Excess body hair in children. Hair or stubble on the back of a newborn: causes of appearance and methods of removal Long hair on the body of a child

Excessive hairiness in a child is called hypertrichosis in medicine. It is customary to talk about the disease only if hair growth is observed in places where this is not provided for by the child’s ethnicity and nature. The first signs can be observed in the baby after birth or appear at an older age. Both boys and girls of any age are equally susceptible to hypertrichosis.

Causes of the problem

Hypertrichosis of newborns can have the following causes:

• pathologies of the pregnant woman, mutations during fetal development;
• genetic predisposition;
• infectious diseases of the mother or taking medications.

The cause may also be a child’s illness:

• brain injuries, tumors;
• epidermolysis bullosa;
• local hair growth can be caused by trauma to a certain area of ​​the body;
• dermatomycosis (fungal skin infection);
• anorexia, disorders of the central nervous system, epilepsy;
• endocrine pathologies.

It is believed that the sudden appearance of excessive hair is a harbinger of the development of a malignant tumor, especially if the cause of the disease has not been identified.

Characteristic symptoms

The main symptom of hypertrichosis is a large amount of hair on the body, even in places where there should not be any in principle: palms, neck, stomach. However, it is necessary to distinguish normality from pathology. So, for girls under 9–10 years old, a large amount of hair in the leg area is not the norm and can be considered a symptom of hypertrichosis. The same applies to the area of ​​the armpits and pubic part. Normally, hair should appear there after 10 or even 12 years.

A newborn may be born with fairly long hair, but it is soft and light (vellus). This is not a symptom of the disease; such fluff falls out very quickly. For a boy, hair in the area of ​​the upper lip, on the ears, and chin is normal, but for a girl it is a symptom of a disease.

The ethnicity of the child is also important. For example, for the Mediterranean type, fused eyebrows are the norm, for the Asian type it is already a primary sign of hypertrichosis. Dark-skinned children genetically have more body hair than light-skinned children (northern type).

Types of disease

Depending on the area of ​​the child’s body that is abundantly covered with hair, we can talk about the types of disease:

1. Local hypertrichosis. Can be prothoracic, lumbar.
2. General – implies total hair growth. Basically, this pathology is congenital: a lot of hair on the baby’s body is not replaced by “new” ones, but continues to grow and become tougher.

Hirsutism is a separate subtype - this is a “female” disease, which is manifested by body hair against the background of an excess of male hormones. May be accompanied by baldness, increased muscle mass, and amenorrhea in girls.

Treatment methods

If signs of excess hair are detected in a child, it is necessary to consult a dermatologist, endocrinologist and pediatric gynecologist (for girls). Primary examinations are aimed at determining the level of hormones and endocrine pathologies.

To treat hypertrichosis, it is necessary to establish the exact cause and eliminate it. Drug treatment is prescribed for hormonal imbalance. If the disease is caused by heredity or intrauterine malformations, treatment consists of mechanical hair removal. Electrolysis is recognized as the most popular and safest method today. It consists of destroying the hair follicle, which subsequently guarantees the absence of hair growth in the treated areas. The procedure is carried out in several sessions. For example, to completely remove hair from the chin, it is necessary to conduct about 60 sessions over the course of a year.

This procedure can only be used in adolescents after puberty. Children under this age are prescribed special depilatory creams or hair bleaching with regular hydrogen peroxide.

Increased hairiness of the baby should alert parents in order to identify developmental abnormalities in time. But it is not always a symptom of hypertrichosis. Take a closer look at the child’s relatives: if many of them also have excess body hair, most likely the child has simply inherited this feature.

Popularly, such a disease is called “Poker” by some, and “infant bristle” by others. In fact, this is not a typical disease at all, although it can cause some discomfort to newborns and is sometimes painful.

After the birth of the baby, some redness of the skin appears on the body, in medical parlance called “physiological erythema.” After a couple of months, this phenomenon goes away, but sometimes some peeling occurs in this place, very similar to that which appears with. It is under this flaky skin that very small hairs are found, which can even be physically felt if you run your hand along the baby’s back.

