Is This Really Cradle Cap?

Sounds like scoriasis to me. I had this and it is awful. I added Shaklee brand Lecithin to my daily supplements and expensive rehydrating shampoo (Biolage for me) and it was healed in a few months.

Dear J.,
My daughter had cradle cap as a very young baby, my son never did. Hers was not nearly that bad. Just flaky scalp.
It could be seriously irritated cradle cap or eczema....or impetigo. I would quit putting stuff on him and take him to the doctor. He might need a prescription ointment.
Poor little thing.....
It sounds pretty horrible. If I were you, I would have him looked at. He's got to be uncomfortable.

Best of wishes!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cradle_cap#Warning_signs

Cradle cap

Cradle cap is a skin condition that affects babies. It causes yellowed crusts on the scalp. It is commonly present in the first three months of life, and is rare after the age of one year. It is a form of dermatitis, which causes inflammation of sebaceous glands in the skin (seborrhoeic dermatitis). These glands help waterproof the skin by making a slightly greasy substance called sebum. Seborrhoeic dermatitis happens when the glands make too much sebum, which then traps shed skin flakes. Cradle cap usually clears by itself after a few months but many parents prefer to remove it because they do not like the look of it. If scaly patches appear on the face or other parts of the body, this is not cradle cap and needs to be checked by your doctor. Cradle cap is not contagious and it is not caused by poor hygiene or bad parenting.

Signs
The signs of cradle cap include:

Reddening of the skin
Greasiness
Scales or flakes on the scalp
Yellow crusts.
Causes of cradle cap
Sebaceous glands in the scalp make sebum, which oils and waterproofs the skin. It is thought that some babies have high levels of maternal hormones in their bodies for several weeks or months following birth, and these hormones act on the glands, making more sebum. Research has found that babies who get cradle cap and other forms of dermatitis often have blood relatives with allergic conditions such as eczema and asthma.

Home treatment
Mild cradle cap usually gets better without treatment after a few weeks. The following may help:
Loosen the crusts by massaging the scalp with mineral oil (like baby oil) at night, then wash the hair with a baby shampoo the next morning, gently lifting the crusts off with a soft brush (a soft toothbrush can be good for this). Try this each day until your baby’s scalp looks clearer.
Use a mild antidandruff shampoo if the other treatment is not working – be careful, these shampoos can irritate a baby’s eyes more than shampoos made for babies.
The cradle cap can come back, even when treated properly, because the glands still go on making too much sebum for several weeks.

Infection and cradle cap
Sometimes the skin under the crusts of cradle cap can become infected. The skin becomes redder and small blisters appear, and then pop and weep. This is caused by the same germs that cause impetigo (‘school sores’). If this infection spreads, or your baby becomes unwell, make sure that you have your baby checked by a doctor. Your baby may need antibiotics to get rid of the infection.
Unlike cradle cap, impetigo is highly contagious.

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The cause of cradle cap is not clearly defined but it is not caused by an infection, allergy nor from poor hygiene. Possibly it has to do with overactive sebaceous glands in the skin of newborn babies, due to the mother's hormones still in the baby's circulation. The glands release a greasy substance that makes old skin cells attach to the scalp as they try to dry and fall off. There may be a relationship with skin yeasts (Pityrosporum ovale, newly renamed Malassezia furfur). Nutritionally oriented practitioners have speculated that the disorder is caused by the baby's immature digestive system being unable to absorb sufficient biotin and other vitamins of the B-complex.

The common advice of applying (vegetable or mineral) oil liberally to the scalp and letting it soak in overnight or for lesser periods of time seems to conflict with the fact that Malassezia yeasts thrive in oily environments. The softened scales can then be brushed away with a soft brush, comb or cloth, but if not done very gently, this can worsen the condition and bring about temporary hair loss. There has been no study done on these recommendations.

Applying petroleum jelly (e.g., Vaseline) liberally overnight is another popular treatment. The softened scales either fall off during the night, or can be brushed off in the morning.

Making a paste from sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and leaving it on the affected area for 10 minutes can also help lift the scales.

There is broad disagreement regarding the role of shampoos. Some sources warn against frequent shampooing, others recommend it. Mild baby shampoo is often recommended, while never specifying what "mild" actually means. Baby shampoos often contain detergent surfactants, perfumes, quaternium-15 and other eczemagenic irritants. Again, no studies have been performed.

