alepcia

[Lindacrc]

I have a teen girl with alepcia (hair loss). She's had it all her
life, and after taking her to doctors, they do not have a cure. It
didn't bother her while she was young, but now that she is ready to
date, it bothers her very much. Most of the boys have only seen her
with a wig on, and she's afraid that if they ever see her with it off,
they would be upset and maybe start rumors or tease badly. I'm not
sure what to tell her since this is new territory for me as well. Any
suggestions? LRV

[Wendy Marsden]

Lindacrc wrote:
> I have a teen girl with alepcia (hair loss). She's had it all her
> life, and after taking her to doctors, they do not have a cure. It
> didn't bother her while she was young, but now that she is ready to
> date, it bothers her very much. Most of the boys have only seen her
> with a wig on, and she's afraid that if they ever see her with it off,
> they would be upset and maybe start rumors or tease badly. I'm not
> sure what to tell her since this is new territory for me as well. Any
> suggestions? LRV

Is it really alepcia, or is it trichotillomania? Are you SURE?

Wendy

[Lindacrc]

Wendy Marsden > wrote in message >...
> Lindacrc wrote:
> > I have a teen girl with alepcia (hair loss). She's had it all her
> > life, and after taking her to doctors, they do not have a cure. It
> > didn't bother her while she was young, but now that she is ready to
> > date, it bothers her very much. Most of the boys have only seen her
> > with a wig on, and she's afraid that if they ever see her with it off,
> > they would be upset and maybe start rumors or tease badly. I'm not
> > sure what to tell her since this is new territory for me as well. Any
> > suggestions? LRV
>
> Is it really alepcia, or is it trichotillomania? Are you SURE?
>
> Wendy

I'm absolutely sure it is alepcia and not trichotillomania. I do know
the difference and she does not pull out her hair. It is something
that she's never done even when she sleeps. I can say that for I have
stayed up with her many nights just to check to see if she did do that
subconsciously in her sleep. Also, I know because it is large patches
of hair at one time, then it will grow back in a little, then another
patch will go bald. It seems just as she's getting some hair in one
area another area goes bald. Also, I've seen the hair come out when I
brush her hair with even a soft hairbrush. It comes out in chunks. LRV

[Wendy Marsden]

Lindacrc wrote:
> Wendy Marsden > wrote in message >...
>> Is it really alepcia, or is it trichotillomania? Are you SURE?

> I'm absolutely sure it is alepcia and not trichotillomania. I do know
> the difference and she does not pull out her hair.

Okay. It's an easy mistake to make. Alepcia just happens to you. Trich
is a mental defect. There's a strong incentive to think it's alepcia.

I don't know much about the treatment of alepcia. I have trich. The
answer for me was to disguise it as best I could and then get defiant when
people noticed, i.e., "everyone has something weird about them. If you
don't know how someone is weird it's just because you don't know them well
enough." I certainly hated having to address it and most people never
noticed, but the ones who did quickly got past it. It's no different than
having bad acne or some other unpleasant defect. Your friends won't care
after the first time they ask.

And teenagers truly don't care what other people look like - they only
care about how THEY look. Your daughter's friends won't spend ANY time
thinking about how strange she looks except, maybe, to be glad that she
looks stranger than THEY do so THEY can feel better about themselves. You
see, it's all about THEM.

I don't know if this is any comfort, but I went through high school with a
huge bald spot so I have some experience in this matter. I didn't meet
another person with a bald spot until college. Then I found out that it's
weird but not unknown.

Try finding her a support group, help her get a handle on the fact that
this is a normal sort of weirdness, if you get my drift.

-- Wendy

[PF Riley]

On Wed, 17 Sep 2003 22:27:40 GMT, Wendy Marsden
> wrote:

>Lindacrc wrote:
>> Wendy Marsden > wrote in message >...
>>> Is it really alepcia, or is it trichotillomania? Are you SURE?
>
>> I'm absolutely sure it is alepcia and not trichotillomania. I do know
>> the difference and she does not pull out her hair.
>
>Okay. It's an easy mistake to make. Alepcia just happens to you. Trich
>is a mental defect. There's a strong incentive to think it's alepcia.

GAHH!!@#!@#^&*!@

It's ALOPECIA!!!!!

PF