To want a doctor to check DS's scalp

[NancyDrawed]

I know this should really go in children's health, but I am posting here for traffic.

I noticed some quite bad dandruff on DS (10) scalp a few months ago - large, dense, very white flakes attached near the root rather than the tiny transparent snowflake type. A pharmacist said to try Head and Shoulders, which did nothing. A different pharmacist recommended Capasal (which is a coal tar type) which didn't help either. I got a bottle of Selsun, which initially seemed to help, but he complained that there was a burning / stinging feeling with it (listed as a side effect) so we have had to abandon that.

He says it is itchy and I have seen some nasty, angry looking patches. When the sun caught him on the side of his head this morning it also looks like his hair may be thininng in places.

AIBU to request a GP appointment for this?

Sorry, me again. My son is 35 now and his scalp did clear after a couple of years of treatment.
But, although I've been told it's not related, he had had a water allergy from the same time, that has never cleared. If he showers in anything other than cold water, he gets covered in huge hives, that go down within the hour.

Mine turned out to be Psoriasis, as did DP's at exactly the same age. I was eventually diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis as well - but I had lots of 'It's cradle cap/dandruff/allergies/eczema/poor hygiene/are you depressed or under a lot of stress?' type bollocks first.

You can try a shampoo with Ketokonazole if the original T Gel doesn't work, but you definitely need to request a dermatology referral, as other medications are available and this could affect more than just his scalp if left to progress.

(Oh, and there is a possibility that you'll be told it can't be Psoriasis if it's itchy. That's nonsense.)

Could it be ringworm? Do you have any pets or has he handled other people’s pets recently? It’s very contagious, but medicated shampoo and boil washing sheets can stop it.
Consider washing his head with mild baby soap, such as Ivory.
DON’T DIG or PICK. It’s hard, because my family and I are diggers. Mother used to stand my brother under the strong kitchen light and pop his zits. She also taught me to dig in my ears with a bobby pin.

I think you need to try an anti fungal for a decent course before considering a referral. Preferably nizoral or oilatum scalp. You’ll need to soften and remove any build up on the scalp first or the treatment can’t get to the scalp, it will sit on the plaques. Whilst some people do have scalp psoriasis, the majority of people with this type of thing don’t, it’s often seborrhoeic dermatitis. Try the anti fungal first- you can get nizoral from Amazon/ supermarkets as well

My daughter had it around that age. Exactly like Cradle Cap. Childs Farm shampoo seemed to sort it out.

Definitely doesn’t sound like dandruff fwiw- dandruff flakes are yellowish and greasy, seborrich dermatitis causes ‘mole hills’ on the scalp and feels greasier too, psoriasis sounds most likely so definitely worth getting it checked out- good luck.

@NancyDrawed

I wouldn't rule anything out! I wondered about a sebhorroeic dermatitis type of condition, I hadn't considered fungal. I think a presciption treatment is probably necessary. It is really difficult to get a decent picture of the problem areas because hair is in the way. When I part the hair to try to show the scalp it hurts him and sometimes causes his scalp to bleed which makes him reluctant (understandably)

Mu son has this dermatitis.

It charges up worse in boys during puberty so likely as hormones fluctuate the next 5/6 years it'll have stages of good and bad.

We have a shampoo from GP and also Betnovate scalp gel for really bad times.

In et wren tee tree shampoo is quite nice and also he finds vosene keeps his scalp soft.

I'd ring GP and it's likely they'll prescribe something over the phone.

I had something which sounds similar - Tgel shampoo (readily available in supermarkets) sorted it out.
Ideally you do need to see a gp but worth trying in the interim.

Try Nizoral shampoo.

My DS got a fungal scalp infection after swimming and not drying her hair. It was like cradle cap that you get on a baby’s head, and was quite smelly when you got up close. Nizoral cleared it and we do use intermittently if I think the ‘dandruff’ is coming back again.
I would also request a GP appt too if you think his hair is thinning though.

