I wanted to share some information on Trichotillomania. Education is important and I hope this information is helpful. Trichotillomania is a psychiatric condition in which an individual has an uncontrollable desire to pull out his own body hair. It is generally considered to be an impulse control disorder but is sometimes classified as either a subtype or variant of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).Trichotillomania is the most common cause of hair loss in children. First described in 1889, trichotillomania is a psychiatric disorder, the result of which is alopecia or hair loss, caused by repeated pulling of ones hair from, most often the head, followed by the eyelashes and eye brows. But the hair of any part of the body may be pulled and multiple sites may be involved. The individual with trichotillomania will have bald spots on the head or missing eyelashes or eyebrows. There is an immense amount of embarrassment and denial associated with trichotillomania. It is common for individuals with this disorder to deny their behavior and attempt to hide their hair loss. The hair loss may be disguised by wearing wigs, hats, scarves or hair clips, or by applying make-up or even by tattooing. The act of hair pulling is a private one. Rarely does the hair pulling occur in the presence of another, except for close family members. Because of this fact, social alienation is common in trichotillomania. The hair pulling may occur either when the individual is relaxed or under stress. For some individuals with trichotillomania, certain situations, such as watching TV, lying in bed, or talking on the phone, will trigger the behavior. The individual either may focus intensely on the hair pulling or the pulling may be done unconsciously. Immediately before pulling hair, the individual with trichotillomania feels a mounting tension. This tension is relieved as a hair root is successfully pulled. Since a tingling sensation is felt upon successfully pulling a hair follicle completely from its root, a neurodermatologic connection may reinforce hair pulling as a means of tension relief. When the hair root remains intact and the hair shaft is broken, this sensation is not felt and the patient may repetitively pull hairs until successful. After pulling the hair, patient may carefully examine the hair root, and the hair bulb may be rubbed along the lips for further stimulation. The hairs may be ingested by some patients. The amount of time each day that the patient engages in hair pulling may consist of either several brief periods, or a longer intense period. The typical trichotillomania patient will spend one to three hours daily pulling hairs. The urge to pull can be so intense that the individual with trichotillomania cannot think of anything except hair pulling. Thus, social life and work production often suffer with trichotillomania. The act of hair pulling in trichotillomania is often ritualistic. The necessary implements, such as tweezers, are collected, the location where this is to be performed is determined, the preferred texture or color to be pulled may be planned as well as disposal of the hairs. Rarely, the individual with trichotillomania may attempt to pull the hairs of others. The hairs of a pet or doll or the fibers of an inanimate object, such as sweater, may be pulled as well. In addition to hair pulling, the hair may be bitten off or twisted or twirled. Co-existing psychiatric diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, and addictive disorders are common in trichotillomania.Tics, borderline personality disorders , and OCD are all more prevalent in trichotillomania than in the general population.The hair pulling in trichotillomania can be differentiated from that in OCD in that the hair pulling in trichotillomania is an impulse behavior where in OCD it is a repetitive act performed as part of an obsession.The individual with OCD is aware of his or her actions, while the individual with trichotillomania is not always conscious that he or she is pulling hairs.Trichotillomania is not the underlying cause of hair pulling if there is a medical reason for the hair loss or if another co-existing psychiatric disorder such as hallucination provokes the hair pulling.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 06:48:59 +0000
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