Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Hair Loss


Amanda Thomas

Recommended Posts

Amanda Thomas Rookie

You have all been a wealth of information to me. My 3 year old was diagnosed on 4/5/07 and has been gluten and wheat free since 4/6/07. I went the whole 9 yards, new pots pans, dishes silverware, sippy cups, strainers, toaster,etc... I know she is not being cross contaminated.

This past Saturday, she woke up and had a clump of hair on her pillow, I didn't think too much of it, now every morning she is waking up with clumps on her pillow and as I brush her hair, it falls out. She has spots of baldness. Has anyone else ever experienced this? We are going into the doctor in the morning, just wanted some ideas before I went in if possible.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



loraleena Contributor

It sounds like Alopecia. My son had this and lost half his hair. We ended up using a natural product with essential oil called Kalasol and it grew his hair back. Hair loss can be caused by gluten, but it says your daughter is now gluten free. The other thing I know of that can cause hair loss is hypothyroidism. If you get her checked, make sure they don't check just her TSH. She needs several other tests especially the Thyroid peroxidase antibodies. Go on some of the thyroid threads to get more info on the tests (from Georgie). I can't remember all the tests at the moment.

Nantzie Collaborator

You didn't mention personal care products specifically, so I just wanted to remind you that shampoo, lotion, cosmetics, nail polish (thinking of you here not her), all can have gluten in it. I was glutening myself and my kids once because of CC from my nails (doh!).

Nancy

Michi8 Contributor

Alopecia can definitely be connected to celiac disease. Your daughter has only been gluten free just under 3 weeks, so it would not be surprising if her body is still showing effects of gluten ingestion...and it's also possible that she is still getting gluten from something in her diet, perhaps from cross contamination. Keep up with the gluten free diet, and, as suggested by loraleena talk with your doctor about testing for other health problems such as thyroid, vitamin & mineral levels, and other malabsorption issues.

Michelle

Amanda Thomas Rookie
Alopecia can definitely be connected to celiac disease. Your daughter has only been gluten free just under 3 weeks, so it would not be surprising if her body is still showing effects of gluten ingestion...and it's also possible that she is still getting gluten from something in her diet, perhaps from cross contamination. Keep up with the gluten free diet, and, as suggested by loraleena talk with your doctor about testing for other health problems such as thyroid, vitamin & mineral levels, and other malabsorption issues.

Michelle

I was more concerned because it just started to happen, just this past weekend. We use the Suave kids 2 in 1 shampoo and johnsons buddies body wash. We also use burts bees, but I ran out last week. Her hair has never fallen out before, maybe I am being over paranoid!!! Since I am still new to this, what do I look for in the bath products? Would they say contain wheat?

loraleena Contributor

Alopecia can happen suddenly or take a while. Shampoo,lotions, etc. do not have to say wheat. I would check on a gluten listing site for products that are safe, or actually call the company. I use Giovanni and Shakai, both confirmed safe by the company and all natural. Has your daughter had a illness about 3 months ago? Illnesses can trigger Alopecia (it is autoimmune) and it takes 3 months for the hair folicle to die and the strand to fall out. My son's started exactly 3 months after having the croup.

Juliet Newbie

Alopecia areata (if that's what your child has) can also come from stress, other illnesses, weather changes, practically anything. My niece has it, which is an autoimmune disease and not any of the fungal or dermatitis forms which can be easily treated. It doesn't hurt her at all, and luckily she only has one spot. She's been given a cream to help stop it from spreading, but from what my sister was told not much can truly be done about it if it is the autoimmune version called alopecia areata, which is what she has. My niece has this form of alopecia but does not have celiac disease, however since both are autoimmune diseases there does seem to be a correlation between the two.

Here are a couple of links describing some of the symptoms as well as what you could do next:

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I would bring this to your pediatrician's attention and see if something can be done.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Michi8 Contributor

Apparently there is a stronger correlation between celiac and alopecia areata than once thought.

A Google search came up with this Pubmed article:

Open Original Shared Link

Celiac disease and alopecia areata: report of a new association.

Corazza GR,

Andreani ML,

Venturo N,

Bernardi M,

Tosti A,

Gasbarrini G.

Department of Internal Medicine, University of L'Aquila, Italy.

Celiac disease is frequently associated with other autoimmune disorders but has never been reported in association with alopecia areata. In a routine clinical practice, 3 patients with such an association were observed. In one of the patients, celiac disease was diagnosed after the occurrence of malabsorption symptoms. In the youngest patient, a 14-year-old boy, gluten-free diet resulted in complete regrowth of scalp and body hair. A prospective screening program for celiac disease using antigliadin and antiendomysial antibodies was therefore set up in 256 consecutive outpatients with alopecia areata. Three patients, all completely asymptomatic for intestinal diseases, were found to be positive and underwent biopsy. Histological analysis showed a flat intestinal mucosa consistent with the diagnosis of celiac disease. The results show that alopecia areata may constitute the only clinical manifestation of celiac disease and that the association between these two conditions is a real one because the observed frequency of association is much greater than can be expected by chance. It is suggested that antigliadin and antiendomysial antibodies should be included in the work-up of patients with alopecia areata.

PMID: 7557104 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Michelle

Amanda Thomas Rookie

We went into her pedi yesterday and spent a lot of time talking. Kaitlyn Grace is very anemic, so we started a new vitamin. Again I thank all of you, I tend to go worse case scenario with everything!!! We are going to do this vitamin and after 2 weeks do another iron test, if she is still anemic, he said we should delve further.

