Diagnostic Tests for Trichotillomania

Home Diagnostic Testing

These home medical tests may be relevant to Trichotillomania:

• Child Behavior: Home Testing
  • ADHD -- Home Test Kits
  • Concentration -- Home Testing
• Mental Health (Adults): Home Testing
  • Adult ADHD -- Home Testing
  • Concentration -- Home Tests
• Mental Health: Home Testing:
  • Home Emotional Stress Tests
  • ADHD -- Home Testing
  • Concentration -- Home Test Kits
• Brain & Neurological Disorders: Related Home Testing:
  • ADHD -- Home Tests
  • Drug Screening Kits

Diagnosis of Trichotillomania: medical news summaries:

The following medical news items are relevant to diagnosis of Trichotillomania:

• Trichotillomania is a rare compulsive hair pulling disorder
• More news »

Diagnostic Tests for Trichotillomania: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the diagnostic tests for Trichotillomania.

Alopecia [Hair loss]: History and physical examination
(Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition))

If the patient isn’t receiving a chemotherapeutic drug or radiation therapy, begin by asking when he first noticed the hair loss or thinning. Does it affect the scalp alone, or does it occur elsewhere on the body? Is it accompanied by itching or rashes? Then carefully explore other signs and symptoms to help distinguish between normal and pathologic hair loss. Ask about recent weight change, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, excessive stress, and altered bowel habits. Also ask about urinary tract changes, such as hematuria or oliguria. Has the patient been especially tired or irritable? Does he have a cough or difficulty breathing? Ask about joint pain or stiffness and about heat or cold intolerance. Inquire about exposure to insecticides. If the patient is female, ask if she has had menstrual irregularities and note her pregnancy history. If the patient is male, ask about sexual dysfunction, such as decreased libido or impotence.

Next, ask about hair care. Does the patient frequently use a hot blow dryer or electric curlers? Does he periodically dye, bleach, or perm his hair? If the patient is black, ask if he uses a hot comb to straighten his hair or a long-toothed comb to achieve an Afro look. Does he ever braid the hair in cornrows? Check for a family history of alopecia, and ask what age relatives were when they started experiencing hair loss. Also ask about nervous habits, such as pulling the hair or twirling it around a finger.

Begin the physical examination by taking vital signs and then assessing the extent and pattern of scalp hair loss. Is it patchy or symmetrical? Is the hair surrounding a bald area brittle or lusterless? Is it a different color than other scalp hair? Does it fall out easily? Inspect the underlying skin for follicular openings, erythema, loss of pigment, scaling, induration, broken hair shafts, and hair regrowth.

Then examine the rest of the skin. Note the size, color, texture, and location of any lesions. Check for jaundice, edema, hyperpigmentation, pallor, or duskiness. Examine nails for vertical or horizontal pitting, thickening, brittleness, or whitening. As you do so, watch for fine tremors in the hands. Observe the patient for muscle weakness and ptosis. Palpate for lymphadenopathy, enlarged thyroid or salivary glands, and masses in the abdomen or chest.

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Source: Professional Guide to Signs & Symptoms (Fifth Edition), 2006

Hair Loss: Diagnostic Approach
(The Diagnostic Approach to Symptoms and Signs in Pediatrics)

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Source: The Diagnostic Approach to Symptoms and Signs in Pediatrics, 2006