Reasons

Even modern medicine knows that the true reasons for the appearance of this bristle on the back of a baby are still unknown, and there are not even rough assumptions. Although it is an undeniable fact that babies have such bristles. There is a reason to take certain actions when:

• The child is worried;
• Sleeps poorly at night;
• Cries constantly;
• Pediatricians cannot determine a good reason for this condition.

In such a situation, you need to try to remove the existing bristles. Such a procedure will not harm the baby at all, even when the reason lies in something else. We also recommend reading about.
All mothers will be interested in how to treat it.

Symptoms

Typically, parents detect the presence of hair like this:

• The child is crying;
• Refuses to eat;
• Doesn't sleep well;
• When you try to put him on his back, he immediately begins to arch and resist.

First, it is advisable to consult a pediatrician to rule out other possible diseases. If the specialist does not find anything else, the likelihood is high that it is the bristles that are tormenting the child. Mothers often do not understand this, being very perplexed about this. Many are convinced that the baby has nothing of the kind, since his back is completely clean, there are no visible hairs. However, it is worth trying to remove the bristles, because all the recommendations on this matter are safe and absolutely harmless. The hairs are completely invisible to the naked eye, since they grow under the skin on the shoulders and back, disturbing the baby and causing him suffering. Usually mothers are sure that all such statements are fiction. But most newborns have hair on their backs, which disappears on its own when they reach six months of age. You shouldn’t torment your child for six months; it’s better to get rid of them right away.

These hairs can roll down and discharge accumulates on them. All this is capable of:

• To be rude;
• grow;
• Inflame;
• Cause pain.

Also, such hairs can break out because they grow under the skin, often breaking out during the baby’s continuous movements, and together with the roots.

To prevent your child from becoming restless and constantly irritated in the future, you should definitely get rid of the bristles. There are traditional methods for this that are somewhat similar to each other. It’s enough to just settle on the more suitable one.

Treatment

When bathing (you can read about how this is done separately), you need to steam the baby’s shoulders and entire back, then rub honey into them. After this, a bristle will appear on the skin surface; all that remains is to carefully remove these unwanted hairs with your hand, performing circular movements. Good results are shown by using a non-rough washcloth or a small massage mitt. In addition to honey, it is also recommended to use:

• Regular yeast dough;
• Bread (black only);
• Yeast (fresh only).

There is also such an effective remedy as breast milk. It is enough to spray it on the child’s back area and then lightly massage it. Just a couple of procedures are enough for the child to calm down, begin to sleep soundly, acquire an appetite and stop crying.

Some may think that such advice is somewhat strange, there is no logic in it, but all of them have been practically proven for many generations, are effective and bring significant relief to the baby.

Conclusion

When performing the procedures, you need to ensure that the bristles completely disappear within a couple of weeks. Otherwise, it is worth visiting a doctor, since such a phenomenon may also indicate the presence of a hereditary disease - Corneille de Lange syndrome. To be sure to identify it, you will have to consult a neurologist and geneticist.

Hello dear readers. Hair on a newborn's body can be scary for new parents. In this article you can learn about the causes of this manifestation, symptoms and methods of combating this phenomenon.

Baby born with body hair

In fact, parents should not immediately panic and worry if they notice the presence of hair on their baby in places other than the head. Most often, this phenomenon is observed in children in the first twenty-eight days of life. And by the first month there is no trace left of them. However, there are other options when increased hairiness is caused by abnormalities in the baby’s development. Then, you need to seek help from a specialist, undergo an examination and identify the exact cause of this phenomenon.

When my son was born, he already had black hair on his head (now he is blond). In addition, when I unwrapped him, I saw that on the back along the spine there was a strip of dark hairs, they were so airy, like fluff. Only then I knew nothing about lanugo and was terribly afraid that it was some kind of deviation. The doctor who came for the examination explained everything to me, it just relieved my heart. So, like no one else, I understand the feelings of mothers who are faced with the appearance of hair on the back or other parts of the baby’s body. Our fluff came out on its own, about three weeks after giving birth.

Lanugo

Almost all cases of hair on the shoulders, back and ears of a toddler are explained by a phenomenon called lanugo. It turns out that when a baby is in the womb, his body is covered with such protective hairs. In some cases, especially if the baby was born earlier than expected, this fluff does not have time to fall off or wear off. And it is quite normal for it to persist for up to two months. In such cases, it is too early to talk about pathology. But if nothing changes in the future, and attempts to help the cannon roll out are unsuccessful or the hairs begin to become blacker and stiffer, then you should consult a doctor.

