Possible Eczema on Baby's Scalp

I used baby oil-it makes the hair look a bit dirty and unwashed but stopped the flaking, which I thought looked worse. Just brush it on wiht a soft toothbrush like you were told and let it sit. you can always wash it out before being in the public if how it looks bothers you. I also suggest putting socks or mittens on his hands to keep the scratching to a minimum. Good luck!!

It sounds more like cradle cap. You might want to try some mineral oil or baby oil. If it still doesn't clear up, there's a steroid cream the dr. can prescribe that clears it in a day or two.

I would suggest you try baby oil, every time you bathe him apply baby oil to his scalp after he is dry. My oldest child had the same issue when she was a baby and my grandmother told me to put baby oil on her head with a baby brush while using a circular motion to apply. This usually takes a couple of weeks for the scales to go away, but it does work. my grandmother called it cradle cap and a lot of babies get it. I hope this works for you.

Hi J.!
My oldest had eczema on her scalp as a baby and it got really bad and even bled, so I know it can look scary. My pediatrican did prescribe a steroid ointment and after the rash was under control I used Aquaphor (a Eucerin product which can be purchased at any drugstore). Though it looks like vasaline, it is not and has been the saving grace for all 3 of my kids. I hope your son is better.

sounds like cradle cap. you can also try Arbonne ABC Baby Oil. It is not mineral oil, so it helps remove the crusty part, and also sinks in to condition the scalp and get rid of/ lessen it.

Is it possible that it is just a dry scalp? My son had issues with this and I would put just a little bit of baby oil on his head every other day. My son however had always had VERY thick hair, he is 6 yrs old and I do wash with head and shoulders as well as still put a little bit of baby oil on his head.
Jenn.......

I found putting baby oil on my baby's scalp about 1/2 hr before his bath really helped with dryness. This works out any cradle cap that also might be lingering. My favorite was the Johnson's lavendar oil gel--not as messy and smelled wonderful. Right before his bath I would use a little comb and kind of gently comb away any dryness that loosened. Good Luck!

I have to say Head and Shoulders is weird advice! Both of my kids have excema. For excema on the scalp, I'd treat it in the same way as cradle cap: gently massage it with baby oil and then gently brush it out with a very soft baby brush. Also, if you can get him to wear mittens the scratching may not be so bad, but I know that's hard to accomplish at that age. Do try to keep his nails short!

Good luck!

Truthfully, this sounds more like a food or environmental allergy than it does just a simple "put cream or oil on it and brush it out" issue.

I second the mother that suggested considering a milk allergy, or some other food allergy (cow's milk is by FAR the most common, followed closely by soy, wheat, eggs, etc.). If your son is on formula, ask for a switch to a formula FREE from cow's milk protein AND soy protein because if a baby is sensitive to cow's milk, they are often ALSO sensitive to soy. If you are breastfeeding your baby, they can still get these proteins via your breastmilk in which case you would just simply remove the cow's milk and soy products from *your* diet for as long as you are breastfeeding him (a temporary sacrifice that is very do-able, as I've been there!!!, and it is well worth it to have a baby who is not scratching himself until he bleeds). This article applies to BOTH breastfeeding and formula feeding, even though it seems to focus on breastfeeding:
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html

And Dr. Sears has a great article too - Tracking Down Food Allergies: http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t041800.asp

Interestingly, food allergies and sensitivities are grossly *under* diagnosed in babies and young children, and it's awful that they needlessly suffer (and parents are worried because something "seems wrong" but the pediatrician keeps saying "no, that's normal" when it's really not!).

Hope this helps!

Hi J., several of my friends went through this as well as my grandbaby. I am an arbonne rep and we have a baby line that has been successful in treating eczema so that is what i referred my friends to and my grandbaby used it. all of them had success with the products it took it away. i know it can be bad my one friend's little boy would cry alot because of it it just made him miserable. I can send you a few sample packs if you wanna try it. you can email me ____@____.com i am in the dayton area too. good luck

J.,

If it is yellow it is cradel cap. What that is baby shampoo is not a cleaning detergent so the dirt and skin cells do not get removed properly. It will make his little head itch bad. When my babies got that I used selsun blue it is thicker than head and shoulder and you will probably need someone to help you to insure it does not get in his eyes. Put that on use a comb and gentelly comb hair untill you see the flakes come off rinse carefully. Only do this once a week if you do it more than that it will dry his head out.

I washed my little munchkin's hair with Aquaphor gentle wash from Eucerin. After that I would take a small comb and gently brush the scales out of her hair. I was very happy with the results.
http://www.eucerinus.com/products/baby_aquawash.html

Hi J.,
My son had the same thing when he was a baby. I would put baby oil on his head then take a babybrush and brush the flakes out. I would wash the oil out with baby shampoo. My son also had some on his forehead too and the doc prescribed cortizone cream and it went right away. I hope this was helpful and good luck!