Keratolytic (dandruff) shampoos (e.g with sulfur, selenium, zinc pyrithione, or salicylic acid) are generally not recommended as they sting eyes and may worsen the dermatitis. In stubborn cases some doctors do recommend them while others warn against the use of medicated shampoos in newborns due to systemic absorption. Dandruff shampoos often contain sodium dodecyl sulfate, a noted skin irritant.[1]

Steroid and tar preparations have also been used but have significant drawbacks. Immunomodulators (tacrolimus/Protopic, pimecrolimus/Elidel) have not been approved for babies under two years.

Ketoconazole shampoos and creams are taking first place in medical treatment of moderate to serious cradle cap. Research so far indicates that this anti-fungal medication is not absorbed into the bloodstream. Ketoconazole shampoo is currently made with a number of problematic irritants and allergens.

There have been several studies where cradle cap cleared swiftly and completely followed by the injection of biotin, either to the baby or the breastfeeding mother.[citation needed] In one study,[citation needed] injection of B-complex worked well also. Injection directly into the vein (rather than into the muscle) is recommended. Small amounts of oral biotin have not shown efficacy in a more recent trial,[citation needed] and many cradle cap compendia have since said that biotin supplementation is ineffective. However, oral supplementation with liquid biotin is favoured by some physicians, but a well-designed study is needed to ascertain the effective dosage in oral supplementation (if there is one) or the effect of injected biotin/B-complex in a larger sample.

Other home remedies recommended in various alternative sources and parent forums are herbal washes (e.g burdock or chamomile), aloe gel, and tea tree oil (Melaleuca oil) shampoo. Tea tree oil and aloe can be sensitizers; any worsening should be an occasion to discontinue the remedy in question. Both remedies have been tested in medical trials and found useful.[citation needed]

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Hope this information is helpful to you..
Blessings,
J.

It sounds like impetigo to me. My kids never got it but my brothers and sisters and I all had it as kids. If it oesn't go away soon take him to the doctor.

Hi J.

I definitely would NOT put anything on his head at this time. Sounds like the baby oil simply caused a bad case of pimples... I wouldn't even use soap which can be soooooo drying.. nothing with Sodium Laurel sulfate (this is what makes shampoo, most cleaners and other widely used products FOAM) SLF is VERY drying.....

I would ask questions as such, did you introduce something NEW into his diet, what changed here? I think he is having a reaction internally...
have you considered looking on the net to seek out an herbalist so that you can take a natural approach to this.
They won't necessarily prescribe anything for him to ingest but rather give you an herbal poultice to apply to the area. I would definitely want to try the natural route.
Also, once the cradle cap is healed, I would begin to pay special attention to the ingredients in products you use for your child such as bubble bath, shampoo, etc...
many of the household products we use each day have powerful drying ingredients that can throw off the body's PH balance... once you begin to read up on this, you'll begin to see that perhaps we OVER do it when it comes to applying creams, lotions and soaps to our children's bodies..
Good luck to you!!

Has he been out in the sun recently? I'm always slathering my kids with sunscreen, but last week I forgot the part in my daughter's hair. She got a sunburn on her scalp, and this week she has what looks like the nastiest, scabbiest dandruff ever. Giant, crusty flakes falling off her head. Eeeeew!

The other thing I was thinking was, maybe try going 2 or 3 days in between hair washing. Maybe his head is getting dry from all the shampoo, and then the baby oil just sent his poor skin over the edge.

If it doesn't start looking a lot better in a few days, I'd say take him to the doctor just to be sure of what you're dealing with.

Have you taken your baby to see his doctor cause it could be eczema.

That seems like something you may want to talk to your doctor about - I would say better safe than sorry, even if it does turn out to be something minor. GL!

Well I'm not sure it's cradle cap at this age. It could be some sort of psoriasis. If so you should see your childs physician. But usually cradle cap is caused by oils of the skin so adding oils/creams will just make the problem worse. Make sure to shampoo his head everyday. If normal kids shampoo does not work try a little Selson Blue shampoo (regular/original)

J.,
I am no expert in this area, but I can recall my beautician telling me that dandruff is in response to allergies. Just a thought, but maybe your son has allergies. She also recommended that I use extra virgin olive oil in my kids hair; I have a two year old and a two month old, maybe try that in his hair. I hope these ideas work for you.
-T.

Sounds like to could be something more. My son had really bad dried,flaky, huge pieces of dead skin on his head. What was worse was when I tried to pull them off his hair would come out with it. I took him to his Dr. and they tested a flake to make sure it wasn't a fungus. It turned out it was cradle cap, and told me to wash his hair evry few days with a dandruff shampoo. (I got moisturizing head and shoulders) It worked. Other than stinging his eyes, it is gone.

