Seeking Advice on Dry Scalp Issue for an 18 Month Old

I don't know how much hair he has, but have you tried lotion? I know this is out of the question if he has lots of thick hair. Babies only need baths every other to two days. If you do have him outside with sunscreen on and want to wash that off, try a bath without soap, just water, and don't wash the hair every night.

My son has the exact same thing, this is what I do:

his doctor gave us a prescription for Dermasmoothe, you put it on his hair before bed, then wash it when he gets up or when ever you have a little time to let it sit on his hair for a while.you do this everyday for about a week until it is gone, then once a week after that.

Gentle Naturals makes a babywash for Eczema, Package has pooh and friends on it.

hope this helps

Hi. My oldest son had the same problem due to the eczema. You might want to ask your doctor for advice on shampoos or maybe he could give a prescription of some sort to clear it up.

Had this problem with my youngest. What seemed to work the best on her scalp was a good olive oil. The greener the better. I would put it on her before I put her in the bath and let it set for a little and then comb it out with a very fine comb. We swiched to cetaphil soap (aveeno baby wash is good too) and used it on her scalp as well as the rest of her body. It resolved quickly. My oldest has eczema and we have been to the dermatologist. She also says it is not necessary to bathe with soap every day. Luke warm water as hot water inflames and not to take long baths. I agree with all that but I am not comfortable with the creams prescribed for my daughter, so I started looking around for natural cures. Honestly, 1 cup of apple cider vinegar in a tub of warm water has really made a dent in my oldests skin problem. Much better than the cream(which we have stopped using altogher) with no side effects except she smells a little like a salad if she doesn't rinse well. :) You could probably cut the amount of vinegar because of using less water than a 10 yr old and still get good results.

try using a bit of loation in his hair after bathing. my son used to get a really dry scalp till i started doing that.
also, bathe every other day instead of every night like the other lady posted. i know i personly for myself have to bathe everyother day to avoid dry skin.. so im sure it is the same for babies. just be sure to whipe him off good at night. specially in the summer ;}

side note about the burts bees stuff the other lady mentioned. i wouldnt suggest using that till hes 2. its the same with honey and peanut butter. dont use things that are very high riskfactors for making alergies. under age 2, if he were to be alergic to bees/honey/peanuts.. a small amount could do him great harm because of his size. after age 2 it seems to be better (this is what my ped has told us about stuff. just thought id pass it on ;} )

Eczema is very common on the scalp, as well. My son has it, too. His dr. gave us a prescription for a steriod cream that works WONDERS. It clears up within a couple of days. I'd talk to your ped. about it. See if you can't get something similar.

C.,
I work in a nursing home where many of the residents have the same issues (due to aging their skin does not produce much oil). So at least 1/2 hour before they bathe baby oil is massaged into the scalp. As posted before they don't bathe but a few times a week (maybe every other day). Try it. It seems to do wonders.

Aveeno makes products for babies. My son has Eczema issues too and did have a dry scalp when he was younger. I switched over to aveeno products because they are great for people with Eczema. It will take a little time but it helps. They even have a bath soak for babies in a paper powder pack that you can put in their bath and let them soak in for 15 minutes and it is great on their skin. Here is their link so you can read up on it but I was able to find their baby products at walmart, target and our local grocerie store.
http://www.aveeno.com/products.jsp
I hope this helps. My son still gets break out of eczema at season changes but they are very mild. I use a 50/50 mix of Eucerin calming cream and Hydrocordozone cream on him from head to toe daily when its break out season and his skin starts showing signs of break out. This helps minimize and straight hydrocordozone cream on his break out spots. The rest of the year and in the mornings we use aveeno. The lady i baby sit for her son has horrble eczema. His skin is sometimes like sand paper she has found aquafor was a big help for him. The horrible thing is everyone is different so not everything works as good for one as it did for another. But most soaps are actually bad for people with eczema. Try the aveeno...I hope it helps

Hi C.,
If you haven't already investigated the ingredients in the products you're using, I would recommend it. Many baby products have very toxic ingredients in them. For instance, the way baby shampoo is made to be "no tears" is because it contains an ingredient that numbs the eyes. Toxic free products have been around for 50 years, way before environmental issues were popular. Let me know if you want to know what they are.
S.

How often are you bathing him?

With my son's eczema we had to stop bathing him nightly-instead opting for a damp washcloth type spongedown- and swap to bathing him every other day. The water (which dehydrates) was making his skin drier and scalier- even his scalp was affected.

We also had to use a light moisturizer on him after every washing. (I like Burt's Bee's line of personal care products for the kids- all natural, although you should always check and make certain there's nothing in there your kids are allergic to).

My son had a dry scalp when he was a baby and my mother-in-law suggested putting baby oil on his head and the combing his hair. So we tried it and all of the dry skin that was on his head came off. You could always try that to see if it works for your baby.

I'm suprised no one has yet suggested food allergies as the cause of the eczema on your 18 month old's body. Persistent cradle cap as a young baby and now this, plus eczema on face and in crooks of arms/legs just *throws up a big red flag* to me of food sensitivity or allergy. Probably one of the big 8: cow's milk, wheat, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish.

I'd look at that list of 8 items and ask yourself "what on that list is my child absolutely wild about and wants to eat lots of every single day??" -- and then consider that item the most likely problem. Eliminate it completely from your toddler's diet for 4 weeks (including any hidden ingredients in any packaged foods, mixes, etc.), during which time all that eczema and cradle cap should clear up. If that happens but it's not convincing enough for you, you can always reintroduce the food after the 4 week elimination period and see how your child reacts, if the eczema returns, you'll know that's the food to avoid permanently. Reactions after reintroducing the food will usually show up within 72 hours.

If there's nothing on that list of the 8 most common allergens that your toddler loves, then consider if there's an item on that list that your toddler consistently *avoids* yet you still try to feed him - food allergic kids either tend to be avoidant of the food to which they're allergic OR they tend to be obsessed with it (almost addicted). Also consider your family history of food allergies... is there something that multiple people in your family are allergic to?

Anyway... eczema is not a normal thing that we or our kids just need to live with. It is an irritation that we see signs of externally (on skin) but that also exists internally, so it is really worth it to play detective, identify the cause, and remove it. Very often, eczema can be solved by identifying the allergen and removing it (whether it's a food allergy, environmental allergy like a pet, or a contact allergy like to a detergent or fabric softener). Creams and medications are just a temporary band-aid, but don't actually SOLVE the root cause of the eczema.

Best of luck in tracking down the skin issues - it might seem daunting at first to try and eliminate a particular food, but you can do it. You will quickly get good at reading labels. And google is a great source for finding that there are often easy substitutions (coconut milk instead of cow's milk, for example) --> it is all worth it, though, to track down the cause(s) of eczema and remove them from your toddler's system!