I just noticed my two year old daughter has white flakey things and brown spot on her head. Her top of scalp are kind of covered with that condition. It just looks dry. My daughter says it hurts. I am not sure how painful it is since she has not complained at all until I notice. Does anyone has any idea what these are? It almost look like begining of eczema, but I am not sure. Her dad has eczema as a child. She could easily have that.
Thank you for everyone who took time to respond my questions. It was all helpful. I consulted with my husband who is a chinese herbalist and acupuncturist about my daughter's head after I recieved everyone's response. My husband prescribed chinese bulk herbs for my daughter. He said if I follow instruction it would probably clear out in about three days. I was skeptical, but I made decoction. I applied to my daughter's head while she was taking the bath for last three nights. Well, Wa La!!! It is almost gone. There are only few dots in tiny area that were worse. I was amazed how quickly it took care of it. At the same time, I remember when I had a pink eye, he gave me herbs and I applied to my eye and I was gone in two days. So Chinese herbs do work. I just need to remember it. My husband fixed my daughter's jundice right after she was bone as well. I took about one gallon of chinese herbs decoction for my daughter so she would get it through my milk. Sure enough it worked. Her milk spit was yellow from herbs. My midwife was truely impressed.
Anyhow, thank you everyone for all your support. I love this community.
H.
It could be cradle cap, that's what it sounds like. I switched from Johnson's Baby shampoo when I noticed it on my son. Does it look like mole? And dry? Anyway, a bit of baby oil rubbed on her head in the bathtub and the run a comb gently over it while wet will loosen it up if it is. Good luck!
It sounds like cradle cap to me. take olive oil rub it on her head and then after a bath use a soft brush to pull the flakes off
Cradle Cap is what it sounds like to me! Very Common don't worry but here is a link to check out.
http://www.babycenter.com/0_cradle-cap_80.bc
Copy and paste it if it doesn't come up as a link.
Hope this helps!
~Jenn~
Hi,
My daughter when she was 4 years old had eczema on her scalp she also had it under her eyes. we switched shampoo for awhile to head and shoulder (dr. told us to try this) and even put thick lotion in her hair when it was really bad at night. It went away. If her hair falls out (in a spot) and it turns a red patch it very well could be ring worm. www.babycenter.com has a great site regarding eczema and rashes ect.
Best of luck,
Lenc
The easiest thing to do is take her to a dermatologist. Many many dermatologists take children, however, if you are unable to find any on your own I am sure that the pediatrician can help.
its cradle cap my son had it till he was 5 and I learned to get his hair cut to thin the thickness of his hair on the top of his head.
It is painful if it is picked at or accidently scrapped off with a brush or comb
use either olive oil or baby oil on the scalp in the area rub in gently ater washing hair every night...before washing her hair brush or comb gently you will see flakes come away. It should help clear it up.
My daughter has had the same thing since she was born. I did everything for it - baking soda, dandruff shampoo, oil, etc. But it kept getting worse. This year (she's 7) it got so large and flakey that it matted down her hair. When I tried to scrub it away it pulled her hair out in a big clump! So, I took her to the doctor - she didn't know what it was but prescripted hydrocortisone cream. A couple of days later it was gone.
I could be eczema or it could just be cradle cap, which is very common for babys, but also seems to show up sometime in kids up to age 5. Probably the best thing to do is make an appt with your doctor and get a professional to let you know what it is and the best way to treat it.
It's sounds like Seborrhea (AKA Seborrheic Dermatitis or "Cradle Cap" in little ones) and is a step up from dandruff but not as bas as eczema. I've had it since junior high school and have it worse around my hairline, the sides of my nose and a little in my eyebrows. Mine can itch and hurt when I don't treat it, so it probably does hurt her some. In fact, before I knew what it was when I was young, it would get so bad and I would pick off the flakes until it would bleed. No fun.
