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Suggest Remedies For Eczema On Elbows
Question: My 18 year old son is beginning college and the past two weeks he has been experiencing hair loss. He plays football and baseball and is having extreme anxiety about wearing a helmet and having hair come out each time he removes it. He has had some blood work done, for thyroid which were negative and awaiting some results on hormone levels. He says his hair feels dry and brittle. He has some eczema type places on the inside of his elbows, which we noticed more when he has stress. During his physical today, the MD felt it was not a dermatological problem, but his scalp appeared sunburned. Can stress cause this and if so what do you suggest as a plan of attack. Not sure if this should be Psychiatry, Dermatology, Internal Medicine or what else. Can you advise what we might need to think about. If this needs to be reviewed by a different specialist, please let us know. Thank you, XXXX (father)
Brief Answer:
Dermatologist needs to be consulted. Follow up is important.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone very carefully through your query and understand your concerns. Let me mention that we have more than a lakh hair on our scalp and it is normal for about a 100 hairs to fall everyday. This is not usually apparent as we hardly notice. But things may become more apparent when removing a helmet. That does not necessarily mean that there is increased hairfall and perhaps there is no reason to panic.
If his hair feels brittle, my suggestion would be to use ketoconazole shampoo twice or thrice each week. That will reduce seborrheic dermatitis, a fungal infection that could cause hair loss as well.
However, eczema can lead to hairfall from the affected areas and in such a case suitable dermatological treatment will ensure that the ailment is in control. That the scalp appears sunburnt indicates that perhaps eczema has affected his scalp and therefore needs to be treated.
Stress affects health and messes up with everything and can be related to hairfall. Stress depresses immunity and depression of immunity may lead to flare up of eczema. If you feel that increased stress is a factor, a psychiatrist will able to offer solutions to ease his stress and long term anxiolytics like fluoxetine may help.
Let me know if I could help further.
Dermatologist needs to be consulted. Follow up is important.
Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.
I have gone very carefully through your query and understand your concerns. Let me mention that we have more than a lakh hair on our scalp and it is normal for about a 100 hairs to fall everyday. This is not usually apparent as we hardly notice. But things may become more apparent when removing a helmet. That does not necessarily mean that there is increased hairfall and perhaps there is no reason to panic.
If his hair feels brittle, my suggestion would be to use ketoconazole shampoo twice or thrice each week. That will reduce seborrheic dermatitis, a fungal infection that could cause hair loss as well.
However, eczema can lead to hairfall from the affected areas and in such a case suitable dermatological treatment will ensure that the ailment is in control. That the scalp appears sunburnt indicates that perhaps eczema has affected his scalp and therefore needs to be treated.
Stress affects health and messes up with everything and can be related to hairfall. Stress depresses immunity and depression of immunity may lead to flare up of eczema. If you feel that increased stress is a factor, a psychiatrist will able to offer solutions to ease his stress and long term anxiolytics like fluoxetine may help.
Let me know if I could help further.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you, Dr. XXXXXXX Of course our problem is he is at school now, 7-8 hours away and trying to make appointments or get referrals is a little more difficult. I think we will go forward with obtaining a dermatologist for sure and try the school counseling programs for a referral for Psych. I appreciate your help. HK
Brief Answer:
Should be ok
Detailed Answer:
That should suffice.
Feel free to write back in case of further queries.
Regards
Should be ok
Detailed Answer:
That should suffice.
Feel free to write back in case of further queries.
Regards
Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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