Advice on how I can support my son please

[CanaryLew]

Hi,

I'm not sure where to turn to for advice so here I am. My 6 year old son has been losing his hair in patches for a couple of years now. He is under the care of dermatology department at our local hospital who have been brilliant but none of the treatments so far have made any difference. His Mum and I are separated and she made the decision to shave his head on Tuesday. I am a little upset she didn't discuss it with me, but ultimately I would have backed her up on it so I guess it doesn't really matter. Sadly though it did upset him a bit - he asked her to take down all the mirrors in the house. It broke my heart to here this and my immediate thought was, I need to shave my head too. I have a full head of hair and would shave it all off in a heart beat if I thought it might make him feel better about his but I just don't know. I don't want to do it and then him be reminded of his own plight when he looks at me. Or is it important for me to show solidarity and to demonstrate that it's what's on the inside that counts?
Does anyone have any thoughts about this? Or experience of this? Also would welcome any other advice people might have.

Thanks

 

[losingbattle88]

Shaving your head wont solve anything. He will still be around other kids his age that have hair. He will always feel sad about his hair situation. So it seems he has alopecia areata? Thats a shame to have it that young in life.

 

[MrClean1]

What's the diagnosis? Do you live in the UK? I feel really bad for him...its bad enough as an adult.

Not endorsing this place at all but seemed interesting. Maybe ask your medical team about it.

HOME - HairUp - Alopecia Areata Natural Treatment

www.shmuel-gonen.com

 

[CanaryLew]

Yeah. We're in the UK. He's on the autism spectrum so, as weird as it sounds we were hoping that would help him deal with it as he has never really expressed any interest in what other people think () but this does seem to have knocked his confidence a bit. His school and teacher have been amazing, she lost her hair when she had cancer treatment a few years ago so she shared her pictures with him and I think that meant a lot to him, that she understands how he feels.
I just feel a bit helpless I suppose, being apart from him is hard at the best of times. I just want to support him anyway I can.