Cradle cap

Never pick at the scabs of cradle cap!

Cradle Cap
Cradle cap is very similar to dandruff, and both are medically called seborrhea. Cradle cap occurs when the oil glands in the skin have been stimulated by adult hormones which leads to oiliness and flaking of the scalp. Infants get cradle cap because they are exposed to adult hormones from their mother. Infants may have thick, adherent, oily, yellowish, scaling or crusting patches on their heads with mild redness in involved areas. Children will frequently have redness and scaling of the eyebrows and behind their ears as well. Seborrhea itself is a relatively harmless condition, but it can make the skin more susceptible to infection with yeast or bacteria.

Cradle cap is best treated with a scrub brush. If the cradle cap is thick, then rub in warm baby oil, cover with a warm towel and let is soak for 15 minutes. Use a fine-tooth comb or scrub brush to help remove the scale. You can shampoo with Sebulex, Selsun Blue or Sebutone. Be extremely careful not to get the shampoo in your child's eyes. There are special cradle cap removal systems available on the market for use in infants as well. Because of the risk of bleeding, scarring and further infection, you should never pick at the scabs.

No matter what you do, the problem will often return and you might have to repeat the treatment. If you have been treating the cradle cap at home and it is not responding or getting worse, call your child's pediatrician for further advice. If a doctor's appointment is required, a cortisone cream will probably be prescribed. Occasionally, your child's doctor may take a scraping from the infected area to examine under a microscope. Oral drugs and injections are not needed unless a bacterial infection has complicated the problem.

Comments: Cradle cap

Comments 1 to 24 of about 24.
1

PlusOne - 80 days ago.
my son currently has cradle cap, he's three months. Im using a mix of baby oil and E45. it seems not to be making any difference around his head but its gone from behind his ears. How long can cradle cap last?

HelluvaAngel - 742 days ago.
My daughter got this and I used HEAD & SHOULDERS as soon as I notice it starting and it was gone in 2 days. It was just starting though so was not a bad case. May have to use it longer for really bad cradle cap.

abeautifullife - 1021 days ago.
My daughter was about 2 months old when she had cradle cap. i tried using baby oil and using a fine-tooth comb to pull it up but it didnt seem to get rid of it. So a friend told me to use a dime size of HEAD AND SHOULDERS and sure enough it was gone within a week and never came back!

meganshell - 1046 days ago.
hollym- definitely think breastmilk will work. i've read that it even clears up pink eye! My daughter has slight cradles cap, it really isn't bad, I've just let it do it's thing and take it's course. When I bath her I do use a terry washcloth and scrub gently. It's getting better but I may try olive oil soon.

my4kids - 1388 days ago.
my son has it at the front of his head it is making his hair look red but he is blonde i heard use baby oil and a tooth brush but then heard not too ( i did that with my first child) i heard after bath scrub with a washcloth though i can tell you it don't work so i ran my finger over it and it started flaking off after his bath but not enough to make me happy i need to get rid of it

hollym - 1397 days ago.
you prob think im mad but if your breast feeding rub your breast milk on the cradle cap it will get rid of it in no time

daniellel - 1398 days ago.
My 12 week old has really bad dandruff, is this cradle cap?

shocked-over-3 - 1413 days ago.
I agree that Vasiline IS the most effective that I've tried-it clears it right up! I put it on my sons head for 10 minutes or so and then used a baby comb to gently comb it all out and it didn't come back.

Senior baby - 1451 days ago.
my 4 month old has cradle cap really bad. i use baby oil gel. it helps but like the next days its back just as bad. i cant ever seem to get rid of it. he has it behind his ears also. but that has pretty much cleared up. my oldest is 15 months old and he had it when he was around 4 months and i did the baby oil get and it was completely gone by time he was 9 months.

CYNLEE47 - 1490 days ago.
My daughter has craddle cap really bad on her head and in patches all over her body. I thought she was allergic to something but the doctor said it's most likley craddle cap. She was so itchy and always scratching herself. Her pediatrician told me to use 1% hydrocortizone cream, which seamed to work at first but it would just come back and she was misrable. So he prescribed her a stronger steroid cream and now it's completely gone, except for her chin, but the drool doesn't help, we will just have to wait that part out until she out grows it.

