Wednesday, January 20, 2010
help...um...please...
Okay, I need some advice concerning...cradle cap. It has gotten really really REALLY bad on the youngest bear cub (very very dry). I have tried using different oils (including DermaSmoothe) and they seem to help temporarily, but by the next day the yuckies are back. He has very thick hair (and lots of it) and I was considering a buzz (to ease the treating process), but I was concerned that exposing the skin might not be a good idea. Any suggestions?
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6 comments:
Well... I am a pro with experiencing this, but haven't necessarily figured it out.
It is hard to get it out when there is a lot of hair, so I usually put off a haircut as long as I can. That works out to about three months for mine more or less.
Then I buzz it all.
I have tried combing it out in the bathtub, used oil, schmancy shampoo... nothing has solved this problem for me.
Hair would come out in clumps when I combed it out, that's why I resorted to shaving it off. You see Bryce's head - He's a sharp looking little cookie, it's just a real adjustment for mom who is used to seeing that baby with loads of dark hair!
I have a theory that the cradle cap is yeast induced (meaning that it is sugar fed - by me), but I've never given sugar up completely to find out ;-)
Good luck!
Thanks Analene! I was thinking that my best option would be to shave his head, so I'm glad that someone with more experience thinks so too. I am going to miss his mop though. *Sniff*
Y'know, your theory about the sugar really could have something to it. I never did get over my chocolate malt ice cream craving from when I was pregnant. ;-)
I was thinking it might also have to do with sweat. The cradle cap after he has spent the day wearing a hat. Maybe all the hair contributes. It's a mystery all right.
No hard and fast conclusions on my end. Mine usually get a mild bout of it at about one to two months old and I comb it out with a very fine baby comb or soft baby brush as I feed them for a week. If I had to guess on a cause, I'd say it was built up hair oil. Summer babies out here sweat more and seem to have worse cases. Baths (the normal Suave Kids' two-in-one shampoo that the boys use) every other day or so and then combing while the scalp is still soft seems to clear things up after not too long.
One of our boys has had more trouble with skin issues - gets eczema pretty badly if his skin isn't moisturized right after baths. He had a form of cradle cap for a couple years. It just cleared up after I took him off of milk products this Fall. Apparently Nathan has the same problems as a child. But with a nursing baby, it probably isn't that. :)
Good luck.
It could be a milk allergy - I concur. I forgot to mention that I still have to comb out the cradle cap after I buzz. During a bath or shower works well while head is soaped up and using a fine toothed comb.
One of my good friends told me that she uses a brush like a hospital scrub brush to stimulate the scalp every day and her chiluns haven't had cradle cap since she's used this technique.
A nurse told her about that trick and I purposed to try it this time around.
However I found that with such a mop of hair, the bristles didn't really get to the scalp at all!
Her children have much less hair.
I think there are things that would exacerbate the problem ie. perspiration, but I'll elaborate on my theory:
My children usually develop white smelly goo in the folds of their newborn skin. It is a yeast infection of sorts and no matter what I do, the only thing that clears it up completely is keeping the area dry (so effectually they grow out of that roley poley skin and there's no more place to harbor spit [around the neck] or stay damp [inside of legs].
This baby is the first to not have this junk, but we live in a dry (VERY DRY) climate. Instead he seems to have eczema. Go figure.
I still think it's all related (at least in my case). Trying to beat the Eczema, and having got 'round the bend with the cradle cap...
Still no firm conclusion.
Let me know if you solve the mystery!!
love:-)
Well, we buzzed him last night and then gave him a bath with some olive oil and used our little hospital scrub brush on his head...and his head is soooo much better! He still has some flakies, so I put a few drops of oil on his head just to keep things soft. The buzz is actually really cute! Very handsome :-)
Thanks for all the advice! It was a BIG help :-)
Oh Analene - funny you should mention the skin folds yeast - Christian seems to have it. It's the first time I've ever had one with it, but that's what the Pediatrician diagnosed a couple weeks back. Seemed odd to me since he really isn't a drooler. I guess it's the skin folds like you said. Of course, he's not doing cradle cap any more. It is nice when they get beyond some of this, isn't it? :)
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