Minoxidil-induced hypertrichosis in a 4-year-old child

Shyam B Verma

 Consultant Dermatologist,

Correspondence Address:
Shyam B Verma
18, Amee Society, Near Rajanigandha Apartments, Diwalipura, Vadodara - 390 015, Gujarat, India

A 4-year-old girl presented with hypertrichosis of forehead and sides of face 5 weeks after being prescribed 5% topical minoxidil lotion for treatment of alopecia areata on both parietal areas. There was no history of receiving topical and/or systemic corticosteroids.

Figure 1: (a and b) Hypertrichosis of the forehead and cheeks

Minoxidil prescribed for the scalp is known to cause hypertrichosis on other skin areas, too. This adverse effect is probably mediated by inadvertent transfer of the topical application since only an insignificant amount of about 1.4% of the dose applied gets absorbed systemically.

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Nil.

Conflicts of interest

There are no conflicts of interest.