Get Head & Shoulders Sensitive (just don't get it in her eyes). That is what finally cleared up my daughter's cradle cap (per her doctor's suggestion). I have to use a stronger shampoo, Nizoral, but I think H&S should be fine for her. Wash her hair every-other day at first (both washing too much and not enough will affect the oils on her scalp and make it worse) and use the H&S each time. Once it's better, just use it once a week as maintenance. Just make sure not to pick at the flakes - that will just make it worse and raw.
Another thing you can use is hydrocortisone cream ($1-2 at any drug store). BUT, I would check with her doctor before using it. It is a steroid cream and is great for flare ups, but steroids makes you skin thinner and you only want to use it sparingly (and it might be too harsh for a toddler's skin).
I'm not sure if the brown spot is related or just a mole or freckle. I would have her doctor look at it at her next check-up just to be sure. If the H&S doesn't work, it might be eczema and you should talk to her doctor anyways. Start with the H&S and then go from there. I'm guessing it will clear it up. :-)
sounds like cradle cap. If you want to deal with it without using the chemicals in dandruff shampoos, what I used to do was to take some olive oil and cover the affected area. Let it soak in an hour or so and then take a fine toothed comb and comb away the excess skin. Then wash with a mild shampoo. This got rid of it every time for my little ones.
This may sound crazy, but Extra Virgin Olive Oil!! I have had something very similar since I can remember, behind my ears and on my scalp, and both my kids, ages 2 1/2 years and 2 1/2 months have it. I just put a little oil on about 30-60 minutes before bath time throw a little hat on and let it soak and then wash it out in the tub. My little ones usually clear up in a day or so. Also I switched my 2 year old from baby shampoo to the Suave 2 in 1 smoothers for extra softness and a little Suave conditioner (all for kids and tear free) and his condition is SO much better. We only get flare ups at season change now, not monthly like before. It is worth a try!! Good luck!
That is Cradle Cap.
Just use a good shampoo like danduff kind.
Hope this helps.
Thanks
Could be cradle cap.... Which looks like thick flaky white skin and on my son with some brown in it. I thought cradle cap was for babies, but when my son was 4 we shaved his head(long story) and there was all this gunk on his head. I brushed it off and used apricot oil on it and when I talked to his preschool teacher about it she said "Oh yeah, that's cradle cap. My son had it as an older kid too." The working in apricot oil seemed to work, and then we really made sure to brush his scalp to loosen the dead skin. Of course it was easier because, as I said, his head had just been shaven, but even once his thick hair grew back we haven't seen a recurrence.
My three year old just now doesn't have cradle cap. I bet it is that. Some kids have it for a long time.
S.
if the cradle cap theory doesn't pan out you may want to consider that it might be ringworm in the scalp. it doesn't show up the same way as it does on the body...it doesn't look like a ring and it is very flakey. a child can get it from playing in a sandbox where cats have been. i used to watch two boys who always had flakey scalps and i researched it to be that. after a week of treatment with lotrimin it was gone completely and has never returned. (they were 2 and 4 at the time!)
is it possible that the brown spot is a mole? one of my children has one on his scalp.
My daughter had a tick one time. She didn't complain until it got big. We tried to get it off with a match, drowning it in the bathtub... Everything hurt my daughter, and the tick was real big. We finally took (My husband took) her to the doctor (because I took her the previous time) and he got the tick off. It might be a tick.
Sounds like Cradle Cap. My daughter had the same thing until she was 6 or 7 years old. We were finally told to switch shampoos and to use olive oil when bathing. Let the olive oil soak in for a few minutes on wet hair. Then you can use a comb to gently ease the flaky stuff out. Rinse and then wash her hair with head and shoulders. Good luck!
My youngest daughter is prone to a rather scaley scalp like that. Teatree oil has taken care of it for her. :)
Hey H.,
I would also say it sounds like cradle cap - I had it until I was 3 years old and my dd had it for about one year.
That being said, given the other responses, I would take her to her pediatrician to have it checked out, just in case it's something like ringworm, which would need medical attention.
Cradle cap looks ugly and there's a lot of dandruff/flakes! But, it's otherwise harmless and she will outgrow it. It also shouldn't hurt.
