Eczema shampoo for 5 month old

[nikki444]

Hi, wondering if anyone has used Alphosyl 2 in 1 shampoo? My 5 month old has terrible eczema and her scalp gets really crusty and dry. Yesterday we went to the dermatologist (horrible man who I do not trust due to previous experience with him) and he has prescribed Alphosyl shampoo for her.
I have googled it and found it is a coaltar shampoo which sounds quite harsh?? It also says to use with caution on children under 12, but my daughter is only 5 months old!?! Im concerned about using it, so if anyone could tell me their experience with it that would be great.
Thanks.

My son had terrible eczema as a baby, the specialist at the hospital told me to use his moisturising dermol cream (comes in a cream bottle) which is an antimicrobial emollient cream and soap substitute . put it on his head in the morning and washed it out in the evening. My son is now 7 and his eczema has improved alot but i still do moisturise him once a day with dermal cream and he can now have any shampoo which states suitable for those with eczema on the bottle. Request dermal cream if you're not using it on her already.

not cream bottle. it is green here's a link but get it on prescription www.pharmacyfix.co.uk/products/dermol-cream-500g?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=googlepla&variant=4259464389&gclid=Cj0KEQjwp83KBRC2kev0tZzExLkBEiQAYxYXOuSSxj8S3TvhGb2-LZ40VMV8uuLl6KeS-DO_1LlMb9kaAs7H8P8HAQ

Thank you for your reply, however we tried dermol cream about 2 months ago and she had a terrible reaction to it and had to be rushed to A&E at 3am! :( We do currently use her eczema cream (hydromol) on her scalp, but as her hair is growing I dont want her to have a horrible greasy mop all day long and she itches more when the cream is on her head, even though it does help stop it drying out.

It's just a case of trial and error with eczema, if you really unsure whether to use it, see if you can see another specialist and they can set out a plan for you.

Thank you for the advice, I am considering asking to see a different doctor next time we go to the clinic as our current one just doesnt seem to listen to our concerns or care that much to be honest! I may just try the shampoo on a small patch of skin at the back of her head and see how we get on.
Just out of curiosity did you ever try Isomol gel emollient? We've just been prescribed that to use instead of hydromol all over her body.

No the only moisturising creams my son was prescribed were doublebase which helped clear his head and one time his dr changed his moisturising cream to cetreban without giving a reason which flared his skin up very bad and when we he saw the specialist at the hospital she prescribed dermol because his flare ups were constantly getting infected and and was always using steriod cream because it kept coming back as soon as it cleared. Dermol is the only cream that has worked for him. He uses oilatum for the bath too since he was a baby.

Ok thank you, fingers crossed it helps her. Eczema is a truly awful condition!!

i used Boots Baby Sensitive conditioning shampoo and childs farm shampoo and conditioner from boots too since he was little and those two are the only shampoos that hasn't affected him too. It will improve when they get older, my son hardly has flare ups now and i moisturise him once a day instead of 2 or 3. It is horrible, when they are very young it feels like there is nothing out there to help soothe their skin, i've tried all sorts, but there is a cream out there that will be perfect for her.

You need to moisturise the scalp to ease the crusts off otherwise it will get worse. If you don't want to use a cream, try Cetraban bath oil in her bath water - use that water to wet the hair, massage it into the scalp a bit then leave as long as you can before washing out with shampoo. (We've used Childs Farm shampoo for years).

You could also try Dentinox cradle cap shampoo (it didn't help dd but others I know found it helpful).

Keep seeing the GP and if it isn't improving ask for a referral to a hospital dermatology unit. We've been very lucky to have an informed and sympathetic GP and a great hospital unit but they vary.

Have a look online at the National Eczema society website for more info. Take print outs to your GP of advice if it helps.

Coal tar does sound too harsh for a baby (even I've found it harsh sometimes as an adult).
(NB Oilatum made dd's eczema worse so it really is trial and error as others have said).