Hair Pulling

[Suzan]

dd7 told me this morning that she likes to pull her hair out sometimes. She says she only "pulls out a little". Do I need to freak out? She seems to be doing well right now. Her OCD usually is around food and hoarding. Not so much of either at this time. Maybe her OCD is mutating?

 

Susan

[P_Mom]

Tricotillomania, hair pulling, is a form of OCD. I am not saying that is what she has...but, given the PANDAS....I would be a bit concerned....keep a close eye.

[sptcmom]

Trichotillomania is compulsive hair pulling, more common in females. Could be due to stress of any kind. Is she post IVIG? any medicine changes? could she be herxing? I think if you could find out if there's any source of new stress it would be helpful to nip it in the bud kind of. Its huge that she told you about it as girls will usually be aware its not acceptable to pull hair and will hide it. My only experience is with a 29 month old little girl with OCD and spectrumy issues and she was pulling hair and eating it- due to dietary nutritional deficiencies. Thats when I started research into this. My patient is doing better with supplements and dietary modifications and some ABA therapy. - Jodie

Edited July 9, 2010 by sptcmom

[Phasmid]

Trich. was my son's first OCD sign, but was directed at eyelashes/eyebrows. It is something to worry about. At present, my son lacks eyelashes, but has some eyebrows. His had grown back but when he started downhill again last part of school year, he started pulling again. Trich of any kind is an indicator of something not right inside.

[Fixit]

dd7 told me this morning that she likes to pull her hair out sometimes. She says she only "pulls out a little". Do I need to freak out? She seems to be doing well right now. Her OCD usually is around food and hoarding. Not so much of either at this time. Maybe her OCD is mutating?

 

Susan

 

i would watch very carefully..feb of last year ds started pullng hair...(thats our allergy season start) and had a bald spot about the size of a quarter/half dollar..

then april 6th tics stared....we have never left this episode...it's been a 1 1/2 years...

now that i know ...1st day soccer practice..feb ....he comes home and i see him hunting for a hair to pull...i chace him to the shower...for him(really bad seasonal allergies) has now started this thing...he says it feels like a bug is under there..someghing biting him......he's also said if he dosesn't pull it out it feels like it will just fall out.....

i wish i didn't put him in sprng sports...i won't in the futurte till his allergies are gone....

but think with the bad allergies..his body i fighting, fighting, fighting...i also think we go myoc p...and that was the end...as his igg was extremely high alomost a year later...and he did have a cough prior to onset..but i thought he was having a new reaction to allergies..the cough

[Suzan]

Thanks everyone, she has not had IVIG yet but I did just start her on the GABA Plus that the neurologist suggested. That is the only thing new. I asked her to let me know when she feels like pulling out her hair again. She confesses so I think she will tell me. It came up in conversation this morning as I was brushing her hair and hurting her since it was so tangly.

 

She does seem to pay close attention to my eye brows and often wants to pull them. I wonder if it's somehow related.

 

Susan

[sf_mom]

This was also one of our son's symptoms at sudden on-set. The psychiatrist wanted to know if he was eating the 'root' after pulling. I was mortified by the thought but apparently very common.

 

Definitely something to be concerned about and watch for increase.

[Kayanne]

Is Trichotillomania specifically for hair pulling? Or could twisting your hair on your finger until you have a bald spot also be considered Trichotillomania?

[mkur]

Yes - initial symptom

cut DS's hair buzzzzz

[Kayanne]

Is Trichotillomania specifically for hair pulling? Or could twisting your hair on your finger until you have a bald spot also be considered Trichotillomania?

 

I answered my own question. This is from google health:

 

"Trichotillomania is hair loss caused by compulsive pulling or twisting of the hair until it breaks off."

 

It's amazing how little details of childhood add pieces to the puzzle...

[Bat_Sheva_Myllys]

Hair pulling is a sign of OCD and in our case appeared way back in 2005 when this all started, gone when things were good after treatment and remained that way until next time PITAND got bad again.

Last spring we tried buzz cutting several times (after she sheared ehrself with sccisors and got it terribly looking).

Thne I bought NAC which she now no longer takes because she stopped pulling and the hair looks short and nice.

As she has been on Azith for the padt 6 months I cannot say is this situation of no hair pulling the result of my behavioral work with her (I do it myself rather effectively), the NAC pills (e.g. by Solgar) or the Azith which got her MycoplasmaP IGG down from 200 to less than 40...

When I see hair pulled I know her PITAND is active again.

 

 

 

 

 

Yes - initial symptom

cut DS's hair buzzzzz