Lanugo hair in babies, what is it? Should you be worried?
To add to the surprise of wrinkled skin, baby acne and birthmarks at birth, another surprising newborn baby feature is lanugo hair.
What is lanugo hair in babies?
Lanugo is commonly seen on a baby’s shoulders and back. Image: Pinterest
The word “lanugo” is derived from the Latin word for wool, “lana”. It is the soft and downy hair that sometimes covers a newborn’s body, except for his palms, the soles of his feet, lips, genitals, nails, and sides of fingers and toes.
It is most commonly seen on a baby’s shoulders, forehead, back, and face.
Lanugo is the first hair to be produced by fetal hair follicles and usually appears on your baby around the 5th month of pregnancy. This unpigmented hair generally falls off or is consumed by your baby between the 36th and 40th weeks of pregnancy.
When the lanugo is consumed by your baby, it is stored in his intestines and helps form meconium, which is the first bowel movement your little one will have.
Usually, your baby will lose his lanugo while he is still in your womb — usually when you are around seven to eight months pregnant.
Lanugo hair baby newborn: Can it exist even after birth?
However, sometimes, babies are born with lanugo, especially if they are premature or born slightly early. There is absolutely nothing to worry about in the presence of lanugo hair, and it will fall off on its own in a few weeks.
What does lanugo hair look like
Lanugo hair are soft, fine, and fluffy hair. Your infant may seem to be coated in a thin coating of fur if they are born with lanugo hair. Lanugo can grow anywhere, with the exception of the palms, lips, genitalia, nails, and soles of the feet. Anywhere there are hair follicles, lanugo can develop, although it is most noticeable on your baby’s back, shoulders, or tailbone.
Lanugo hair can be from light to quite dark in hue. Lanugo in your child can be more obvious if they have a darker complexion than if they had pale skin.
The purpose of lanugo hair
Lanugo hair in babies. | Photo by Isaac Taylor
Newborn babies have lanugo hair for a reason. While your baby is in your womb, lanugo protects his tender skin from amniotic fluid.
It also helps vernix caseosa adhere to your baby’s skin. Vernix is a greasy white wax-like substance that covers your baby’s skin while in-utero in order to keep it warm and moisturized. It also helps the baby slip more easily through your cervix and birth canal during delivery.
How to remove baby lanugo hair
Lanugo disappears within the first two months of life. Infants may still have fine, peach-fuzz-like hair on the tops of their ears, above the tailbone, and at the base of their neck. This is common and shouldn’t cause concern.
There is no cure for lanugo hair baby newborn. Even if the infant has a lot of hair, there is no reason to be alarmed. For the first few days or weeks after birth, this hair will typically fall out on its own on your baby.
After birth, lanugo can be removed by gently massaging a baby’s skin. Again, though, it’s not necessary.
Receiving a massage can be helpful, but there are risks. Because a baby’s skin is so delicate, if you mistakenly massage it too much or too hard, it could become inflamed, red, or dry. So it might be preferable to let the hair grow and fall out naturally.
When to be worried about lanugo in babies
Sometimes, if a baby’s lanugo doesn’t shed on its own within a month, it could be an indication of a condition known as congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or CAH, say medical experts.
CAH is a condition where a baby is born lacking a particular enzyme that initiates the production of the hormones cortisol or aldosterone. This means the child will make more male hormones (androgens), regardless of gender, leading to excessive growth of hair, especially in females.
Babies with CAH might also have a low blood sodium concentration, according to health professionals. This could lead to dehydration, heart issues and shock.
Treatment for CAH
Usually, treatment involves balancing the baby’s hormones via daily artificial hormones and steroid medications. Hair growth normalizes once the hormones are at proper levels for the baby’s age and gender.
If you are concerned about your baby’s lanugo or worried about any aspect of his health, do not hesitate to contact a medical professional without delay.
Image from Shutterstock
Do adults get lanugo hair too?
Because lanugo hair protects the skin and body, those who are undernourished may develop this hair on their face and body later in life. When someone has an eating disorder like bulimia or anorexia nervosa, this occurs.
People with anorexia stop eating altogether or eat very little because they are afraid of gaining weight. Bulimics consume and then purposely make themselves sick to avoid gaining weight.
Both scenarios include the risk of producing nutritional deficits and insufficient body fat. Lanugo expands as a physiological or natural response to assist with bodily insulation. Eating disorders can alter body temperature. When body fat levels are insufficient, the body cannot maintain heat.
Treatment for lanugo hair in adults
In cases of malnutrition or eating disorders, treating the lanugo comes after treating the underlying medical disease.
If you have an eating disorder, do not hesitate to seek help from your doctor. There are a variety of therapy options available, depending on the disease’s severity, including:
- Inpatient treatment in a hospital facility
- individual counseling
- support systems
- diet suggestions
- medication (antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers)
Other possible causes of lanugo hair in adults
Lanugo is typical in babies, especially if they were delivered early. Lanugo recurrence in adults, however, is unusual and symptomatic of a variety of medical conditions.
1. Cancer
Some malignancies and tumors can cause a person to develop hair that resembles lanugo, but this seldom happens.
A 2007 study indicated that a man with prostate cancer had lanugo-like hairs while the disease was present, but the hairs disappeared after treatment. The research is not yet conclusive. The study, which was conducted on a single individual case, was the first to establish a link between lanugo growth and prostate cancer, according to the researchers.
In earlier research from 1978, another instance of a man with lung cancer who acquired lanugo-like hair growth on his face, hands, torso, and feet is described.
These accounts are incomplete and only cover a small number of situations. However, they do imply that lanugo growth in adults could occasionally take place at the same time as certain cancers. Overall, the literature contains very few accounts of lanugo hair development associated with malignancy.
2. Celiac Disease
A study that found one case of lanugo-like hair growth in a patient with celiac disease is mentioned in a 2006 publication. It was the only case of this link that has been recorded in the literature, according to the reviewers.
Lanugo hair itself is not an illness, but rather typical biological response to certain medical conditions and stages of development. It doesn’t require direct treatment as a result.
In infants, lanugo hair is common and insignificant. Baby hair will naturally fall out after birth over a period of a few days or weeks.
Adults who get lanugo hair as a symptom will get rid of the lanugo hairs when anorexia or other health problems are adequately treated. As anorexics recover from their disease through a better diet, the hair will fall out.
Additional information from Margaux Dolores
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