I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to manage cradle cap. My niece is six months old and has a terrible case of it. She keeps scratching her scalp until she bleeds. My [name]SIL[/name] has tried olive oil and Vaseline but they don’t seem to help. None of my kids ever had it so I am not much help. If anyone has suggestions that would be great.
Is she putting olive oil it then washing it out and then brushing the hair? I hear this helps. Apparently it’s the excess oils that cause it, the olive oil is only to help loosen the cradle cap before you wash and brush it away. Washing hair every day is also supposed to help. If its that bad perhaps she should go to the doctors for some medicated cream?
I don’t know where you are, but my sister in law used Dentinox cradle cap shampoo on her son who had it, and it worked wonderfully. It’s on my list in case my daughter gets it.
Try coconut oil or if mom breast feeds try breast milk! Also if mom breast feeds she could try eliminating some common allergens from her diet as the baby might be reacting to those. If she doesn’t bf they probably make a formula that is dairy free or something. I would see a pediatric derm if it is that extreme. I also suggest that they put those little mitts on her when she is unattended. Infection is probably the biggest concern.
Edited for privacy.
[name]True[/name] cradle cap is actually a condition called seborrheic dermatitis-- it is NOT itchy and does not bother the baby. It’s caused most likely by a fungal infection; it is not an allergy nor is it a bacterial infection and therefore does not need topical antibiotics. It also appears almost exclusively in children less than three months of age. [name]Even[/name] though it often responds to antifungal creams, usually gentle washing is all that’s needed and it resolves on its own.
If your niece is actually symptomatic (really scratching her scalp) and is already six months old, the diagnosis of cradle cap is unlikely. She might well instead have dandruff or another fungal infection of the scalp. She should definitely have it treated as scratching till she bleeds is worrisome both for her general comfort and for the risk of secondary bacterial infection.