Hypertrichosis (hi-pper-trick-oh-sis) or
Congenital hypertrichosis lanuginosa (Con-jen-it-tal Hi-per-trick-oh-sis la-noog-in-o-sa)
General Information: All babies are born with lanugo, or the soft, light hair that often covers the body. This nearly invisible hair doesn't grow long and is just normal body hair. On children with hypertrichosis, this hair doesn't stop growing, but can become quite long. This has led to myths of wolf children and other fascinating tales. This does not harm the individual and usually by adulthood, all of this extra body hair is gone and the child becomes a normal adult.
Chromosomal cause: The main type of hypertrichosis is located on chromosome number 8, and it appears to be dominant. Whole families have been known to have this trait. It is not more prevalent in any race, gender, or group, though there have been a lot of studies done on one family in Mexico. A second, and more rare type of hypertrichosis is located on the X chromosome, so only boys get this. This results in "dog-faced boys" as shown on this page.
Characteristics: In many cases, the hair can be removed through normal means, such as shaving, cutting, creams or more recent inventions. Sometimes the hair will change to a more normal pattern toward adulthood, but in some cases, the hair is permanent. In adulthood it can also be removed through standard means. The only problem with shaving is that it leaves stubble and can irritate skin.
This trait should not be confused with hirsutism (hear-soo-tis-em), a condition where women can grow full beards. That condition is usually caused by abnormal hormones in a woman.
Hypertrichosis (hi-pper-trick-oh-sis) or
Other Information