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Home › Articles › Special Needs Kids › Hair Pulling

Hair Pulling

What Happens When a Child Can't Quit?

By Teri Brown

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Pearson says it seems as if there may be two types of trichotillomania. "Baby Trich" or "Toddler Trich" seems to be more benign, more self-regulating and diminishes over time. For children who develop pulling before the age of 5, many seem to simply develop out of the need to pull.

"When TTM starts around puberty or pre-puberty, the possibility of long-term chronic TTM is much higher, but again, not a definite," Pearson says.

Treatments
As far as treatments for children go, Pearson says that cognitive behavioral therapy with a provider familiar with treatment is probably the most accepted form of treatment in the professional community. There are currently no medications that have been approved for TTM by the FDA. So if a doctor prescribes a medication, it is an "off label" use.

"In pharmaceutical studies, no medication has proven that effective for TTM as of yet, although some people do experience some benefit," Pearson says. "The problem is, often when there is initial benefit from a medication, the effect seems to wear off over time."

Various types of treatments for TTM include diet regulation, hypnosis, neurofeedback and psychotherapy. While none of the treatments works for everyone, many receive relief from such treatments.


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