CelticBabe2009 - 1513 days ago.
I used 'California Baby' shampoo and it instantly went away. My daughter has always had a lot of hair, so most of the Vaseline/oil/lotion options were not possible. Smells nice too and had natural ingredients, no tears. You can get it at Target or your local health food store. Now we use Aveeno and have had no problems.

1stnoel - 1514 days ago.
No, he's not going to lose his hair! I've never heard that. My son is now 6.5 months and I believe it has all went away.

mother of one - 1540 days ago.
My son is 3monhs old and today I notice some white flakes in his hair. It's only on the top of his head (by his soft spot). My mom said that he has cradle cap and he's going to lose ALL his hair!! Is that true? What can I use to help treat it. Do I need to take him to the doctor or should I try treating it at home first? I thought about using vasline...does that work? How long should it take for cradle cap to go away?

mother of one - 1540 days ago.
My son is 3monhs old and today I notice some white flakes in his hair. It's only on the top of his head (by his soft spot). My mom said that he has cradle cap and he's going to lose ALL his hair!! Is that true? What can I use to help treat it. Do I need to take him to the doctor or should I try treating it at home first? I thought about using vasline...does that work?

luvbeingamom - 1540 days ago.
My son's cradle cap didn't go away until his 15th month. I just would brush his hair before and every bath with a comb. He loved it and it helped.

bellabelly - 1540 days ago.
My son is ten months old now and he still has a bit of his cradle cap. Is that normal? He has lots of hair too so I am not sure how to get rid of it the best.

1stnoel - 1547 days ago.
Does anyone know how long this typically lasts? I didn't even know my son had it until he was about 1 month old and my MIL said that was what it was. He's now 5 months and it's still there. It's very mild and there is only a patch about the size of a quarter. I tend to pick it all and then it goes away for a few days, but then it comes back. I guess I will try brushing his head during his bath.

munchkinsmommie - 1550 days ago.
My LO had it pretty bad. She also has a good amount of hair so it is hard to get out. I did the baby oil treatment. I let is sit on her hair for 20 mins and then washed it out. It took 2-3 washings for her hair not to look greasy. I also found this scrub brush that has a soft bristle scrub brush on one side and a sponge on the other side and you fill it up with shampoo so while you are scrubbing suds come out. It really works. I found it at babies r us.

Bri - 1550 days ago.
Amy, besure to keep your baby's nails trimmed/filed. If he lets you then maybe you can use the little mittens while he sleeps. That might cut down on the scratches. For what you can do. Have you tried any of the dandreff shampoos. My son's wasn't that bad but I've heard it really works. We used baby oil. We would put it on and let it sit for a bit and then wash it off. I also had the bad habit of picking at the dead skin. It seemed like he peeled all over. Between his fingers and toes, on the top of his head. I just would pull the peeling skin off. I know gross but I think it helped in combination of the washings.

teresa08 - 1550 days ago.
I'm not sure how to get rid of it once the baby has it but to prevent it our dr told me that whenever I wash his head to lightly scrub in circular motions with his baby hairbrush. I have done that since he was a newborn and he has never had a bit of cradle cap.

luvbeingamom - 1553 days ago.
Like Bri said if it isn't causing health issues (which it can if it is bad) i wouldn't worry to much about it. I never did. I would just brush my sons hair with a comb before and after a bath and that seemed to really help. My son is almost 16 mo old (sunday) and his almost gone and that is all i have ever done.

Bri - 1554 days ago.
I would say it would depend on how bad it is. My son's cradle cap was really light, just a bit of peeling. There was a baby at my son's school that had it really bad. It was so bad that it was pussy in areas. That needed to be dealt with. It was really gross and after they got rid of it he seemed happier. Cradle cap is something that babies do grow out of and for the most part it's just annoying and not great for pictures.

Heaven - 1554 days ago.
Is it really required to do something about it? My daughter has cradle cap but it doesnt seem to bother her so I tend to ignore it. Should I take action or let it ride out?

waitinonbaby09 - 1563 days ago.
selsun blue work wonders