Is my child's bald patch contagious?

Alopecia areata is not contagious. Tinea capitis, a fungal infection that can look similar, is contagious and needs medical treatment, so have a dermatologist look before assuming either.

Should my child wear a wig?

Only if the child wants to. It should be their choice rather than something arranged to hide them, and a child's piece needs to be made to measure for a growing head.

Will my child's hair grow back?

Often it does, but it is unpredictable and can fall again. A dermatologist can explain what is realistic for your child's particular pattern.

For parents

Alopecia in children

A child comes home from school with a coin-sized bald patch, or a teacher points it out. What follows is usually a round of shampoos, oils and worry before anyone says the word alopecia. Here is what Filipino parents most often need to know, in the order it usually comes up.

It is probably not an infection — but get it checked

Smooth, round patches with normal-looking skin point towards alopecia areata. Scaly, itchy, broken-off patches can point to tinea capitis, a fungal infection that is common in children, is contagious, and needs treatment. The two look different to a dermatologist and are managed completely differently, so the first step is a proper look rather than a change of shampoo.

What to tell the child

Plainly and early. Your body got confused and switched off some hair; it does not hurt, you are not sick, nobody can catch it, and it is nobody’s fault. Children fill silence with worse explanations than the truth.

Let them decide how they want to handle it at school. Some want a cap, some want nothing, some want a teacher to explain it to the class once so the questions stop. All three work; being overruled does not.

School

Talk to the adviser before the teasing starts rather than after. One short conversation — this is alopecia, it is not contagious, please do not make it a spectacle — prevents most of it. If a school insists a cap breaks uniform rules, that is a conversation worth having in person.

Hair pieces for children

Children can wear hair, and some want to. It should be their decision, not a way of hiding them. A child’s piece needs to be light, breathable and made to a growing head, which is why it has to be made to measure rather than bought ready-made and cut down.

Many children try one and then stop wearing it once they realise they are allowed to choose. That is a good outcome, not a waste.

Looking after yourself

Parents often carry this harder than the child does. Your worry is reasonable, and your child reads it. Finding another parent who has been through it helps more than another round of internet reading — Alopecia Philippines has them.