straight ACV.

Miuku
August 26th, 2008, 01:46 PM
Tabitha,

This looks like alopecia areata, which is not really treatable but usually gets better by itself.

However - some people have this pattern of hair loss due to thyroid problems (most people who have thyroid-related hair loss get diffuse hair loss, but some get bald patches), and if that is the case, this is treatable and needs to be treated. If I were you I'd go to a doctor just in case.

spidermom
August 26th, 2008, 01:46 PM
The first thing that jumped into my mind was alopecia areata and other auto-immune disorders. Also fungal infection.

darl_in1
August 26th, 2008, 01:48 PM
It didn't look like ringworm to me.

The patch is very clean and smooth and the follicles are barely visible. That's why the fungal thing sounds like a possibility (not that I have any particular logic behind this). I think you should go to the doctors asap to put your mind at rest - don't worry about being a time-waster, you have a genuine concern and that's what the doctor is there for.

Tabitha
August 26th, 2008, 02:00 PM
I can alsow say it's NOT ringworm. Me and my son had it some of years ago and unfortnally he lost a patch of his hair. And the lost patch was sorrunded with a red ring.
Thank you! that's reassuring to hear from someone who's had it, first-hand.


Hi Tabitha, sorry I'm late responding.

My main concerns were alopecia areata or even alopecia totalis. I tend to regard them as "the disorders that shall not be named" around here.
Thanks for replying! I suppose having worked in a hospital I tend to think of serious things as being more life- or health-threatening, although I'm not in any way minimising the impact of the alopecias on those who experience them.


Ack! I totally feel for you! Have you tried any of the OTC scalp stimulating products for hair loss? They have cheaper ones than Rogaine--some with stinging nettle in the ingredients (which leaves your scalp reddish temporarily). Hopefully, the hair will come back with less stress & improved diet! *crossing fingers*
I haven't got that far ... I only saw the actual bald patch on Thursday and I'm still kind of mentally processing it. I think I'll leave it alone if I'm going to see the Dr about it, so as not to confuse the picture (also, don't really have spare cash to experiment right now).


Yes, it will come back. It just may take a little while.

Here's a rundown of the alopecia therapies I've tried.
1. Injectable cortisone - waste of time. Didn't do anything, but created minor dimpling in my scalp.
2. Rogaine - waste of time. Didn't do anything but create a reddish, crusty scab.
3. Antifungals - not sure if this did anything or not. I'm leaning toward not. I just used tea tree oil. Harmless to try. *shrug*
4. Other herbal oils: basil, rosemary, etc. - not sure that they did anything, again leaning toward not. However, it's harmless and it feels good to do something.

My therapy of choice is honestly to work on finding outlets to stress that lead me away from internalizing it so bad I lose my hair! :lol: But yes, color it in and don't stress about it. You'll start getting peach fuzz in a month or so, then will have a lovely little short piece of hair until it grows long enough to blend in. It may grow back a little differently. The front part of my hair is finer than the rest and still shorter, even though I lost that batch ~15 years ago. Of course, my hair grows insanely slowly.
Your input is really reassuring and I'm very grateful. As a needle-phobic I'm quite glad to hear that injectable cortisone wasn't useful :rolleyes:. And Rogaine is pricey, so it's good to hear that I shouldn't go throwing away money in that direction.

It would probably be really good for my overall wellbeing to find some outlet or therapy specifically for my stress. If I think this is going to be temporary I can deal with it (I don't go out much, so nobody is really going to be looking at me, and circumstances mean I don't get to see my BF very often either).

I guess it's fortunate that being part of the fringe, I won't need it to try and catch up very much length. Normally it grows really fast compared with the rest of my hair. I love the no-fringe look on others - especially the elegant adult geisha in Memoirs of a Geisha - but it really doesn't suit my features so I'm unlikely to want to grow it out.


Whoever said ringworm is probably right. I had it last year and my hair was falling out in CLUMPS, I figured out what it was because of a shape like that in the back of my head.

Got rid of it with Nizoral shampoo and straight ACV.
While it's looking unlikely that it's ringworm (no inflammation, difference in colour or texture) I will ask my doctor about the possibility.


Tabitha,

This looks like alopecia areata, which is not really treatable but usually gets better by itself.

However - some people have this pattern of hair loss due to thyroid problems (most people who have thyroid-related hair loss get diffuse hair loss, but some get bald patches), and if that is the case, this is treatable and needs to be treated. If I were you I'd go to a doctor just in case.
Thank you - I had wondered about thyroid disease and what kind of distribution the resulting hairloss had - interesting to know that it can be in discrete patches as well as diffuse. I had my thyroid function tested over 10 years ago because I am one of those always cold, rather sluggish people, and I was on the very borderline of normal. It may be time to re-examine this.


