The Tay Syndrome - Patchy Hair Loss and Ichthyosis
Saturday, June 13th, 2009Dear Dr. Mohebi,
I am 21 years old and I have the beginnings of a small bald spot on the back of my head - one of my friends first noticed the spot about a year ago. My hair is thick and curly and I did not expect to have hair loss this soon, especially because I don’t really have a family history of hair loss (except for my paternal grandfather). My hair type is very similar to my mother’s family, and in her family most people keep their hair into their 80s, though it becomes very white. I currently live in Watertown, NY.
I have had widespread eczema since I was little, and when I was younger they classified it has icthyosis. At one point, when I was about 5, I suffered pretty bad eczema on my scalp and started losing some hair. I used prescription shampoos for a while and that seemed to take care of it. The only other medication I take on a regular basis is Zyrtec. I work in a very high stress field, and sometimes work 16 hour days - could that have contributed?
Do you have any suggestions as to what I can do to control my hair loss?
Thanks!
A:
Bald spots or patchy hair loss on scalp can have many different causes. The most common cause of patchy hair loss is known as alopecia areata (AA). We’ve discussed and described this issue on our site and in this blog on many posts before. If AA is causing patchy hair loss, hair transplant will not be the answer.
You need to find and maintain a good relationship with a good dermatologist who can make your diagnosis and start a treatment plan for your hair loss condition. You may also need a skin biopsy to confirm your hair loss condition. Many of the diseases that present themselves with patchy hair loss are chronic conditions and require consistency in treatment. Some inflammatory skin conditions may also be seen along with scalp hair loss.
Ichthyosis is a family of generalized and mostly genetic skin disorders. All types of ichthyosis have dry, thickened, scaly or flaky skin. Ichthyosis has been reported along with patchy hair loss condition. That combination is known as The tay syndrome (congenital ichthyosis with trichothiodystrophy).
