Is cradle cap a symptom of milk allergy?

[Jackie432]

My LO is 9 weeks and I'm not sure her formula is right for her. She has been on SMA since birth as I'm not able to breastfeed but she seems to be really struggling with her wind and although her poop isnt hard it seems to hurt her everytime she needs to go. She has also developed bad cradle cap and I've been told this could indicate an allergy. Has anyone else heard this? Also any tips on getting rid of the cradle cap is welcome - I tried to get an appt with the doc as its been bad for 3 weeks and starting to smell (!) which I'm worried about. But I just get the nurse and she tells me all babies get it and just put oil on and comb it every morning...

My DS had cradle cap until he was about 4yo! I just left it alone and it went eventually. I mixed fed him until 6mths and then went onto FF (Cow and Gate) At a year he went onto cows milk - lots of it and never showed any signs of a milk allergy. He does have sensitive skin (reacts to face paints, sun cream, insect bites) but this only developed as he got older.

Lots of cradle cap here (another lax mother who didn't mind or think it was a problem) and no milk allergies.

If anything, I think being overzealous about trying to get rid of it is more likely to create a sensitivity problem, some lotion you use might not be tolerated well.

Do you have any history of allergies in the family? I think cradle cap is very common and needn't indicate anything. That said we were told by our pediatric allergist that it can be a precursor to eczema and I guess in that sense could indicate a tendency to atopic type illnesses which would include allergies. Even with a family history of food allergy, they weren't bothered about cradle cap alone with ours until it developed into eczema.

In terms of treatment - mucky but helpful advice we had was to rub olive oil and then brush fairly vigorously. It helped with DD but DS still has patches at 5! It bothers us but not them I was reassured.

I've never heard this. Both DC have had cradle cap, in fact the baby still does & it's possible the 4yo does too under her hair! Never ever is anything about it, breastfed both, no allergies.

Yes! It can be a symptom of allergy!

My dc1 and dc2 both had a v small amount of dry flaky cradle cap which didn't bother them. However, dc3 (dairy and soy allergic, egg and nut intolerant) suddenly developed a thick, crusty layer of yellow cradle cap which was hard to get rid of. It was a reaction to egg (paediatrician also noted eczema patches behind his ears from the same trigger).

I used jojoba oil (on the recommendation of my osteopath) and it shifted in around 3-4 months (would have been quicker if I'd applied it more often!)

It's not always symptomatic of allergy as far as I know - but it can be.

I've never heard of cradle cap as an indicator of allergies but in fact my DS (allergic to milk, wheat, eggs & nuts) did have very bad cradle cap as well as severe eczema so who knows maybe there is a link. I think there would need to be other clear symptoms and/or family history before going down the allergies route though. I found rubbing olive oil into the scalp an hour before bathtime really helped. It makes the scales soft enough to gently rub off with a wet flannel over time. Because of his eczema, we've never used shampoo or soap, just water with emollient (eg Oilatum, Dermol etc). It did clear up eventually.