Do you think this is cradle cap?

[minimatron]

My 2 year old dd has refused to have her hair put up for months and is very touchy when we go to put it up, so basically her hair has been down for all of the winter. I finally got to put it up a little while back...maybe 2 weeks ago and noticed that she has dry skin on the back of her neck, which has now moved to behind her ears and down the front of her neck. At the back of her neck at the hair line, there is flakey skin and also a patch at the crown of her head. Its hard to see because she has so much hair and its long too, past her shoulder blades. She started rubbing her head on the back of her shoulders iykwim and complaining that its itchy. Because she rarely lets us put her hair up I am contimplating cutting it to above shoulder length.

So does it sound like cradle cap? She does get a bit of light eczema over her body but it doesnt look like that. She is also allergic to yeast, so could it be fungal I am wondering? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers Melissa

[AliBaby]

It does sound like cradle cap or dandruff. Often over winter with warmer baths and showers, you can suffer from a dry scalp alot more.

You could try Trish's trick of mixing bicarb soda with some water to make a paste and put it on her hair, then comb through when wet and wash out. Do that a few nights until its gone.

If you are worried just take her to the doctors though.

Hope it clears up soon and she will let you get to her hair.

[Fruit Tingles]

No, that is not cradle cap. That sound like what I have, and what I have is psorisis. I have it at the back of my neck, on my scalp, behind my ears and in my ears. Its itchy, and gets red in hot weather.
Cradle cap is yellow, flaky, but is oily (because is caused by over-production of oil in the oil glands, it also smells some of the time) psorisis is where there is over growth of skin (hence the flakiness).
Take her to a doctor to get something for it, because it can get really nasty (itch wise). I know when I don't use my prescription creams on it I scratch the life out of my neck!

[minimatron]

Hi thanks for your replies. I dont think its psorisis after googling pics of it. Her skin looks quite dry around the neck, its really the scalp that is flakey...sorry if I misled you.

I did the bicarb past in both the girls hair and OMG I have never see so much flakes in both of them. Their hair is so shiney too this morning. I might use this instead of shampoo and conditioner!!!

Thanks again,
Melissa

[Curly]

Nope it's not cradle cap. My DS gets this. It is actually eczema-related, I have gathered from my research, even though it doesn't look like it. He gets eczema on his body too.

You can't use regular dandruff shampoos or treatments such as Nizoral because the chemicals are too harsh for kiddies under the age of 12.

What worked for us was L'Occitane dandruff shampoo. It was $25 for a bottle which nearly made me choke but I explained the situation in the L'Occitane shop and they told me I could bring it back and get a refund if it didn't work. A little bit goes a long way (ie half a five cent piece would cover his whole scalp). I felt ridiculous buying him a French boutique shampoo but it really worked for him. Figures...I have spent more on his skin than I do on my own!

It took about 2-3 weeks for it to fully clear up, and every day I would brush his scalp with a natural bristle brush for as long as he would tolerate (not long!) Initially heaps of snow came off his head but that died down very quickly. He stopped scratching in less than a week. Brushing in front of the TV is good!

We do wash his hair most nights though because he gets a very sweaty scalp.

We use Hamilton body wash on his body which is great and a bit of Hamilton moisturiser if his skin starts feeling a bit dry.

HTH.

[~Kim~]

No I agree with the other girls it sounds exzema/dermatitis - y. Mine is the same and gets really really itchy. Mine is only on the scalp/areas just adjacent too as well.
Might try the bicarb trick on mine though.....

[~Trish~]

You could try Trish's trick of mixing bicarb soda with some water to make a paste and put it on her hair, then comb through when wet and wash out. Do that a few nights until its gone.

LOL, thanks for giving me the credit AliBaby! It was my MCHN who gave me this suggestion when DS1 was a bub. It also works well on eczema which is probably why it helped your DD's. My MCHN advised me to pour some bicarb into the bath when I told her DS2 had eczema, it really helps with dry skin. It's magic stuff and SO cheap!