Causes of hair

If hair grows on a child’s back, you need to know what reasons could cause this phenomenon.

1. Genetic predisposition. Especially if, in addition to the back, other parts of the body are covered with hairs.
2. Increased testosterone levels.
3. If the child was born much earlier than the expected time, most likely such hair is newborn fluff that simply has not yet had time to roll up.
4. Stigmas are abnormalities in hair growth and development.
5. If the child is already more than three months old, and the congenital fuzz is still present, it is a symptom of pathology. It is necessary to consult a doctor for advice. The specialist will be able to draw some conclusions during the initial examination and will also prescribe a number of tests, including genetic ones.
6. If the presence of hair on the baby's body is not the original fuzz, then its appearance can be caused by diseases such as hirsutism, hypertrichosis or Corneille de Lango syndrome.
7. There are cases when doctors cannot immediately determine the causes of increased hair growth. Then a diagnosis of kakidiopathic hair growth is made.

Symptoms

The baby may show signs indicating not only the presence of hair, which the mother may not have noticed yet, but also that its presence spoils the baby’s life, causing discomfort and even pain. Therefore, it is important to consult a doctor in such cases in time.

These are the signs:

1. The little one cries “bitter tears” and becomes irritable.
2. The baby loses his appetite and begins to act up.
3. The child does not sleep well, both during the day and at night. He often wakes up and is mopey.
4. In the “lying on his back” position, he begins to arch, and may even cry.

Methods for getting rid of lanugo

1. The most necessary thing is to observe the rules of personal hygiene. It is important to bathe daily and wipe areas with hair with a soft washcloth. After the water procedure, you can treat areas of localized hair on the body with children's anti-inflammatory cream. Over time, the hairs will begin to become very thin and soft, and they can be easily removed by passing a cotton wool (slightly moistened) over the place where they grow.
2. Physical activity of children is important. Parents need to encourage the little one to turn or independently turn the baby from back to tummy and back. In addition, you can’t do without light gymnastics. This way, you can help the gun fall off as quickly as possible.
3. In addition, some parents resort to traditional methods of combating unwanted hair. They use honey or yeast, black bread or even breast milk. Using these products, you need to massage in a circular motion, thereby rolling off the fluff.

After reading this article, you have come to the conclusion that the presence of hair on different parts of the baby’s body does not always indicate the occurrence of pathology. The presence of a fuzz in a newborn in almost all cases indicates lanugo, and they disappear naturally. However, if increased hair growth bothers the toddler and even causes pain, then it is better to consult a specialist rather than self-medicate. In any situation, try to remain completely calm, because the little one senses his mother’s mood very keenly.

First of all, of course, this question interests mothers of girls. First, let's understand the terms. There are 3 types of hair:

— lanugo(primordial fuzz) is fetal hair that appears in the third month of intrauterine development and falls out at approximately 36 weeks. In case of premature birth, the child may be born covered with the original down;

— vellus hair- this is light, thin hair, no more than 1-2 cm in length, containing almost no pigment;

— shaft hair- coarse, dark, thick terminal hair.

There are several concepts associated with excess hair growth. Hirsutism should be distinguished from hypertrichosis.
Hypertrichosis- this is congenital or acquired excess hair, independent of the content of androgens - the male fraction of hormones (testosterone, androstenedione, etc.) appearing mainly outside androgen-dependent areas (pubis, thigh, axillary region, abdomen, etc.). The transformation of vellus hair into shaft hair occurs under the influence of androgens! It's called hirsutism and occurs in androgen-dependent areas.

It is very important - the quantity and quality of hair is influenced by many factors - ethnic characteristics, systemic factors, the level of sex hormones and individual skin sensitivity to androgens.

Let's look at some of the causes of excess hair growth in children. :

1. If you start from the newborn period, especially in premature babies, often the entire surface of the body is covered with vellus hair - lanugo. Such hair gradually falls out, but patchy growth can persist throughout life. Sometimes this phenomenon is combined with certain developmental defects, which requires a more careful examination of the child.