  • 2 years later...
Lisa C Newbie

My son has alopecia and I am interest in finding the natural product Karasol you mentioned for hari growth - can you tell me where I can find it?

Lisa C Newbie

My son has alopecia and I am interest in finding the natural product Karasol you mentioned for hari growth - can you tell me where I can find it?

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - xxnonamexx replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

    2. - catnapt replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      8

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

    3. - knitty kitty replied to catnapt's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      8

      results from 13 day gluten challenge - does this mean I can't have celiac?

    4. - knitty kitty replied to xxnonamexx's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      50

      My journey is it gluten or fiber?

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,368
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Klairep
    Newest Member
    Klairep
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • xxnonamexx
      I don't know if I am getting sufficient Omega Threes. I read about  phosphotidyl choline may cause heart issues. I will have o do further research on heathy Omega 3 supplements or from foods. Is there a blood test that can tell you everything level in your system such as Thiamine, Benfotiamine levels etc? Thanks
    • catnapt
      If lectins were my problem, I would react to wheat germ (the highest source of wheat lectins) and beans. I don't. I only react to bread and pasta, which are the highest sources of gluten. Therefore, my issue is wheat-specific (Gluten/ATIs), not a general lectin issue.   I have eaten a supposedly high lectin diet (I say supposedly because lectin content in these foods is greatly reduced by proper cooking and I eat very few of those foods raw, and even then, rarely!!) for years. My health has improved greatly on my whole foods plant forward diet. I have asked all my drs and a registered dietician about my diet, asked if eating such a high amnt of fiber might interfere with the digestion of any other nutrients and the answer has always been NO.     while doing the gluten challenge I did not eat ANY wheat germ (since it doesn't have hardly any gluten, and I was too sick from the bread and pasta to want to eat much anyway) I will NOT put that poison in my body again. That was a horrific experience and if this is what most celiac patients have to deal with, I am very sorry for them I don't care if I have celiac or NCGS I won't intentionally cause myself that much pain and suffering it's not worth it.  
    • knitty kitty
      @catnapt,  Wheat germ contains high amounts of lectins which are really hard to digest and can be irritating to the digestive tract.  They can stimulate IgG antibody production as your blood test shows.   Even beans have lectins.  You've simply eaten too many lectins and irritated your digestive tract.   You may want to allow your digestive tract to rest for a week, then start on gluten in "normal" food, not in concentrated vital wheat gluten. This explains it well: Lectins, agglutinins, and their roles in autoimmune reactivities https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25599185/
    • knitty kitty
      I take Now B-1 (100 mg) Thiamine Hydrochloride, and Amazing Formulas L-Tryptophan (1000 mg).   Both are gluten free and free of other allergens.  I've taken them for a long time and haven't had a problem with them. I take Vitamin A from BioTech called "A-25".  It's gluten and allergen free and made in the USA.  It's a powder form of Vitamin A.  I was having trouble digesting fats at one point, but found I tolerated the powder form much better and have stuck with it since.   Tryptophan and Vitamin A help heal the intestines as well as improves skin health.  I get Dermatitis Herpetiformis and eczema flairs when my stomach is upset.  So I'm healing the outside as well as the inside.   I take one 1000 mg Tryptophan before bedtime.   With the Thiamine HCl, take 100 mg to start.  If you don't notice anything, three hours later take another. You can keep increasing your dose in this manner until you do notice improvement.  Remember not to take it in the evening so it won't keep you too energized to sleep. When I first started Thiamine HCl, taking 500 mg to 1000 mg to start was recommended.  If you've been thiamine insufficient for a while, you do notice a big difference.  It's like the start of a NASCAR race: Zoom, Zoom, turn it up!   This scared or made some people uncomfortable, but it's just your body beginning to function properly, like putting new spark plugs in your engine.  I took 1000 mg all at once without food.  It kicked in beautifully, but I got a tummy ache, so take with food.  I added in Thiamine TTFD and Benfotiamine weeks later and felt like I was Formula One racing.  So cool.  You may feel worse for a couple days as your body adjusts to having sufficient thiamine.  Feels sort of like you haven't cranked your engine for a while and it backfires and sputters, but it will settle down and start purring soon enough.  Adjust your dose to what feels right for you, increasing your dose as long as you feel improvement.  You can reach a plateau, so stay there for several days, then try bumping it up again.  If no more improvements happen, you can stay at the plateau amount and experiment with increasing your Thiamine TTFD.  It's like being your own lab rat.  LoL Yes, take one Benfotiamine at breakfast and one at lunch.  Take the B Complex at breakfast. Take the TTFD at breakfast and lunch as well.  I like to take the vitamins at the beginning of meals and the NeuroMag at the end of meals.   You may want to add in some zinc.  I take Thorne Zinc 30 mg at breakfast at the beginning of the meal.   Are you getting sufficient Omega Threes?  Our brains are made up mostly of fat.  Flaxseed oil supplements, sunflower seed oil supplements (or eat the seeds themselves) can improve that.  Cooking with extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil is also helpful.   @Wheatwacked likes phosphotidyl choline supplements for his Omega Threes.  He's also had dramatic health improvement by supplementing thiamine.  You're doing great!  Thank you for sharing your journey with us.  This path will smooth out.  Keep going!  
    • catnapt
      good luck! vital wheat gluten made me violently ill. I will touch the stuff ever again.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.