Losing Battle
Reader Jacqueline Rodriguez tells the story of her daughter Kellie’s battle with hair loss.
It was at the end of March last year, whilst my daughter Kellie was getting ready for a party, that I noticed a small patchy bit of hair on the back of her head. After closer investigation I realised that the patch was in fact completely bald, and not what I’d first suspected, broken hair as a result of previous hair treatments.
Concerned, we made an appointment with our GP to investigate further. To our horror our doctor diagnosed ringworm, and prescribed a fungicidal cream to treat the problem.
However, having seen ringworm on a few occasions, we suggested that it might not be ringworm, but she persisted in her diagnosis, saying that there were many forms of fungal infection and that this was one of them. We left the doctors surgery feeling unhappy and uncertain about the diagnosis.
My partner, suggested we shouldn’t use the cream prescribed as we didn’t believe it was a fungal infection. So, we decided to opt for the Chinese herbal medicine route, and after a barrage of tests, Kellie embarked on a course of tablets and suggested massage, where we had to rub ginger into her scalp. Yet still the bald patch continued to expand.
We continued Kellie’s treatment, which involved taking 38 tables a day, at a cost of £42 a visit - one visit every two weeks. About that time we moved surgeries, and found ourselves with a new GP, who suggested, whilst not interfering with the treatment, that we try garlic to rub on the scalp.
During this time Kellie became more and more depressed. What could I tell my pretty 17 year old daughter - that she had to face up to the possibility that if we couldn’t find a cure, she could end up completely bald?
By May further patches had started to appear, and in desperation her grandmother took Kellie to a well known trichology clinic in central London. The consultant there told her that Kellie had alopecia areata, which was likely to render her completely bald in time. However, they said that there was a course of treatments available, and suggested bi-weekly visits for scalp massages, ultraviolet and white light treatments, plus shampoo, conditioner and lotion. The total cost of this came to a staggering £940.00, but what else could we do?
So Kellie began the course of treatment, until one day at the beginning of July when I decided to accompany her. Afterwards we waited to see her consultant, only to find that he was unavailable. Instead we saw a new specialist who was surprised that there had been no reduction in hair loss, and if anything, it was getting worse. She suggested that Kellie should have weekly treatment, and also prescribed hormone drops, which she warned could lead to increased facial and/or body hair.
From July Kellie then went for weekly treatments and diligently took her increased dosage of medication. Half way through July, we sent Kellie on holiday for a week, in the hope that it would help her to relax and recoup her dwindling spirit. With her hair still falling out in clumps, she was at that point almost suicidal.
Whilst Kellie was away, a friend rang us and suggested we speak to someone called Alasdair Barcroft, who had written a book on aloe vera and its healing properties. With nothing to lose, we rang him and spoke at length about Kellie’s problem. Alasdair and his wife market a range of aloe vera products, and he suggested Kellie might benefit from using them. So, as soon as Kellie returned from holiday we went to see him.
He suggested a range of products, including an aloe vera drink, shampoo, conditioner and a topical gel for the skin. Seven days after she started the treatment we noticed baby fine hairs growing in all the patches. I still can’t explain the transformation that took place in the days that followed. Everyday we checked, and day-by-day the hairs became thicker and stronger. Thank God is all I remember thinking.
As I write this it has been almost thirteen weeks since Kellie started the aloe vera treatment, and it seems like a miracle. She has good hair growth coming through, and her state of mind has returned to its old self. And as you can see from the photograph below, she is well on the road to recovery.
Add comment March 2nd, 2006