My 3 yr old daughter used to have one spot on her scalp that was cradlecap-like. I thought it went away, but recently I've been noticing her whole top part of her scalp is scaly and kinda chunky to wear if you brush it with a comb instead of a brush the teeth of the comb get caught on parts of her skin. Her hair is also thinnish and doesn't grow very fast. If I accidently or purposefully peel a chunk of skin off her scalp it takes a very small clump of hair with it. It's kinda disturbing and it worries me that she has it. I don't want her hair to fall out and I want her scalp to be healthy so her hair can grow as normal. Are there creams or shampoos I can use? Has anyone else had this problem?
I worked at a pediatrician's office for several years and this is what we told our patients to try. Saturate area with baby oil and let it sit for five minutes before bath time. Then wash hair twice, scrub scaly area using a soft bristle baby brush (it will not hurt). If that doesn't work, try Selsum Blue. Also, make sure to try a conditioner made especially for children (Johnson & Johnson has several to choose from). If this still doesn't work (which it did most of the time), call a nurse at your pediatrician's office and ask if they can call something in to your pharmacy. Make sure to explain exactly what it looks like because it may be more than cradle cap. It could be psorriasis. Good luck and God Bless.
My son has the same problem. He also has pretty severe eczema. Our pediatrician called out nizoral for him. I think you can buy it over the counter now. You can only use it every third shampoo. Of course, I would call and check with the dr.
Recently spoke with a cosmo person and they suggested that you use Dove shampoo for children instead of baby shampoo or other products. The other shampoos leave a waxy build up on the hair. Maybe you should consult your physician if this does not work. Years ago one of my children had this problem and I saturated her head with baby oil. It worked, but not sure if it will work for you.
Treat her scalp with olive oil and et it set for a while, you can even cover it and and let her sleep with it in her hair over night. Wash lastter with Mild shampoo and warm water.
I'm in the same boat with you on this one with my 21 month old. I've been trying the Selsun Blue (recommended by her Ped. when she was a baby), but it's still scaley. My daughter's fine hair always looks so greasy when I tried the baby oil, but maybe I just need to let it sit on there longer. Now if only I could find something that works well with my hair. I've tried Head & Shoulders (even the more expensive H&S Intense Solutions), Selson Blue, & now T/Gel (has stinky tar in it), and I'm still itching/scratching at night :(
When my daughter had cradle cap her doctor told me to use Selson Blue dandruff shampoo. Worked lke a charm! I would also use a comb while she was in the tub and had the shampoo in her hair to break as much of the scaley skin loose so I could rinse it out. If it is thick and scaley it may take several washings to start to see a difference.
My 1 year old had scaly, cradle cap like scalp. However, clumps of hair didn't fall out. I used Head and Shoulders Dry Scalp shampoo on him every other day, and it cleared up. There is also a steroid cream that we use for eczema that can be put on the scalp. It's prescription - Locoid Lipocream.
I used to put baby oil on my daughter's head when she had cradle cap. I would apply it with a cotton ball after each bath and it started to go away within a week or two. Hope this helps.
Hi, I have a 7 year old son who has the same thing. I recognized it as seborrheic dermatitis (seborrhea) because my younger brother had it as a little boy. It went away as he got older, but it seemed the more we picked at it, the more it spread, and his hair would come out with it (just hair follicles that were attached to the thick piece of crust I was trying to get off of his scalp). Same thing with my son. I noticed it in one small area on his scalp, and later I found it in two other small areas. I have used Neutrogena T/Gel on his patches of seborrhea twice, but it smells REALLY bad and I don't like it. I don't know if you could use it for a 3 year old. I would suggest going to a dermatologist (because it is a skin (scalp) issue)to get a definitive answer about what it is first. I hope this helps!
take her to dermatologist and have this checked out
I'd take her to a dermatologist. There are some types of scalp conditions (my son was born with something similar) that, although likely benign now, can turn into something more threatening to her health if they go untreated. A dermatologist would be able correctly diagnose and treat if needed, and suggest a good topical lotion or shampoo otherwise.
In the mean time, you can use Cortizone cream. It can help alleviate inflammation and dryness. We were told to do this with my son's scalp.
Good luck!
Hi,
It does indeed sound like sebhorreic dermatitis. This is when the oil glands in the skin of the scalp (which are closely linked to the hair follicles) overproduce sebum, or skin oil. The surplus then causes a minor irritation of the skin.
Doctors usually prescribe Selsun Blue or Nizoral.