Something that I tried that I love is "Baby Oil Lotion". It's like the baby oil but in a lotion so that you don't have to worry about that oily feel. I put it on all four of my kids after a bath and would rub it on their head and then comb it. Their heads looked great. It even works if your kids have hair on their head...just make sure to rub it into their scalp. Hope this helps.

it sounds like "cradle cap" - which my boy had maybe at 5 or so months. The head and shoulders did work for us - so, maybe keep trying. It didn't last more than a few months for us. Good luck!

C.

my daughter has dry patches on her scalp too, she is 5 months. my doc said it was like craddle cap - normal and to use either baby oil to soften it up and then a soft brush; or when bathing use warm soap and water and brush gently. It does take time to get it off. She also said just keep putting baby oil or lotion on it to soften it...so far its slowly disappering.

I had this problem with my youngest and I put extra virgin olive oil on her scalp about 1/2 an hour before her bath and then used a fine tooth comb or soft baby brush to loosen the scales. I used Cetaphil soap instead of shampoo and it cleared up pretty quick. The real problem was a milk allergy though. My doctor has come around in the past few years to except the fact that first kids can be allergic to milk and second it can manifest as a skin irritation. Hope this helps.

I was just going to say not to wash his hair quite as often if you bathe him eveyday. I've cut back to two baths a week(which kills me because my little boy loves bath time)I keep his dirty parts clean(diaper area,hands and feet) and we don't have a problem any more with cradle cap or eczema. The doctor agreed especially during the winter that tis was a very effective solution.By the way, I never had to use anything on his head to clear it up(although I did flake off the scales)It resolved itself within a week or two.

Sounds like cradle cap to me. I have 4 kids and every one of them had it. It's very common. I would rub baby oil in it. There is also a new treatment for it, I think it's made by Johnson's. Usually just eventually goes away. Mine even had it down in their eyebrows.
Good luck!

Hello J.,

I agree that it could be dry scalp, but I have never heard of that on a baby. It's more than likely cradle cap. My kids had it as well as my grandson. My grandson had it pretty bad and we tried all the methods I had used with my kids and it just wouldn't go away.
So we bought and tried Gerber's Cradle Cap kit. That worked miracles and it wasn't that expensive. I think we used it twice a day apart, and he has never had it again.

Good Luck!

First stop the cortizone cream it's making the problem worse. Take baby oil and put alot on his head. Let it sit a minute or two. Then take the toothbrush and remove the scales. Then Shampoo with any tar shampoo like t-gel for example but only use twice a week. In between use baby shampoo and the toothbrush. Both my children had this problem.
Good Luck

Hi J.
I, myself hav eczema on my scalp. I am not sure that you could use this on a baby but when mine flairs up, i have a prescription for Nizoral 2%. I found Nizoral 1% at walmart that is not prescription strength. From my experience Eczema is just like cradle cap. It feels and looks the same. When my second child was bor she had a very bad case of it. My pediatrician told me it was caused from the baby realeasing the extra amount of hormones that they were still holding from during pregnancy. And they can do this at any time during the first year or so. Maybe even two times in that year. It's just a matter of their body realizing, that it doesn't need them anymore. I have heard of rubbing baby oil on it. My pediatrician told me that there really isn't anything that going to help it, it will go away when their body is done releasing the extra hormones. And to my experience, I have scratched it by accident before and when it is raw it really hurts and burns and is worse if you try to put anything on it to sooth it. It will burn worse. Something else I have been told about allergies is if they have it as a baby they will most likely grow out of it verses getting it as an adult they will have it for life.
I hope this helps.

I just took my baby to the dr. because he had a rash all over his back. The Dr. said it was eczema and said to use a product called Gentle Naturals Eczema Baby Cream. I got it from Target. This brand also has a body saop for Eczema. It come in a aqua bottle that has the Winnie the poo characters on it. It has worked my baby. You might want to try it.

Hi! both of my kids have had something called "cradle cap" on their scalps, which are scaly yellow scabs that develop. I believe it is from certain brands of shampoo/baby bath. If their heads are rinsed properly, it doesn't seem to be as bad. Maybe your child just has an aggravated case of this? We just switched from Johnsons to Gerber and it has worked. There is also a shampoo by Avent, which has worked really well. Hope he feels better!