2. If the child is growing rapidly, growth hormone in this case is actively manifested by hair growth on the forearms, legs, and is not observed in androgen-dependent areas (this is unlike other forms of excess hair growth). This is not a pathology.

3. The easiest option is hair growth constitutional nature when either vellus or even shaft-type hair is actively growing, but this is a hereditary feature, and/or due to a certain nationality (typical of Jews, gypsies, residents of the Caucasus, Greeks, etc.).

4. The endocrinologist pays especially close attention to hair growth in girls in areas characteristic of the action of genital hormones - the pubic area, armpits, chest, abdomen, inner thigh (especially if hair growth begins before 8-9 years of age, earlier, this is called premature adrenarche), and in these cases it is important to know how it happened in women on the mother’s side and the mother herself. With this type of hair growth, the endocrinologist clarifies, with the help of a hormonal examination, the reasons for such hair growth - CAH (adrenal hyperplasia, when there is a genetic tendency to hair growth, expressed by premature maturation in the form of the appearance of excess hair growth, then in the form of a cycle disorder, early appearance of acne) . Other causes are also excluded - PPR (premature puberty), hypothyroidism (lack of thyroid hormones), hyperprolactinemia, PCOS (formation of polycystic ovary syndrome), Cushing's syndrome (overproduction of adrenal hormones), acromegaly (overproduction of growth hormone), and, of course, excluded extremely rare tumors of the ovaries or adrenal glands, the brain.

The examination is usually carried out by two doctors - a gynecologist and an endocrinologist.

5. Sometimes the cause of excess hair growth is taking medications such as GCS (glucocorticoids), cytostatics, etc.

6. If the cause of excess hair growth is not specified, then such a process is interpreted as idiopathic hair growth, and it requires observation and repeated testing after 1-2 years.

The examination includes blood sampling for hormones: fraction of male hormones (total testosterone, free testosterone, dihydrotestosterone, androstenedione, 17-OH-progesterone, DHA-S, GSPS, prolactin, TSH, free T4, and when menstruation begins - on days 2-4 FSH, LH.
An ultrasound of the pelvic organs and adrenal glands is also performed. Determination of bone age (x-ray of the hands), since the increased amount of male hormones in a girl closes the growth zones.
Sometimes MRI of the brain.

Excessive hair growth is assessed at the appointment
according to the official scale Ferrimon-Gallway : (a result of more than 7 points is a sign of hormonal disorders):

Upper lip
1 point - single hairs along the outer edge,
2 points - small antennae along the outer edge,
3 points - mustache on half of the outer area,
4 points - mustache to the midline of the lip

Chin
1 point - single scattered hairs,
2 points - scattered hair, but its growth is more abundant,

4 points - continuous and abundant hair growth.

Breast
1 point - hair around the nipple,
2 points - hair around the nipple and along the midline of the chest,
3 points – arched hair growth on ¾ of the chest,
4 points - continuous hair growth.

Upper back
1 point - isolated scattered hairs,
2 points - a significant amount of scattered hair,
3 points – slight continuous hair growth,
4 points - continuous abundant hair growth,

Lower back
1 point - sacral bundle (on the lower back in the form of a triangle),
2 points - sacral fascicle and some hair growth on the lateral surface of the back,
3 points hair growth ¾ of the lower back,
4 points - continuous hair growth,

Upper abdomen
1 point - individual hairs along the white line,
2 points - abundant hair growth along the white line,
3 points - hair growth of ½ of the upper abdomen,
4 points - continuous hairiness of the upper abdomen.

Lower abdomen
1 point – individual hairs along the white line,
2 points - stripes of hair along the white line,
3 points - wide stripe along the white line,
4 points - hair growth in the form of a triangle

Shoulder
1 point - scattered hair more than ¼ shoulder, 2 point - more abundant by ¼, but not complete,
3 points - completely insignificant,
4 points - completely plentiful

Forearm

Hip
1 point and 2 points - continuous hair growth on the dorsal surface is insignificant,
3 points and 4 points - continuous abundant hair growth on the dorsal surface.

Shin
1 point and 2 points - continuous hair growth on the dorsal surface is insignificant,
3 points and 4 points - continuous abundant hair growth on the dorsal surface.