The first thing that jumped into my mind was alopecia areata and other auto-immune disorders. Also fungal infection.
Thanks spidermom :flowers:


It didn't look like ringworm to me.

The patch is very clean and smooth and the follicles are barely visible. That's why the fungal thing sounds like a possibility (not that I have any particular logic behind this). I think you should go to the doctors asap to put your mind at rest - don't worry about being a time-waster, you have a genuine concern and that's what the doctor is there for.
Thanks for outing yourself :lol: Yes darls is the lucky "friend" I mentioned - it probably wasn't terribly nice to be presented with someone's scalp while you waited for your pizza - what a test of friendship! :p

I think the body of opinion is sufficient to get me to make a GP's appointment before my routine one on 19 September. My GP is female so, more likely I feel to be sympathetic about something like this.

pariate
August 27th, 2008, 04:19 AM
I think the body of opinion is sufficient to get me to make a GP's appointment before my routine one on 19 September. My GP is female so, more likely I feel to be sympathetic about something like this.

Good. Do let us know how it goes, won't you?

Ashley
August 27th, 2008, 05:07 AM
I've had such a bald spot since I was little, I'm not sure what it is...

rhubarbarin
August 27th, 2008, 08:00 AM
I have a bald spot exactly like that, and in almost the same place - it's from when I bashed my head into the side of the pool 8 years ago.

Other than that I have no advice to offer.. I hope you find out what it is, and hopefully can get some hair growing back!

FrannyG
August 27th, 2008, 09:04 AM
Hi Tabitha! I had this exact thing happen to me right on the side of my head. The bald patch was the size of a fifty cent piece. I don't know what English coin would match, but whatever is one of your larger coins would be it. :shrug:

In any case I ran to the doctor and there was absolutely nothing wrong with me. It was merely a case of transient alopecia, brought on by stress.

The hair grew back almost immediately, so by the end of a week, the hair had filled in nicely, to a point that the "hole" wasn't visible. Because longer hair surrounded it, it wasn't obvious that the new growth was only a millimeter or so long. :)

It grew back completely normally.

That was 28 years ago, and it's never happened since.

I hope my little anecdote was a help. I know your hair will grow back soon. :blossom:

Tabitha
August 27th, 2008, 04:14 PM
pariate I phoned the surgery and the soonest I can get to see her is next Thurs. if I ring on the day, so fingers crossed.

Thanks for your replies Ashley and rhubarbarin. Franny, although my little patch is still smooth after over 2 weeks, your post is a great comfort! :flowers:

jel
August 28th, 2008, 10:32 AM
Oh, Tabs, I just saw this and though I haven't got any new suggestions, I just wanted to say: take good care of yourself and I hope you get de-stressed soon! :flowers: :grouphug:

pariate
August 29th, 2008, 04:46 AM
pariate I phoned the surgery and the soonest I can get to see her is next Thurs. if I ring on the day, so fingers crossed.

Good stuff :D It's a joke trying to book an appointment in advance isn't it? My GP surgery drives me nuts sometimes! I'll check back in next week to see if you have any news. Thinking of you :)

FrannyG
August 29th, 2008, 11:01 AM
Just want you to know that I'm sending the loving, positive vibe your way, hon. :heartbeat

Tabitha
September 4th, 2008, 01:18 PM
Thanks for your good thoughts jel, pariate and Franny.

I saw my sympathetic youngish lady GP this afternoon. She had a close look and checked my head in case there were other patches - fortunately this appears to be the only one, at least at present. She thinks it's alopecia areata, and mentioned stress as a possible cause even before I told her about the handbag theft (she knows the problems we've been having related to my BF's mother's declining health). She also mentioned thyroid malfunction, and ordered a blood test for which I have to wait a fortnight, as they are so booked-up. Then she'll review me a couple of weeks after that, on 2 October.

She mentioned the sub.cut. steroid injections so I was glad I was forewarned about these and could tell her that I wasn't terribly keen on the idea (thanks again, Kleis!). She wants to keep an eye on it for a couple of months before referring me to a dermatologist If it doesn't grow back, or gets worse (she said "God forbid").

There's still no sign of any regrowth so I'm just going to try not to stress too much about it on top of everything else. I don't go out much or see many people, so I have less reason to feel self-conscious about it than I might in other circumstances.

