Hello ladies! I have a 19 month old boy and he is the best kid ever! I have been very lucky and very blessed. This past week I have noticed him scratching his head. I have looked in his hair and I have seen no evidence of lice or anything like that. His scalp is pink and there seems to be what looks like scabbed over bug bites on his scalp and forehead. We do have a dog but he does not have fleas. I work full time and he goes to a baby sitter and plays outside a lot. When I see him scratching I try to redirect him to something else to keep his mind off it and it helps for a while, but other than that I don't know what to do. I don't know if I need to change his shampoo (we use Johnson's baby shampoo), or if I need to call his doctor or what. If any of you have any advice or have gone through this yourselves, I would love the feedback!
Hello again everyone! I want to thank you all for all of your advice and your ideas. My husband and I took our son to the doctor today becasue nothing we were doing was helping. The doctor said that it was allergies. She doesn't think that it is anything else. She gave us a prescription cream to put on his body (as the itchy spots showed up there as well) and on his head for the itcy scalp three times a day for two weeks and we have to use regular hydrocortisone cream on his face. We also have to give him 3/4 teaspoon of Benadryl twice a day. So, if there are any updates I will let you know!
C., have you tried the Arbonne Baby wash? It is so gentle on their new little skin. I have been helping people with skin irritants for about three years now with their products and they truly work. I would be more than happy to give you my 35% off discount if you would like to try it? It's only about $9 - 10 dollars to get some relief.
Call me, J.
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My daughter is allergic to the red dye in a lot of shampoos. Maybe he is allergic to something in that shampoo. Good Luck, S.
i'd try a q-tip with olive oil, just dab a bit on. if that doesn't work, then i'd say take him to the dr. maybe worth a try. good luck.
Tear free ingredients can often times be a culprit in itchy scalps and excema. They are really drying and the pH is all wrong for our bodies. Chemical fragrance and dye can also lead to itchy, irritated scalp and skin.
If you are interested - I can recommend a great shampoo that is safe for all ages - it comes with tea tree oil in it for the itching. We use it at our house, it will sting if you get it in the eyes but it is very manageable if you are careful rinsing. :) I also use a really gentle baby hair and body wash with no trouble.
M.
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I sounds like cradle cap. My Dr gave us a steroid cream and it went away over night! Everything that we tried before didn't work and it was spreading.
Try Arbonne baby products. I have heard of a lot of Mom's using it for their kids that have sensitive and itchy skin. If you don't know a consultant I can give you a name.
C.
Hi C.-
I would suggest taking him to a dermatologist. My 9 year old nephew was having issues with his scalp and my sister took him to the dermatologist. It just turned out to be dandruff. Good luck!
The seasons are changing and there are a lot of new irritants out there...
We love Aveeno Hydrocortizone cream for our son. It was recommended by our ped. when he had little baby pimples on his cheeks. We've used it for all sorts of skin annoyances since. It seems to take the itching away immediately and the irritation just goes away. It's not greasy, so I have even put it on thru his hair (though I'll disclaim that he's still nearly bald...)
Try that - if it's just a seasonal irritant it will take care of it. If that doesn't help, see the Dr.!
If it is bugs, Jason makes a really great spay on repellant with geranium oil just for kids. Our whole family uses it now!
T.
If it's the dry scalp causing the itching, you might switch him to regular shampoo or even a moisturizing shampoo. I asked a hairdresser about my daughter's hair, and she told me the ingredients they use to make it "tear-free" are actually very harsh on hair itself. It dries the hair and scalp.
I would also start using conditioner on his head, maybe a spray type, leave-in conditioner.
Hi C.,
I think you should :
Take him to his ped to rule out head lice
and make sure he doesn't have an allergy or an infection.
For instance a little girl I watch was itching her head and it turned out she had infected hair folicles and had to be put on antibiotics for 2 weeks.
The head lice says to only use on kids over the age of 2 and they say that kids under the age of 2 can't head lice because the nits can't attach to the hair folicles because the hair strand is not strong enough( if that makes sense).
olive oil -- scrubberdo the kiddo's head, wear a shower cap for a couple of hours. The heat & oil will loosen the dead cells
rinse well,comb
vinegar or lemon juice -- scrubberdo, leave on for a while & rinse.
