The child who pulls his little brothers' hair: A different trichotillomania case
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Date
2012
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Abstract
The child who pulls his little brothers' hair: a different trichotillomania case Trichotillomania (TTM) is a relatively common cause of childhood alopecia. We report our observations of 8 year old boy referred for consultation for a 4 year history of hair pulling, nail-biting, nose picking, nail picking and scalp-picking. The most commonly affected sites on the scalp were frontal region and vertex. He had started pulling his hair when he was an infant and had a very chronic, unremitting course. During the last two years, he began to pull his two little brothers' hair when they were playing together or when they were sleeping. Both of his both brothers had alopecia on their scalp. It was discovered that there were frequent arguments, violence and negative behaviors at home. Few cases are reported in the literature about children who pull their siblings' hair. We considered that impaired affective interpersonal communication between mother and child, physical and emotional neglect and childhood trauma might have played a role in the development of TTM for this case. In childhood trichotillomania cases, it is important to investigate whether the siblings have hair loss.