Is hair loss in children a cause for concern?

The article was consulted with Master, Doctor Nguyen Thi An - Pediatrician - Neonatologist - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Ha Long International General Hospital.

Hair loss in young children is one of the symptoms of Vitamin D deficiency or rickets. This is the reason why many parents worry when they find out that their child has hair loss.

What is terry hair loss? This phrase is used to refer to the phenomenon of young children losing a lot of hair, especially hair loss on the back of the neck, forming a turban.
Hair loss in babies 4 months and up is one of the signs of Vitamin D deficiency. Therefore, the first question raised by parents when they notice the phenomenon of hair loss in the crown is that the child may have rickets.
However, hair loss in children is just one of many signs of rickets, which can be mentioned as:
The child is often fussy for unknown reasons Sleep at night or startle and sweat a lot The fontanelle (top of the head) of the baby is wide, soft to the touch, closed for a long time and rising and falling with breathing Has a prominent hump on the top of the head and forehead

Abnormally soft and flattened skull bones Slow teething, delay in rolling (turning upside down), crawling or walking slower than normal Babies are often constipated In short, it is impossible to confirm that a child is stunted bone just by the sign of hair loss . Parents should not panic when they see their child losing a lot of hair, instead calmly observe the baby's other manifestations and consult with experienced pediatric experts.

If the parents have taken the child to the doctor and received the results that the baby does not have calcium deficiency, then at this time should consider other causes of coronal hair loss in children. Some reasons for baby's hair loss include:
Thin hair and a lot of lying: Most of the time the baby is lying on his back, the back of the head is in direct contact with the pillow for a long time, making it difficult for the hair to grow. grow more. Children with thin, easy-to-fall hair are more likely to have this condition than children with strong, hard hair. Medication side effects: This is another cause of hair loss when a child is sick and has to take certain medications. Tinea capitis: If your child has empty patches of the scalp that don't grow hair, he or she may have some form of fungal infection. Parents should not ignore this condition because scalp fungus will last and spread to other areas of the body.

Habit of hair pulling: For older children who still have hair loss, it may be because your child often subconsciously pulls the hair, causing hair loss. Parents should monitor and carefully check whether their children fall into the above causes or not. If the common causes of hair loss have been ruled out and after 2 months there is still no positive improvement, parents should take their child to the doctor for an examination to find out the cause, as well as measures. remedy for alopecia areata.
In general, hair loss in children can be due to many different causes and is a normal physiological phenomenon, not necessarily a manifestation of vitamin D or calcium deficiency. To know for sure if a child with hair loss is rickets or not, parents need to take the child to a nutritionist as well as a blood test (if necessary), then coordinate with the doctor to find a cure. appropriate and effective treatment for children.
Besides, parents also need to supplement their children with essential micro-minerals such as zinc, lysine, chromium, selenium, vitamin B1, ... to fully meet the nutritional needs of children. The addition of these essential vitamins also supports digestion, enhances nutrient absorption, improves anorexia, and helps children eat well. Parents can simultaneously apply dietary supplements and functional foods derived from nature for easy absorption. The most important thing is that improving your baby's symptoms often takes a long time. Combining many types of functional foods at the same time or changing many types in a short time can make the baby's digestive system unable to adapt and completely not good. Therefore, parents must be really patient with their children and regularly visit the website vimec.com to update useful baby care information.