T1 Child Hair Loss

[dadandlad2023]

Hi Group

This is my first post! Our 9 year old son was diagnosed with T1 in November. Over the last few weeks we have noticed quite a significant amount of hair loss on his usual thick head of hair. It is not coming out in clumps or on a brush, but we are noticing lots on pillow cases and after he has had a bath.

It is starting to worry us and we have reached out to his diabetes care team.

I just wonder if anyone else has come across this before and what the treatment/outcome was?

Thank You!

 

[Pumper_Sue]

It could be something as simple as an under active thyroid. Hope you find some answers soon.

 

[dadandlad2023]

It could be something as simple as an under active thyroid. Hope you find some answers soon.

Thank you so much Sue. Is Thyroid something we would have to get checked by his local GP? and also can children have under active Thyroids? Sorry for the questions!

 

[Pumper_Sue]

Yes to both questions, 🙂
It's just a simple blood test and if underactive then it's a case of taking a tablet or two (very small) to get the right dosage. Under active thyroid is an autoimmune condition same as type1 diabetes.

 

[Robin]

Has he got fine, new hair growing up by the roots? Sometimes when the body is under stress, (as it would have been last November until the diabetes was diagnosed and treated) the body shuts down production of 'non essentials' like new hair growth. Then when the body recovers, hair production can restart, and each new hair pushes out an old one that may have been hanging on longer than usual because there was no new growth from underneath.

 

[dadandlad2023]

Has he got fine, new hair growing up by the roots? Sometimes when the body is under stress, (as it would have been last November until the diabetes was diagnosed and treated) the body shuts down production of 'non essentials' like new hair growth. Then when the body recovers, hair production can restart, and each new hair pushes out an old one that may have been hanging on longer than usual because there was no new growth from underneath.

Hi Robin. Thank you so much for the reply. He has always had a huge amount of head hair! Had it cut a month or so back and it feels quite fine. He is not losing any patches rather than hair falling out from all over the head. I will have a good look later on though. Thank you again.

 

[Inka]

I didn’t have any hair loss after diagnosis, but I’ve read about others who did have hair loss. I think it’s due to the major shock to the body, as @Robin suggests, and also possibly a lack of nutrition/calories as the body has been unable to use the food eaten properly. After diagnosis, I did notice a few months of re-adjustment by my body eg increased appetite, but it then settled back to normal. Hopefully, you’ll find your son is the same 🙂

 

[grovesy]

Newborns can have low thyroid, it is one of the things the Guthrie Test( the blood spot test they have at few days old test for!)

 

[dadandlad2023]

I didn’t have any hair loss after diagnosis, but I’ve read about others who did have hair loss. I think it’s due to the major shock to the body, as @Robin suggests, and also possibly a lack of nutrition/calories as the body has been unable to use the food eaten properly. After diagnosis, I did notice a few months of re-adjustment by my body eg increased appetite, but it then settled back to normal. Hopefully, you’ll find your son is the same 🙂

Thank you so much! Mum has a phone consultation with a GP later so fingers crossed and we will go from there.

 

[PhoebeC]

Thank you so much! Mum has a phone consultation with a GP later so fingers crossed and we will go from there.

How did the call with the GP go?

 

[DeeM]

I had several months of what felt like excess hair loss, similar to what you describe with your son, after diagnosis last year (with both T1 and Hashimoto’s - the autoimmune thyroid condition). The doc - and hairdresser - explained something very similar to others here, that the strain/ shock to the system of the onset of the illness ‘freezes’ the natural ongoing cycle of hair regrowth and loss for a while, leaving more hair follicles at the same stage at the same time. It’s not that there is more hair overall falling out but that there’s a kind of backlog so it seems excessive compared to usual.

 

[dadandlad2023]

How did the call with the GP go?

Hi Phoebe.....we have been booked in for a blood test for the little man but the earliest in April! Some fantastic replies on here and I have noticed in the last week less hair falling out! So fingers crossed x

 

[dadandlad2023]

I had several months of what felt like excess hair loss, similar to what you describe with your son, after diagnosis last year (with both T1 and Hashimoto’s - the autoimmune thyroid condition). The doc - and hairdresser - explained something very similar to others here, that the strain/ shock to the system of the onset of the illness ‘freezes’ the natural ongoing cycle of hair regrowth and loss for a while, leaving more hair follicles at the same stage at the same time. It’s not that there is more hair overall falling out but that there’s a kind of backlog so it seems excessive compared to usual.

Hi Dee, thank you so much for this and it is so reassuring to hear! How are you now?