Well I don't think it's eczema, I think it's cradle cap. It looks like really dry,itchy, sometimes think when it gets scratched off, and sorta yellowish? Even if it's not cradle cap, and is some type of eczema, I have a few tricks I do with my daughter. She's 2 and still gets it. Theres actually a shampoo in the baby lotion/bath isle that is made specifically for this condition. I don't remember the exact name, but it says on it that it's for cradle cap. I use that, but it will make your sons hair look very very oily. You just have to wash it a couple times and it will come out. The other remedy I used when she was and infant and couldn't run from me was baby oil. I rubbed it on my hands then on her scalp and took a soft brush and rubbed it on her gentley in a circular motion to loosen the scales then i combed it out with a really fine almost lice look comb. But again that REALLY makes the hair look and feel oily. The other remedy that my hair dresser recommended was to use lotion. She does this to her daughter whose 3. She'll put some lavendar lotion just like regular lotion you would use, maybe opt for the senstive skin type since he's so young. And she rubs it in her hair like a stay in conditioner. Then lets it set for 5 minutes and combs it out kinda rubbing a little harder on the thicker areas. Then she washes her hair. Now I didn't try that one yet because the shampoo we bought for the specific condition at wal-mart doesa great job. But if it comes back I will use it. She didn't mention if the hair gets or stays oily after washing it out. But it usually takes my little girl a couple of baths, maybe even one additional hair washing to get the oil to disappear. Hope that helps!

My daughter is now 11, and she had severe "cradle cap" also considered exzema. It was so thick I thought it would never go away. I used T-Gel shampoo per the dermatologist recommendation. I washed her hair every day and used a baby brush, very soft bristles and scrubbed in a circular motion for at least the 1st year of her life. It helped. She uses T-gel to this day because she still gets Exzema on her scalp, it looks kind of crusty, especially during the changes of seasons. As a baby she also had exzema on her ankle area, face, behind the knees and elbows, I soaked her down with vaseline everynight before I put her sleeper on and that would work great as long as you did it regularly. She continues to get it behind the knees and ankle area today and she still uses the vaseline to help. The dermatologist gave me a prescription strength Cortizone also, a stronger one than you get in the store which is only 1%, I believe. That helped with the itching, she no longer needs that, occasionally I'll buy the store strength. It's definitely a battle, but it will eventually minimize. Hopefully he doesn't have it anywhere else. Good luck and be patient.

Jennifer C recommended Aquaphor, and she's right on the money there! The wash is so good for the hair - cures the dry itchies very quickly. I have a tube of the gel (like Vaseline) on her changing table for EVERYTHING! Kaitlin's 8 mos. old and NO DIAPER RASH EVER! Since I'm CONSTANTLY washing my hands, I put Aquaphor on my knuckles since they are cracked and bleeding - better the next day. My husband even used it on a "very sensitive area" when we went to the ocean and the sand was a bit abrasive in his swim trunks :) All better overnight! All the women here at work swear by all of the Aquaphor products. Good luck!

My son has it too. He also digs at it so it always looks so awful. My ped told me to use aquaphor on it. It's really greasy, but if you use it more then once a day for quite some time it does help.

Hi J.
I used baby oil and a soft baby brush when my son got dry scalp. My peditrician told me head and shoulders also- I htought it was too much. The baby oil did the trick in a matter of a few days

J., it sounds exactly like eczema (and yes, it does affect the scalp), which two of my four children have. There is a shampoo called JASON scalp balancing shampoo (jajoba) that is amazing. My friend suggested it to me because her two sons have horrible eczema and it does work wonders. You can buy it the cheapest at Vitacost.com (they also have super cheap shipping). Definitely worth the money!

Hi J.,

Here's a great remedy that worked for me for both my children. Go to a CVS and ask the pharmisist for a jar called "pink salve". It's a little jar thats gold or siver with an "X" on top (It's been awhile so I can't remember the color of the jar). Also pickup baby oil and cotton balls. First, cut back on washing your sons hair. Then, once or twice a week (depending on how bad it is) wipe the "pink salve" on the needed areas. Leave on his head for 10 min, then use your baby oil on his head to wipe off the "pink salve". This stuff is thick and gooey (and its great for diaper rash too) so it may take a few cotton balls to wipe off all the medicine. The scales should begin to come off easily. Use more baby oil if needed while removing scales. Not all the scales will come off but they should by the second or third application. It will also make the skin on his scalp very soft. (you may want to use a baby comb (small comb teeth) to help get rid of the scales that come off and stick to his fine hair strands after you finish wiping the "pink salve" off.
I had to do this with both of my children and it was gentle and got rid of the scales quicker than anything else I had tried. It also helped to prevent more scales from developing in between applications.

One last thing...if there are any areas on his head that are bleeding or scabbed avoid applying the pink salve until it is completely healed. just use plain baby oil on these for now so no scales develop in the interim.

I hope this helps.

R.

I personally have not experienced it with my child, but a friend has. All 3 of her children had it when they were babies. In our area, it is referred to as "Cradle Cap." Baby Oil rubbed on the scalp (let it soak in good) and then a comb to rub off the scales...but a soft toothbrush in your case may be a bit more comfortable on your poor baby's scalp. I know it doesn't work right away but it does over a course of a few applications...and of course based on the severity.

Hope this info is helpful! Take care!