HORRIBLE cradle cap - help! (gross)

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amother

Tue, Mar 13 2012, 10:54 pm

(Anon because I have been discussing this with EVERYONE!)

Ds is 4 months old. He has HORRIBLE cradle cap - he has a bit of eczema as well but rarely needs any cream for it.

The cradle cap is extremely gross looking, though I don't know if it's bothering him. He rubs his head to soothe himself when tired or eating. The doctor says it doesn't bother him and B"h he's a happy baby for the most part. The cradle cap oozes oil all night long and all day. It has yellow crusty scales that come off and then more oil oozes out. It's yucky soothing him by rubbing his head because everything gets covered in oil - your hands, sheets, his hats (which get stuck to his head). It's really nasty.

I've used several creams, every time he has a bath I use the oil and then wipe off the scales, but it comes right back. The doc says it lasts usually up to 6 months, sometimes a year. But her 2 1/2 year old even has it under her hair! I can't take it. Everything is sticky, and I can't see how this raw scalp is not painful for him. It's painful for me to see.

Any recommendations? FYI I called a pediatric dermatologist, but I can't get an appointment for 2 1/2 more months! I guess I just need to go to a less well known one or a non ped. one, but I'm nervous to do that with an infant.

momomany

Tue, Mar 13 2012, 11:32 pm

I used nizoral shampoo & very vigorous rubbing with a towel after the bath & then brushing & combing. The head gets pinkish but it didn;t seem to hurt. It will take a while to clear up, but keep up the rubbing, combing, brushing even when its gone. Also, I moisturized the scalp with light lotion.

trustme

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 12:26 am

When u bathe your babys hair/head use DOVE BAR SOAP not the liquid one and scrub it in like shampoo. it worked wonders by all my kids.
hatzlacha

6coop

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 12:37 am

A pediatrician once told me to use Head and Shoulders (just be very careful that it doesn't get into the baby's eyes). My current baby had awful cradle cap and I rubbed his hair with head and shoulders and a washcloth then combed his hair with a lice comb. It was gone in a week. It came back again a few weeks later so I just did the same thing again and it went right away.

MiniMom

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 12:45 am

My dd was born with cradle cap too & when I asked the dr what I cud do about it he laughed & said there's nothing to do... Sad

& that I shud b happy that there's hair covering it.. He also said it typically lasts about 3 yrs! She's 16 mths & still has it. Hers look like oatmeal stuck on her head.. & when combed, I find it getting much worse.. I once had this habit of peeing it off (doesn't hurt her) but I then saw that it grew back so I stopped wasting my time.. I use reg Johnson's baby shampoo, is that bad?

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 12:45 am

Try moisturizing with vani cream a few times a day. Its a no dyes/no perfumes moisturizer. Cradle cap can be from dry skin.
Or you can try Aquaphor. You gotta apply that right after the bath. Read online reviews. Works wonders. The catch: its quite yucky. Similar to vaselin consistency, everything gets greasy. Nighttime is most convenient so only crib gets dirty. You can put a cloth diaper under baby's head.
Hatzlacha!
Let us know what worked

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 12:48 am

They say that Johnson's shampoos and lotions are not good for these types of skin... Best would be a hypoallergenic one. Like baby aquaphor from Eucerin. Check it out

bnm

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 12:56 am

when my son's cradle cap wasn't gone by 5-6 months the dr told me to use a dandruff shampoo. I forgot the name, its in a green bottle, you use it twice a week for 2-3 weeks and its gone. I can look for it tomorrow and if your in BP you can have the rest of the bottle since it was expensive and we aren't using it anymore

mommyofboys

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 1:13 am

6coop wrote:

This!

Bliss

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 1:21 am

My SIL advised me to put simple vaseline ointment onto my baby's head 15 minutes before his bath and then combing it with a lice comb. Most of it came off .

bamamama

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 1:41 am

Don't laugh. Breastmilk. Seriously. My doula recommended it when my latest babe had it all over his head. Get breastmilk all over his head and rub it. Let dry. Then take a warm wet washcloth and rub off the scales. You may need to repeat several times over a day or two. The breastmilk killed hte fungus that causes cradlecap and it never came back for my ds.

BeershevaBubby

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 1:46 am

bh wrote:

They say that Johnson's shampoos and lotions are not good for these types of skin... Best would be a hypoallergenic one. Like baby aquaphor from Eucerin. Check it out

I totally agree...if you have ANY Johnson & Johnson products, get rid of it and buy a different company (if you're in Israel, I highly recommend Dr. Fischer).

And yeah, it takes time and you need to be proactive about this.

I put baby oil in my sons' hair and massage it in with a baby brush, going in circular motions. Then take a lice comb or a fine-tooth comb and just comb it out....

Repeat once a week or once every other week...

amother

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 2:33 am

oy a lice comb or fine comb on delicate scalp? would not try that.

abmom

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 3:51 am

This is what worked for me: I put a ton (and I mean a TON! A huge glob!) of Johnsons baby lotion onto my baby's head. I covered it with a hat, one that ties with a string so it should't fall off, and left it on for a full 24 hours. Then I combed it off with the white comb I got from the hospital. Everything came off vary easily. I bathed him and did the same thing again. It worked wonders and never came back! Hatzlacha!
PS. The person that gave me this idea did it with baby oil but I didn't have any in my house then. The lotion worked quicker and better than the oil, but that could just be my baby...

Inspired

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 6:23 am

olive oil and then comb it. You can buy special cradle cap oils in the HFS but I don't think they are necessary.

Brownies

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 7:33 am

Hi! I found that what worked for me was 3 or 4 drops of tea tree oil mixed in with a 'carrier oil', like johnson's baby oil or olive oil (I don't like using olive oil because I found that she would smell of salad dressings!). I wet her hair in the bath then put the oils on and then comb them out - I found it really effective, much more so than the baby oil alone. My daughter didn't react very well to the special anti-cradle cap shampoos - she has quite sensitive skin, so although the cradle cap went away when I used these shampoos, she would get dry flaky skin instead and also a rash on her forehead. Hope this helps!

chani8

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 8:05 am

mommyofboys wrote:

6coop wrote:

This!

Exactly. If it is really bad, do it in gentle stages, like twice a day, over a few days.

alls ok

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 11:46 am

I've tried 2 special shampoos (on different kids) that my peditraician reccommended for cradle cap, I've tried the baby oil and combing it trick... but with everything I find that whatever works to comb out the cradle cap pulls hair out with it. Anyone have a trick that gets the cradle cap out but leaves baby's hair in?

songbird

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 2:21 pm

Mustela makes an AMAZING cream for cradle cap...I had to use it ONCE on DS and then passed it on to a friend ...

mushkie

Wed, Mar 14 2012, 7:27 pm

why don't you try finding out what is causing it? my baby had this and only when I stopped eating the foods he was allergic too (I was nursing) did it go away, his scalp healed, and his hair grew in

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