Danny
(Text only clips) Danny has had alopecia since he was born. He says that it doesn’t have much of an impact on his life. Danny usually chooses not to cover his head with hats and he doesn’t wear a wig, so he has to be careful about using sun cream to prevent sunburn.
Danny is 14 years old and has had alopecia all his life. He was born with no hair and by the time he was aged 2, the family GP had referred Danny and his parents to a dermatologist. Since the diagnosis, he has not needed to see a health professional about alopecia and has not tried any treatments either. Danny’s mum remembered that other people would assume his hair loss was due to cancer when he was very young and this could be very difficult to deal with. She also said that other children and adults would sometimes stare or do unwanted things such as touch Danny on his head when he was growing up. Danny’s eyelashes developed when he was about 2 or 3 years old and his alopecia now only really affects his scalp. Danny and his mum aren’t sure if it’s related, but his eyes sometimes become quite sore and red if he spends a lot of time focused on a screen, such as when he is playing on his PlayStation.
Danny says having alopecia now has very little impact on his life. He has worried a bit in the past when he was younger about whether alopecia might be dangerous or infectious. Danny says it is not a problem at school and that he has good friends there. He has met other young people with alopecia through Alopecia UK and recently went on a fun day out with the group. Other things that Danny enjoys are playing on PlayStation and doing sport, especially basketball and cricket. He also likes animals. He has a pet cat and a rabbit and might work with animals in the future. Having alopecia doesn’t affect his clothing but because he has no hair and does not wear a wig, he has to be careful in the summer. He uses sun cream to prevent sunburn on his scalp and other exposed parts such as his ears.
Danny does not feel like alopecia has an impact on his self-confidence. He hopes that other young people with alopecia will also be able to feel confident about it. He would like to know more about how alopecia affects different people and how many people experience it. Danny hasn’t talked to other people much about his alopecia mainly because he says that it has little impact on his life and it doesn’t bother him much.