Hard to tell but this is a good time to eliminate baby hair products that contain any ingredients you can't pronounce.

This may be an allergy to some product you are using or to synthetic bedding or even a detergent. To clear cradle cap or dandruff, our family has had good luck with organic almond oil; putting a drop of lavender essential oil (from health food store) seemed to help. After gently cleaning the scalp, we dabbed a bit on the affected spots.

Because toxins are absorbed very easily through the skin, our largest organ, your baby may well benefit from a gentle shampoo made from all natural ingredients. A very small amount of Dr. Bonner's soap has worked for us, always mixed well with water before placing on the scalp.

Be well!

Sounds like what I have...pretty much eczema of the scalp. Its called seborrhic dermititis (no clue on spelling) My scalp will do the exact same thing that your sons is doing. For me, nothing but prescription strength "dandruff" shampoo and a medicated liquid of some kind (not sure what it is exactly) work for me. I have suffered from this since I was little and have been given the same stuff to get rid of it. It never fully goes away, and if I use store bought shampoo and conditioner it gets soooooooo much worse. I have to use salon bought shampoo and conditioner to try and control it, along with the prescriptions my doctor gave me. Talk to your pediatrician. It was my pediatrician that originally gave me the medicated shampoo and liquid to put on the area. Try switching his shampoo to something mild and more natural like burts bees or california baby. Good luck, it is controllable, you just have to find the right combination of everything that works best for you and your son.

This sounds like the dermatitis that my son has. We went to the Dr. and they prescribed desonide cream. It works really well when he has a flare-up. Also, we switched to Noodle and Boo Baby shampoo. It moisturizes the scalp. Also, after baths, we put on eucerin cream. His scalp has been much better since making these switches. Good luck!

J., I am going through a similar issus with my son who is now 2. He had this constant "cradle cap" that would scab over, peel and then bleed/puss over. I took him to the Dr. and they suggested that it may be psoriasis. They reccommended that I go home and try dandruf shampoos and other than that leaving it alone. They don't seem too concerned but I am! The head and shoulders seems to be working some. He still has the flaky dry stuff but no more scabing and bleeding. I researched psoriasis on line and there is a specific type that just affects the scalp. It might be worth having your Dr. check it out. Best of luck.
-E.

I don't think breaking out is considered normal for cradel cap... I would go to the Pedi and have them look at it...

This is NOT CRADLE CAP - I have suffered from something similar a few times throughout my child and young adulthood (though for the life of me I cannot remember what the specific diagnosis name is). I don't remember there being an odor (that may be a sign of infection), but I do remember the "oozing" of the scabs. If he picks at it, he can spread it to more of his scalp, so try to keep his and your hands off of it!
Take him to your pediatrician, and he will prescribe to you a clear, topical liquid to clear it up and it should go away within a week or so. Don't put anything in his hair until you get him in for an appointment, and when you do bathe him, just use warm water to rinse (no shampoo, no nothing).

You should have him seen by his pediatrician to rule out any skin disease or infection. Oozing pimples sounds like a possible infection. If there is nothing seriously wrong, try the dandruff shampoo that others have suggested.

I dont believe your son has cradle cap. Especially when you stated there was yellowish liquid. You should probably have him seen by his pediatrician, it sounds to me as if he has a skin condition and yellow drainage usually indicated infection. It could simply just be eczema..which is common in kids. If it is this, there are simple creams and medicine to subside the symptoms. Hope this helps.

When my son had dandruff, he was younger though, his pedi told me to buy a normal dandruff shampoo, I got a Target brand selsun blue type, and to wash his hair with it every other day and within two washes it was cleared up. Not sure if you already tried this, just thought I'd pass on what worked for us.
C.

I think your idea of not doing anything for a few days to a week are good ones. Maybe try using ivory soap or other "pure" or unscented mild product. Burt's Bees makes a shampoo bar and also mild shampoos that smell nice, but I think they are all natural not perfumed (could be wrong here). Anyway, after a few days if it isn't better you could try just a teense of Head and Shoulders, but I would wait until there are no scabs to do that, and double check with the doc since he is so young. The advice nurses at the pediatrician's office should be able to help you determine if it is cradle cap or possibly something else. Poor little guy, and poor you! Hope you get the answers and relief you need soon.