Babies Needing Helmets

When did your daughter get the helmet? How long/thick is her hair? How old is she?

My foster son is 14 months and he got his helmet last July (he has Plagiocephaly, Benign Hydrocephalus and Torticollis). The first 2-3 weeks were HORRIBLE. He sweat sooooo much, couldn't get comfy and the smell was horrendous. He got a yeast infection on his head and body and had this weird combo of flaky dry skin and sweat that was totally gross.

Somewhere around the 3rd or 4th week it was like a switch went off and he adjusted. Now he has no issues and barely sweats and the smell has gone down to almost not noticeable at all.

Here are some things that helped us:

1. not sure how long her hair is and if I had a girl instead of a boy I would not have wanted to do what I am about to suggest - which is cut her hair. We shaved our guy and also put aquaphor on his head, which is totally gross, but extremely effective. We wash his head (using a baby brush to get all the dead skin off). Then we rub in coconut oil and then right before the helmet goes on we use the aquaphor. It takes a couple a week or so but works like a dream.

2. There are 2 strengths of alcohol on the market - 98% and 70%. We started out using the 98% because of the smell etc and our helmet technician suggested we go down to the 70% that was also helpful - not sure why because it seems the stronger alcohol would be better. Also scrub scrub scrub with the alcohol and a washcloth. Don't use anything scented - that can make it worse.

3. When your daughter is at home.... dress her in just a onesie. As she is adjusting her body temp it's easy to get them overheated by wearing regular amounts of clothing. They lose heat through their head to regulate their body temp.... which is now encased in foam and plastic!!!!!! When sleeping don't cover them up with heavy blankets - we have a cool mist humidifier and that helps him as well.

4. As far as removing for breaks - it depends on how long she has been wearing the helmet. Obviously you want to try not to remove it - but it also depends on how long the break it. We started having daycare remove it when they changed his diaper around noon. They would wipe his head with a baby wipe and apply a bit more aquaphor and then put the helmet back on. That seemed to help as well.

We are 23 hours on / 1 hour off. I'm not sure what the 8 hours is.... are you still ramping up? It seems I remember it took a couple weeks to get to the 23/1.

5. Look for red spots that don't go away on the forehead, cheeks and back of the neck - that's another indicator that the helmet may be too tight and it also tells you that you need to get some of the foam reshaped inside the helmet. We did neuro visits every 6 weeks and then 3 weeks later we saw the orthopedist for a helmet technician inspection. But we could always call and talk to them. You might want to give them a call.

Most kids will tolerate the helmet extremely well once they get used to it. Hang in there!

Breaks are normal, but you should of been working up to a 23 hour on 1 hour off schedule. For the 5 days the longest my baby went was 8 hours 1 hour off, and then off at night. on day 6 we were up to 23 hours on 1 hour off. My orthotic specialist said the 1 hour off does not need to be consecutive and you can break it up. They baby will get used to it, especially if you were doing a gradual build up. As for cleaning and the smell, the only thing that worked for me to get rid of the smell were WalMart brand Fresh Scent baby wipes. I used alcohol to clean it and wipes to make the smell go away.

Ask your doctor! Call the nurse line.

A friend's daughter wore one for 3 months. She sweat a lot too - they live in CA but it was worse when they spent a week in humid Florida. But they kept at it and didn't take it off except for the 1 hour a day. They really wanted it to do the job and figured sweating wasn't a grave problem. Just dip her in cool baths or sponge her down when you can to keep her body temp down. I wouldn't take the helmet off after just 8 hours without a long hard talk with the doctor.

Yes! My son had to wear one from March- June and in Texas you know that's no fun. Breaks are good since you get a total of one hour out, but her body will adjust to it too..

Ask your doc or advice nurse about more frequent breaks.

They wanted our youngest to wear one, we said no & low and behold...
everything turned out fine. Just thought I'd add that.