Trichorrhexis nodosa due to repetitive trivial trauma

Ameet L Dandale, Sujit J. S. Shanshanwal, Prasad R Wankhede, Rachita S Dhurat

 Department of Dermatology, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Sion Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Correspondence Address:
Sujit J. S. Shanshanwal
Department of Dermatology, OPD 16, 2^nd Floor, New OPD Building, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital, Sion Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra
India

Trichorrhexis nodosa is a hair shaft disorder which can be congenital or acquired. As seen in our case, repeated trivial trauma due to frequent combing can lead to the formation of trichorrhexis nodosa. Careful history taking and simple examination can avoid unnecessary tests and can diagnose this condition. Clinical examination revealed firmly attached, white nodular thickening on the distal part of the hair shaft. Trichoscopy showed glistening nodes along the length of hair shaft with whitish contours of the splitting fibers [Figure 1a]. Light microscopy showed fraying of cortical fibers giving the appearance of two paint brushes thrust together [Figure 1b].

Figure 1a: Trichoscopy showing intermittent nodes along hair shaft (Mode – non polarised hand held, magnification – 10x, make – Heine Delta 20)

Figure 1b: Light microscopy showing fraying of cortical fibers giving the appearance of two paint brushes thrust together (400x)

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Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.