Posted by Racer on November 24, 2006, at 15:17:39
In reply to Why does my daugher pull her hair out?, posted by kitkat124 on November 23, 2006, at 22:59:38
Welcome to Babble!
This is a peer support forum, so Dr Bob really doesn't answer questions here. He's the moderator, who makes sure we're civil to one another, and will sometimes comment on something, but most of the information comes from other posters here.
There are a lot of awfully knowledgeable folk here, and a fair few who have studied these things more formally. And, of course, a lot of us have first hand knowledge of the disorders or treatments we're discussing.
Ace gave you the same answer I would have -- trichotillomania. It's a compulsive pulling out of hairs. Treatments would start with OCD type medications, like SSRIs, and they can be very effective. I strongly urge you to get your daughter to a really good child psychologist and child psychiatrist. The sooner she gets the appropriate treatment, the better the outcome for her. I'm not saying there's something "wrong" with your daughter, that she needs a psychiatrist -- I'm saying that the best outcomes for most of these things that start in childhood comes from getting the appropriate help as soon as possible. "Wait and see" is a bad option for something like this, because it tends to get worse, not better. "She'll grow out of it" is probably fiction -- it's much more likely to get worse, and harder to treat.
As for trich, though, my husband has it. (He'll deny this, by the way.) In my husband's case, he pulls out his eyebrows, eyelashes, and beard hairs. The eyebrow and eyelashes he doesn't pull constantly, but his beard hairs -- OH MY! lol It does stop him from growing a beard, but it's still distressing for me. He swears up and down that this isn't trich, that he *has to* pull out the hairs, because "they get too thick," but that's apparently pretty consistent with the disorder.
As for the seriousness of the disorder, in the general scale of things it's probably no worse than my reaction to having sticky hands -- really just an OCD symptom, but in the case of trich it can become much more cosmetically apparent. OCD itself isn't necessarily a terrible problem, by the way. A lot of the stereotypical things don't happen for everyone -- the hand washing, etc. In my case, most of the compulsive behaviors aren't even apparent to anyone -- the volume on the TV has to go to an even number, I need exactly three paper towels to dry my hands in a public bathroom, I can't stand having sticky hands (although I can delay washing them long enough that even my husband didn't learn that for years), etc. If your daughter does actually have or is actually developing OCD, it's quite possible that it will never get any worse than it is for me.
And, there's also a possibility that this isn't actually trichotillomania. This could be a sign of anxiety, perhaps in response to the wrong dose of a medication, or just in response to being treated differently because of her recent diagnosis. (Or her perception that she's being treated differently since the diagnosis...) The best way to find out is to get her to a skilled professional for evaluation.
This has to be so hard for you, but remember: it's not a reflection on your parenting that she's having trouble -- it is a reflection on your good parenting that you're getting her the treatment she needs, to minimize any adverse impact this might have on her. Best luck to you.
And again, welcome to Babble!
poster:Racer
thread:706591
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20061123/msgs/706741.html