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Case Reports
. 2015 Jan-Mar;7(1):24-5.
doi: 10.4103/0974-7753.153452.

Trichotillomania by proxy

Avinash De Sousa  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Trichotillomania by proxy

Avinash De Sousa. Int J Trichology. 2015 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

Trichotillomania is a disorder of an impulsive hair pulling that occurs in both adults and children alike. Trichotillomania is seen in children and often has other psychiatric comorbidity. Here, we present an interesting case of a mother who had trichotillomania and recovered with treatment following which she resorted to pulling hair of her child and brought her child for treatment saying that the child too had trichotillomania and that we should help the child recover like her. After interviewing the child, it was revealed that it was, in fact, the mother who used to pull the child's hair as a release for her hair-pulling urges.

Keywords: Hair pulling; trichotillomania; trichotillomania by proxy.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: None declared.

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