title: Diagnosis and management of alopecia in children.
abstract: Alopecia in childhood is a source of high concern, frustration, and anxiety. Delineating types of alopecia and those that are chronic or potentially related to underlying medical problems is important. There are 5 common types of hair loss in children: alopecia related to tinea capitis, alopecia areata spectrum/autoimmune alopecia, traction alopecia, telogen effluvium, and trichotillomania/trichotillosis. Hair-cycle anomalies including loose anagen syndrome can lead to sparse-appearing hair. Rarer reasons for alopecia in children include pressure-induced alopecia, alopecia related to nutritional deficiency or toxic ingestion, and androgenetic alopecia. Congenital lesions should be considered for areas of localized alopecia occurring at birth.
authors.affiliation: Section of Dermatology, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 3550 Market Street, 2nd Floor Dermatology, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Electronic address: castelosocciol@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Leslie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Castelo-Soccio
mesh_terms: D000505:Alopecia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans
keywords: Alopecia areata; Telogen effluvium; Tinea capitis; Traction alopecia; Trichotillomania/trichotillosis