My daughter (3 years old) and I both have it from time to time. Including fish oil in our diets has really helped to get it down to next to nothing. A topical application of aloe vera gel is also helpful, and eating a diet high in B vitamins also helps eliminate the problem.
I would take her immediately to your pediatrician or to a dermatologist this sounds more like psoriasis than mere cradel cap... it could also be severe eczema (spelling?)... I get this same gunk on my scalp and its exczema... my mother has severe psoriasis and does the same thing you jsut described.... her hair is very thin and will come out if she scratches part fo her scalp that is tainted like you described... my hair doesnt fall out when i get teh scaly stuff... it is more topical than down deep like psoriasis... please get this cleheck out ... cause left un treated, it can spread rapidly.... there is NO cure for psoriasis unfortunatle but it can be treated... one of the best things we ever did for my mom was to take olive oil and to saturate her head with it, then take a plastic cap like you use for a perm processing on hair and covering it up with that... then she let it set like that ALL NIGHT LONG... the next morning we would wash her hair with her favorite shampoo to get the goop out of her hair and then top it off with selsum blue after allt eh sclaes and stuff were off... the selsum blue helped keep the scales from coming back so thickly... then she would use pantium pro 23 leave in hair conditioner on her hair... it has lots of vitamin B's in it... she hardly has a problem with scalies any more... but to get rid fo that first round of gunk is a bear... I hope I never get it that bad... I been noticing a bunch of spots on the sides fo my head here lately and I wear my hair SHORT SHORT SHORT... so it is noticable when I get a patch of it... hope this helped... Good luck!!!!
Holly K
Yukon
My 3 year old daughter has this. She's been seeing Dr. Stites in Ft Smith (dermatologist) for the last year, he diagnosed her with psoriasis. There are topical treatments that can help, we're still trying a variety of things.
The thing about psoriasis, is that it is an auto-immune disease, so although you SEE the results on the skin, that's just a symptom. The actual problem is usually in the gut, where many/most immune issues are rooted. We're just getting ready to start on a regimen for a couple months that will be a strict food-sensitivity alkaline diet, and coupling it with fish and flax oil and probiotics to recolonize her gut with beneficial bacteria.
I hope you find help!
(speaking of- I'm also a 26yo mama with a 3yo daughter and a 1yo son, if you're local we should set up a playdate!)
We had similar problem with my three year old. Our pediatrician told us to try Selsun Blue, and we did that for a while, but it didn't really work. One of my friends, a mother of four, said that she had encountered this, and she suggested using Baby lotion on the scaly patches after we washed my daughter's hair. She said to comb it into the scalp and use the comb to loosen it up until it flaked out of her hair. Then dry her hair, like we had used the lotion as a leave-in conditioner. We did as she suggested and it worked; we've had only a couple of small patches since then, and use the same lotion treatment to get rid of it.
Sounds like a trip to the dermatologist is in order. This could be something as simple as an allergic reaction to her shamphoo to something as serious as scorisis. I would not delay as early treatment is the best option. Your pediatrician may not be up to the minute on skin conditions as this is very specialized. Good luck put don't put it off. See a physcician to be certain all is well.
My Daughter, now 22,had the same problem. Her hair was sparce and she too, had the scaly type cradle cap. Don't try to peel it off! Instead,15-20 minutes before her evening bath saturate a cotton ball with baby oil. You can use Olive oil as well, but I preferred baby oil. Just before her bath, comb though her hair slightly loosening crust. Bathe her as usual, washing her hair throughly,and rinsing well. Usually several treatments like this rid my daughter of this condition. Contrary to popular belief it is not caused by dry scalp. But by an overproduction of oil. The crust is the build up of this oil. Don't use conditioner, as this only makes matters worse.
Hope this helps. BTW Jaylen's hair grew in THICK and the cradle cap was gone by the time she was 4.
Raye
I had a recurrence of cradle cap also with my thin haired little girl. What I did was at the beginning of her bath I wet her hair, then put baby oil on it. Let it soak during her bath, then rub the cradle cap area with a washcloth or with the cradle cap brush you can get at target, then shampoo out the babyoil (might take a few times). Repeat this every time you give her a bath and it will come out eventually without taking too much hair with it. I didn't put the oil on before the bath because it wouldn't come out with shampoo and she had greasy hair, which was almost as bad as the cradle cap (you can put baby powder on her hair once it is dry if it starts to look too oily). That is why I wet her hair first.
Sounds like it could be a fungus. My daughter had one when she was small and still has a bald spot. (She's 26 and able to hide it, but it's there.) Better check with a doctor. It could be a reaction to the shampoo or some sort of other allergy, but you don't want it to get away from you.
Susan B.