Quinine was the most widely used anti-malaria medication for most of the 20th century. It has been replaced by chloroquine (Aralen), mefloquinine (Lariam, Mephaquine, Melfiam), and Daraprim (pyrimethamine). In 1963, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research initiated a search for more effective anti-malarial drugs, due to Vietnam War fighting conditions. The FDA approved mefloquinine in 1989. Now it is widely prescribed for thousands of Peace Corps volunteers, Foreign Service employees, and military personnel. Many take Lariam, because of its convenient weekly dosing.

These anti-malarial medications cause telogen effluvium, sudden hair loss. It’s easy to detect. It is usually occurs near the front of the head or hairline. Hairs in the resting (telogen) phase develop small white nodules on the end of the shaft, while the scalp prepares to shed them. However, it can take up to three months for your scalp to eject the dead hair. You may not experience this side effect until your trip is long over.

The medications can cause up to 30 percent of your hair to switch from the normal growth phase into a resting phase. Since 10 percent of your hair is usually in a resting phase at all times, your total hair loss suddenly jumps to 40 percent.

Malaria kills up to one million unprotected people every year. If you don’t die, you’re sick enough to want to die. So, it’s a good idea to take the pills. Research has been underway since 2004 for malaria medications to replace mefloquinine, because of some other disturbing side effects. Some promising alternatives may be available soon. However, ask your physician if sudden hair loss is a known side effect of any new malaria medications.

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Traveling to the Tropics? You May Return With Less Hair

Tinea capitis (ringworm) is the leading cause of children’s hair loss. This condition is caused by a fungus on the body’s skin that attacks the hair shaft and follicles. In children, tinea capitis mainly affects the scalp, eyebrows, and eyelashes. The hair loss is patchy, often with areas of noticeably shorter hair. The hair may break at the base of the shaft, leaving a series of dots that resemble razor stubble. The scalp may also have gray flakes.

Approximately one in 1,000 children has alopecia areata. Scientists believe that it is caused by an immune system malfunction. When children are affected, they have smooth bald patches of skin on their scalps. No broken hairs are left behind. The hair loss is rapid; it seems to appear overnight. Nearly 5% of children with alopecia areata will develop alopecia totalis, losing all of the hair on their scalp. A small number of children develop alopecia universalis, a total loss of body hair.

Some children suffer hair loss from hairstyles that pull the hair tightly, like braids and ponytails. Chemical hair treatments and burns that result in trauma to the hair shaft also cause hair loss in children. Friction from unconscious or intentional rubbing of the hair puts enough stress on the hair shaft to cause hair loss in children. Some children have a psychological disorder, trichotillomania that causes them to repeatedly pull and twist their hair. The constant trauma to the hair shaft causes severe breakage.

Telogen effluvium, disruption of the hair’s normal growth and resting cycle, occurs less frequently in children. The primary causes are an acute illness or severe injury, high fevers, and prolonged emotional stress. Vitamin A toxicity, surgery, and Accutane, an acne prescription have also been linked to children’s hair loss.

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Why Are Children Losing Hair?