Tween hair loss
Our middle school son is experiencing hair loss. My bigger worry is that I don’t see new hair growth. He is an otherwise healthy child and we lead a balanced healthy life. We ran blood work and it looked normal. His doctor said that his Heamoglobin is on the low side of normal and we have upped his iron intake including promoting iron with citrus, and not mixing dairy and iron at the same meal. He uses Renpure shampoo but I am considering switching to Purador. I have asked the doctor (again) for a dermatologist referral and hopefully this time we will get it. We have Kaiser and go to Richmond but for this I can go anywhere if there is a good dermatologist. Also, I am more concerned about his social-emotional wellness because kids in his school have pointed and commented on his hair loss already. Thank you.
Parent Replies
Try Dr Mirmirami at Kaiser Vallejo. She’s a derm who specializes in hair loss. The other derms at Kaiser are sort of useless.
Sorry to hear of your son's problem. I know how distressing hair loss can be. While Dr. Kwame Deniake, Kaiser Richmond Dermatology, wasn't able to do much for my problem (female/aging) he did suggest iron, and that's been surprisingly helpful. I'm recommending him because nevertheless, I found him to be extremely thorough and caring. Also, he does research and seems to be particularly interested in hair loss. It did take a while to get an appointment with him once I had the referral. Previous Oakland Kaiser dermatologists just said "Rogaine" and fluffed me off.
Certainly NOT normal! I would be aggressive for an Endocrinologist referral etc! Darn kaiser!
I'm sorry to say that your son probably has alopecia, and this is a tough condition to have. It can get better, but it's not curable. There are meds that can help. Get him to a super solid PEDIATRIC dermatologist asap. Here is a list of other common reasons kids develop hair loss https://www.healthline.com/health/hair-loss-in-children#causes Good luck.
Could it be alopecia? I know when I was in my 20s and experiencing a very stressful situation, my body started to attack my hair follicles. Sorry if you've already gone down this road and have ruled that out. I hope you find some help soon.