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Insect
bites
Tick bites have been reported as causing patches of hair loss
that could potentially be confused with alopecia areata (Heyl 1982,
Marshall 1966). The mild inflammatory response to the tick bite
inadvertently affects hair follicles in the immediate vicinity
and
stops hair fiber production. The hair loss is temporary and regrows
when the inflammation subsides.Diffuse alopecia after bee
stings has also been reported (Sharma 1997).
There are now three reports of ants causing a focal alopecia that
might be confused with alopecia areata (Radmanesh 1999; Shamsadini
2003; Mortazavi 2004). Here, the issue is not so much an inflmamatory
reaction as occurs with
skin
bites
and
bee
stings,
but rather ants that get into the hair can chew off the hair fibers.
What is left is a patch of very short stubble. Why the ants cut
the hair fiber is not clear, but they might be collecting the hair
as nesting material.
Insect
bite references
- Heyl T. Tick bite alopecia. Clin Exp Dermatol.
1982 Sep;7(5):537-42.
- Marshall J. Alopecia after tick bite. S
Afr Med J. 1966 Jul 2;40(24):555-6.
- Sharma AK, Sharma RC, Sharma NL. Diffuse
hair loss following multiple honeybee stings. Dermatology. 1997;195(3):305.
- Radmanesh M, Mousavipour M. Alopecia induced
by ants. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 1999 Jul-Aug;93(4):427.
- Shamsadini S. Localized scalp
hair shedding caused by Pheidole ants. Dermatol Online J. 2003
9(3):12.
- Mortazavi M, Mansouri P. Ant-induced alopecia:
Report of 2 cases and review of the literature.
Dermatol Online Journal. 2004 10(1):19.
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