Morticia
September 4th, 2008, 01:49 PM
(((Tabitha)))

shrimp
September 4th, 2008, 01:58 PM
:grouphug:

pariate
September 7th, 2008, 04:52 AM
Thanks for letting us know what the doc said Tabitha. :grouphug: I hope you manage to relax and give yourself a little TLC. Sorry to hear about your family circumstances, I hope things get better for you all. :flower:

islandgirl44
September 22nd, 2008, 06:48 PM
Hello!
I'm new here and was doing "hair shedding" research for a friend when I saw your post....The very same thing happened to me, oh about 2 or 3 years ago...I noticed one day, while running my hands thru my hair, that there was a smooth spot! AGH! And lo and behold, a bald patch about an inch round, a perfect circle! I have photos somewhere....but anyway, after some time I forgot about it, & when I DID think about it, and I searched for it (it was on my right side, above my ear) it was filled in again! Weird! I did have a small patch of 2 or 3" hair growing there...I don't know what caused the bald patch, (alien research, LOL?!) and what made it fill in again....But maybe yours will too? I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

Angelica
September 23rd, 2008, 04:38 PM
I have to add that I have had experiences of this also. I have no idea what caused the loss on two of the occasions. It has happened to me on three separate occasions.

The one occasion it was when I complained about a bad perm and the hairdresser took me aside and washed and blew dried my hair really roughly. The bald patch occurred soon after this treatment!

The other two occasions I have no idea what happened. I am a very stressed and depressed person anyway, but have been like that all my life so I don't know whether I can blame the loss on this or not.

I can tell you on the three occasions this occurred it happened in the parting. I concealed it with pencil.

The third (and hopefully the last time) it happened was when I was first going out with my husband and I was so freaked out I can tell you.

This patch I remember really well. The skin was perfect and smooth. I was so worried that the rest of the hair would start falling. I did not see the doctor though as I thought that would just alarm me even more. So I just tried to "ignore" it the best I could. It meant that I had to stop having my hair cut for a good few months though hoping that it would grow back.

And it did, and the weird thing about it was that it took over a month to start growing back and then the growth was absolutely amazing. First I saw the dots in the scalp which of course was the hair beneath the bald patch and then days later the hair sprung out in all different lengths, some of them so long that they blended in with the rest of my hair immediately.

And when I did go and have my hair cut then, the hairdresser didn't even notice.

I wonder sometimes if the first incident which I believe was the perm one, actually caused some damage and left the hair weak?

I really don't know. I do know that I am a bit paranoid about it happening again though because I keep checking the scalp for signs, not that there is much I can do if I see anything.

Anyway, I am sure your hair will be back to normal soon.

Good luck. xxx

Darkhorse1
September 23rd, 2008, 06:41 PM
I think I had this due to stress many eons ago, but my hair loss was also accompanied by scaley, painful dandruff. I was given steroid drops to alleviate the itching and when life calmed down, hair started to re-grow. It was more at the back of my scalp though.

Ringworm, just to let you know, is in fact, a fungus, not a worm. So, if your doctor prescribes and antifungal, that will work for ringworm--but I'm glad you saw your doc asap---a hole in your scalp can be the tip off to something much more serious, so I'm glad you are having blood work done/etc.

((HUGS))!

nicolezoie
September 23rd, 2008, 11:33 PM
I see that Birth Control hasn't been mentioned?

A friend of mine had a bad reaction to the depo-provera shot a number of years back. She had a quarter sized bald spot right at the crown of her head, no way to conceal it unless she had her hair in a half-pony, and even then it didn't work so well. After she went to the doc, the doc told her that it was one of the less common side effects of the depo shot, and she stopped using that method of birth control. Her hair has since recovered completely.

Gypsy
September 23rd, 2008, 11:58 PM
Hi,
I am such a serious lurker here, lol!
I just wanted to jump in and say be patient, the hair will most likely show up in soft baby hairs before you know it; I had the same thing happen when my dad died at the same time as my own health scare and went through the same fears you described.
When I went to the doctor thinking it was a fungus the first thing he asked was if there was a sudden stressor and it was a. areata and I told him what was up and he said it fit with the time frame as he could already see little hairs sprouting back in- about 6 weeks.
Good luck!



Thanks for your good thoughts jel, pariate and Franny.

I saw my sympathetic youngish lady GP this afternoon. She had a close look and checked my head in case there were other patches - fortunately this appears to be the only one, at least at present. She thinks it's alopecia areata, and mentioned stress as a possible cause even before I told her about the handbag theft (she knows the problems we've been having related to my BF's mother's declining health). She also mentioned thyroid malfunction, and ordered a blood test for which I have to wait a fortnight, as they are so booked-up. Then she'll review me a couple of weeks after that, on 2 October.

She mentioned the sub.cut. steroid injections so I was glad I was forewarned about these and could tell her that I wasn't terribly keen on the idea (thanks again, Kleis!). She wants to keep an eye on it for a couple of months before referring me to a dermatologist If it doesn't grow back, or gets worse (she said "God forbid").

There's still no sign of any regrowth so I'm just going to try not to stress too much about it on top of everything else. I don't go out much or see many people, so I have less reason to feel self-conscious about it than I might in other circumstances.