my 3 month olds skin? (cradle cap)?

Question

my son is 3 months old. he has cradle cap. i've done my research and from what i've read, just use regular j&j and take a soft srub to the scalp and leave in for about 5 minutes. they say to do this with a shampoo everyday, and within a week i should notice a difference. the only problem is, it helps for a few hours, and then the bumps and flakes come right back. it WON'T go away! what should i do?!?! ALSO, my son has VERY dry BUMPY skin all over his body. and its esspecially bad on his face, very red and dry and bumpy. it is NOT baby acne. but everyone i talk to says a dermotoligist would blow it off, i hear it'll just "go away". (even the pediatrician blew it off!) its seems like its just getting worse. but it looks bad and seems like it would be very irritating. i've tried lotions, then i stopped lotions all together. i've tried neosporon, j&j wash, aveeno wash. i dont know what else to do???

Answer 1

My son will be 8 weeks on saturday. I am going thru the same thing with him. Someone on here recommanded i use aquaphor on his face. She said that she used it for her daughter and it worked. So what I do is 2x a day wash off his face. Then i spread the aquaphor all over his face. It helped dramatically. Aquaphor also makes a body wash. I use that to wash his hair with. Then i put mineral oil in his hair. I wash his hair every other day. As for the mineral oil. I brush the spots and flakes out and then i put mineral oil all over his hair. This helped him a lot. He also had a smell to his hair and it is gone. Most of the cradle is also gone. I am going to continue to do this until it is finish. Give this a try. It will take a few weeks. Be patient. Before i tried this i took him to the doc and he was no help. Good luck. Bye the the aquaphor, just in case you haven't heard of it can be found at any store. Good luck. Let me know how everything turns out.

Answer 2

For the cradle cap - it will go away. But be patient - my son was almost 3 before it went away. It's a baby's form of dandruff. You can use (when he's older) a tiny bit of Head&Shoulders to help. I would sit there and 'scrape' it off with my fingernails after his bath. Yes, it would come back almsot as soon as I did it. A couple of naps later it was as if I hadn't done it at all. But when I didn't do it - kinda thick and gross.

First order of business for the dry skin and bumps on his face is to see a dermatologist. You also might want to think about changing pediatricians. My son had allergies that caused something that looked like heat rash. It was my own fault for not taking him in and getting it checked - it was summer time though and thought it was just that - heat rash. Fall came around and it stuck around.

The pediatrician I had then was amazing. When I was concerned about something (like my son being almost two and not really talking) she would not only tell me not to worry, but WHY I shouldn't worry.

What you are looking for is an explanation - and if your pediatrician is too busy to give you one that's a very good reason to get another. When babies are so young you really need someone you can go to when you're stressed out and 'make it better'. To make sense, and to comfort you.

Also, try to use the most basic of all lotions, or none at all. It may be an allergy to the dye/scent. Use J&J Baby Wash (which is not a soap) for his baths. Don't use baby wipes on his face. Try changing the detergent you use to something baby-friendly, like Dreft. :-)

I hope this helps and I hope you get the answer you really need. It can be very stressful during the holidays with an infant. Especially when you're worried about something.

Answer 3

Cradle cap is a seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp common in young infants.This often responds well to massage with mineral or olive oil to loosen the scales,followed by a thorough shampoo to remove them and excess oil.Tough cases in which flaking is heavy and/or brownish patches and yellow crustiness are present,use an antiseborrheic shampoo that contains sulfur salicylates,such as SEBULEX.Make sure you keep it out of baby's eyes after oil treatment.Since cradle cap usually worsens when the scalp sweats,keep it cool and dry may also helps-so dont put on a hat on baby unless you are going out in the sun or cold outside,and then remove it when you're indoors or in a heated car.

When cradle cap is severe,the seborrheic rash may spread to the face,neck,or buttocks.If this occurs,the doctor should probably prescribe a topical ointment.

Answer 4

At 3 months old, the babies skin is still very delicate. I would reccomend the baby oil, leave the skin slightly damp, then massage in the baby oil, this will help lock in the moisture. if the skin becomes too red and scaley looking, it could be a skin rash, if your doc just blew it off, I would get a second opinion. There are ointments the doctor can prescribe.
Best of luck!

Answer 5

This is what I did for my son and it worked like a charm.
Baby oil. Generously rub baby oil on his head. Wait about five minutes till it soaks in a bit, then use a baby comb Or adult comb and gently scrape it off. He wont like it, but keep softening the skin with baby oil for a few days. It'll moisten and soften. Try not to you soap or shampoo it'll dry your babies head out.
You only need to wash your baby's head when it is dirty(not that often). Once a week is often enough.
Good luck.
Baby oil works perfectly. Your baby wont like you removing the cradle cap, but you'll feel so much better taking him out and about without that stuff on his scalp.
Good luck!

Answer 6

your baby may be allergic to all these products. some of us are just that sensitive not to be able to stand baby products. i would start washing him in only water. no soap of any kind. do this for a week if you wash him daily. or stop washing him all togther. just wash him around his neck and other folds with a warm rag with only water on it. if this doesn't work go back to the doctor and insist it may be a problem. he may have eczema. which can be caused by irritation from products, most times being the fragrances in them.

for my son's cradle cap i just used the plain water and put some castor oil on it and just gently rubbed it. and knocked the flakes off with the wet towel. it cleared up in days.

Answer 7

My 13 yr old had the same problem at that age and she now has a form of psoriasis. There is are shampoos out there just for this and they are very gentle. They can be found right by the dandruff shampoo jsut read the label.

Answer 8

want a wonderful trick- i used this on both my babies- nutragina t gel (i know i dident spell that right) but i used it on my son once and his cradle cap was gone the next day it took 3 treatments with my daughter but it was well worth it! only use a little let it sit for a min then rinse carefully it will sting eyes if you get it in them.

Answer 9

my sister had to use baby oil and brush it out. It also sound like he is gettying a heat rash/ Try not to dress him so warm and it should go away. Good luck :)

Answer 10

my daughter had it bad so my grandmother told me to use mineral oil it works