The first kid in the waiting room is eight year old Tiffany whose hair has been harbouring some little monsters for the last 4 years. 50% of 11 to 14 year olds get nits each year, they are particularly prevalent in school children as they are caught through hair to hair contact. Tiffany’s nits had damaged her self-confidence, and although her mum had tried all treatments available, the stubborn nits just won’t budge. Dr Christian sent Tiffany to see specialist nit removers, who have an array of tools to drive those pesky nits out. They begin by hoovering the hair to get rid of all the living lice, then the hair is sprayed with a special conditioner and combed using a very fine toothed comb to get rid of the eggs, the more stubborn eggs are finally picked out with tweezers. Tiffany had 4 sessions of nit removal, totally 5 hours! But her hair is now nit free.

This week a whole new queue of kids is forming at the clinics doors. 13 year old Lauren is the first to visit Dr Pixie. Lauren has been suffering from alopecia since the age of two, and it’s steadily getting worse – since starting secondary school Lauren has lost 70% of her hair and is forced to wear a wig. Alopecia is an auto-immune disease, the body doesn’t think the hair belongs to it, so it rejects it. Lauren has Alopecia Areata, which affects children and young adults. Why is unknown, but possible causes are viruses, inoculations, shock or extreme stress. As the longer the problem has persisted, the harder it is to find a cure, Dr Pixie suggests that Lauren has a permanent wig fitted. Lauren visits Lucas Sojka, a hair loss specialist. His team attaches a mesh, called a weft, to Lauren’s existing hair, and secures it to the bald patches with surgical tape. Panels of real hair are then sewn on to the weft to form a seamless head of hair. The transformation is drastic, Lauren’s mum describes her as a different person.

Did you know that a baby is born with 340 bones but as we get older we only have 206? This is because the bones fuse together and change as we develop. Six month old Bradley is suffering from plagiocephaly, an asymmetrical head, and there are several causes; the soft bones in his head have been pushed out of shape; a genetic fault; or sleeping in the same position. Dr Christian sends Bradley and his mum Hayley to see an orthotist who will fit Bradley with a helmet, to be worn for six months, that will mould those soft bones into the right shape. After four months in the helmet, Bradley comes to visit Dr Christian, there is already a remarkable improvement in the symmetry of Bradley’s head.

Five year old Kelsey, like 1 in 12 children under ten, is suffering from a poo problem. Kelsey holds in her poo, as she finds it painful to go to the toilet, it can be as long as 7-10 days between poos. Dr Christian wants to determine whether Kelsey is suffering from constipation or toilet phobia, and has a feel of her stomach to check that her organs and bowels are ok and that there isn’t a build up of hard poo. He confirms that it is a psychological problem, rather than physical, and refers Kelsey to child constipation specialist Dr Anthony Cohn. Dr Antony tries to change Kelsey’s perception of poo through a friendly cartoon character Mr Poo and by prescribing a high fibre diet and laxatives. After trying out the treatment, mum Claire reports positive results to Dr Christian, Kelsey is going to the toilet regularly now, thanks to mums persistent use of the laxative.