Alopecia is usually accompanied with some emotional distress as sufferers lose their hair. It can be particularly traumatic for as children as one your girl, Riley found out when she lost her hair to the disease.
Riley’s mother, Chelsea Sylvaria recorded and uploaded a video on Facebook and captioned with a heart-touching conversation that she had had with her daughter the night before. In her caption, Sylvaria outlined how she asked her daughter whether she loved herself, to which her daughter replied no as she didn’t have any hair.
Selfless gesture of love
The video then begins as Riley and her father are sitting together and he is attempting to console her and teach her daughter it doesn’t matter whether you have hair or not. Then without hesitation, he even offers to shave his own head. The video concludes with Riley helping her father remove his hair and giggling and shrieking with happiness.
The video has had over seven hundred thousand views so far and has inspired many to share their own experiences, photos and messages of support for alopecia sufferers. People have felt this video was a beacon of hope and positivity, an excellent way to end 2017. For Riley the video and the messages of support from thousands of strangers must have meant she has learnt a valuable lesson, that hair alone is not a mark of true beauty.
Alopecia areata in childhood
Alopecia areata is the sudden appearance of circular shaped patches of hair loss; this condition usually occurs on the scalp but can affect different areas of the body. Hair loss patches are smooth and may appear overnight or within just a few days. Alopecia areata is an autoimmune condition and it is not known how the condition is triggered, although some research suggests that genetics may play a role in predisposing some children to the disease.
Prognosis for alopecia is actually dependent on the cause of the hair loss. Some forms of alopecia respond better to treatment; however this is not true for every case. For more information about alopecia areata in childhood, speak to a hair loss expert.