I don't recommend baking soda, it WILL burn too much for his little nerves. Adults can usually handle the baking soda for itchy scalp.
im not sure is it dry skin
If there is a Walgreen’s store near you that offer the Take Care Clinic service, they can tell you exactly what's going on. If needed, you can pick up your son's prescription there in the store.
If this isn't an option, try this: During his bath, wash/massage his scalp/itchy places using warm water and Baking Soda (make sure to rinse well). Surprisingly, Johnson's Baby Shampoo is kind of harsh. Next, apply HYDROCORTISONE cream or ointment (generic works perfectly - try Walgreen’s or Target brands). It's an anti-itch, anti-inflammatory topical. It calms itching almost immediately and will help to reduce redness and swelling...regardless of the cause of the symptoms.
Since allergens are worst during the spring, consider Children's Benadryl Allergy Chews. A tablet a day (half in a.m. and half in p.m.) will block environmental histamines.
It's also not too soon to slather him with bug-guard, and ball caps for boys are great at defending their tiny scalps from bites.
Hope this helps! It worked well for my son, whose skin was very sensitive to bug bites during his toddler years.
C., I have noticed my three year old scratching is head a lot over the past couple of weeks, particularly when playing outside. He has terrible allergies and I have been told that the pollen count has been extremely high. I would ask your son's doctor about it. Mine suggested giving him Claritin every morning and it really seems to have helped. Sue Williams
It sounds to me like he's getting bug bites from somewhere. Weather it be at home or at the sitter's house; you need to find out where he's getting bit. I would say that it could be chiggers, but I can't imagine a sitter letting a little one go role in the grass that much. Especially when it's only been nice enough to spend any time outside for a day or two her and there. You should check into even mites. Look at where he lays down to sleep at the sitters, and in his own bed. You might need a magnifying glass to realy see. Untill then; when he gets to scratching instead of trying make him quit doing it. Ease the itch for him by putting a small amount of lotion on his skin where he's itching at. You never know...dry skin could be the reason he's scratching in the first place, and the spots could be caused by him, but doutful. If you can't find the cause soon I would sure take him to the doctor and have them check it out. They can do a scrape to see what the cause is.
Hi C.,
I would ask a doctor rather than automedicate, but you mention that you use Johnsons's shampoo....Johnsons use Quarternium 15 as a preservative, and most people don't know but that is formaldehyde and might be giving your sona rash and who knows what else. Read labels and research ingredients, they won't use formaldehyde in labels, they will use a different name like Q15 or quarternium 15 or other.
I am buying everythign naturally based without any harsh chemicals since I learned, I am a customer of Melaleuca and I will be for life (have been for 3 years now) I don't really ahve time to do the business but I do recommend their products, let me know if you need more info here or may be you know them already.
I would say, first asking a doctor just in case, it might just be mosquito bites what I would try to avoid in the future with some mild repelent. But switching to healthier shampoo and overall products will always help.
Hope it helps,
Mariana Abadie
www.MaiaCreations.ecrater.com
Go to the doctor. It could be just dry skin or psoriasis or a number of other things. I would go right away and itchy anything can drive you crazy.
L. B
Take him to the doctor. He may need a mild medicated child shampoo to take care of the problem, especially if they are bug bites and you are noticing them on his forehead. It may not be sitter's fault, but you still need to have it checked by the doctor. I WOULD! and you are getting this info from a Grandmother of seven.
In the meantime, I my sister and I both sell Arbonne and they have EXCELLENT products for babys and children, women too! I HIGHLY recommend you using the shampoo for your baby. This products are NOT tested on animals. You can also try Tea Tree oil, you can get that at your local beauty supply store. Also Shea Butter is good too.
Granny Dee
PS: Let me know how the baby is doing.
I would think to say he has ecezma. Sometimes my head gets itchy and if I scratch I will get scabs too. You can go to the doctor or just buy over the counter dandruff shampoo, unless you want prescription shampoo.
Mine comes back when it's hot outside and since I have thick hair, my head sweats and so I wash my hair more often than I normally have to.
If you see scab's on his head i'd take him in to make sure it wasn't anything that bit him that your not sure of ha the sitter complined of any kid's having head lice.You may want to switch shamppo's for a while use fragrance free or Avenoo for children there stuff works.
