on a pacifier, or rubbing a blanket. It usually stops when kids are around two or three years old, just like thumb sucking, although some continue

      pulling until they are three to five years old.

 

• Bacterial Infections can causes some hair loss that appears similar to tinea capitis with scaling. But instead of being caused by ringworm, it is often caused by the staph aureaus bacteria.

 

• Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disorder in which the child's immune's system attacks the hair follicles which causes complete hair loss in round or oval patches on a child's scalp or other body part. Unlike ringworm, the scalp involved in the round patches of alopecia areata is completely smooth, without redness or scale.

 

• Traction Alopecia is common in kids who wear tight braids or ponytails and in newborns and infants who lose hair on the back of their head from rubbing it against their crib.

 

• Trichotillomania is thought to be related to obsessive-compulsive disorder and is defined as a child or teen who compulsively pulls out their hair, feels tension before pulling or when trying to resist pulling, and feels pleasure, gratification, or relief when pulling their hair out. These children have noticeable hair loss and often need treatment from a child psychiatrist and/or child psychologist who specializes in trichotillomania.

 

• Alopecia Totalis and alopecia universalis are similar to alopecia areata, except that the child loses all scalp hair (alopecia totalis) or all scalp hair and all body hair (alopecia universalis). The chances for treatment success and hair regrowth are less for alopecia totalis and alopecia universalis than they are for alopecia areata. A pediatric dermatologist can help treat your child with any of these disorders.