I have really bad dandruff - and t-gel and head and shoulders does not touch it. It's best if I keep my hair short, but now nobody's cutting...

I recently have discovered oil works wonders - I use almond oil but probably argon would be better... I put it in my hair and massage onto scalp, then leave for as long as possible, usually dandruff goes for a couple of days. Washing hair a lot dries it out....

Definitely pursue the GP and get their opinion. However I've had a very similar sounding issue with my daughter who is now 14. Despite creams and tgel, nizoral, and other remedies I have long forgotten, the only relief she gets is from Body Shop ginger shampoo.

His hair is short and until I noticed this problem in September, he was not using shampoo on his hair at all - it wan't greasy or dirty and I thought (clearly wrongly in his case) that it would be fine to just wash it with water as I know some people swear by that being the best thing for your hair and scalp once it has found its balance.

Fungal/bacterial infection i would say is most likely if he hasn't been using shampoo. How long did he go with just using water?

How often is he washing his hair now?
Does he scrub it and rinse it properly?
Does he oil his hair/scalp?
How long have you tried for with each shampoo?

My son had something similar. My friend gave some chamomile butter from body shop. I slathered on his scalp and left it to condition about half and hour then used a comb to Combe the dead skin off and then washed it. It hadn't come back since. I had tried every shampoo going and that did it for us in the end

Hard water can irritate skin. I’ve just ordered a Stone Stream shower head so I’ll see how that goes. I’ve got scalp buildup around my hairline following head surgery, no showers due to the dressing and tricky baths. No itchiness, no feeling of dryness. I’m also going to get onto the doctor tomorrow. Ordered The Body Shop ginger shampoo and will also do an apple cider vinegar rinse. On Amazon there are scalp brushes designed for babies, they may be a good idea too.

I'm incline to think that it's fungal especially since he was only using water to wash his hair.. it doesn't really remove grease and oil at all which might have created the perfect breeding ground for a fungal infection to set it which can be hard to shift.

My dh has scalp psorasis - He has been prescibed so many different things and nothing has helped except a very harsh steroid liquid but that couldn't be used for long. He is now using Tgel which has cleared it almost completely. It took a while though - it obviously needs to be with prolonged use

5zeds

I don't monitor his showering/hairwashing as I he says he wants privacy in the shower and I respect that. However, once we started trying to treat this I was washing his hair over the kitchen sink in the morning before school, so would consider all these preps to have been used correctly and thoroughly rinsed off. We used the Head and shoulders every other day for 3 weeks but it didn't seem to help at all. The Coal tar was used daily during the week for 3 weeks an there didn't seem to be any improvement and kids at school had commented on the strong smell. The Selsun did seem to be doing something, but he found it caused a burning sensation, so we could't leave that on to work properly and have abandoned everything until I have spoken to the GP.

I'd hazard a guess at fungal, too.

@Rubyupbeat

My dd still has it, every 6 weeks or so even as an adult I lift the plaques. No shampoo or cream has helped

Another one for fungal (eg ringworm) or cradle cap.

Why not do the photos first with the GP and see if the treatment they suggests work?
GPs are rightly trying to keep face to face contact to a minimum at the moment and are very stretched - even more so than usual at this time of year.

Don't fanny about with baby shampoo or olive oil or anything else as it won't help at this stage. You need to take him to the GP and probably get some steroid lotion or some other proper treatment. Thats the only thing that will clear it up once its got so bad. Once you've got on top of it you can try different shampoos.

I'm speaking as someone who developed the same problem as a teen, and now has permanent small bald patches in my hair because my hippy mother wouldn't take me to the GP and just rubbed olive oil on to it once in a while In the end I took myself to the GP and got the steroid lotion.

Take a couple of good photos on your phone. Some practices may ask you to send them in. Other practices may organise a video confetence so the Gp can see the issue.

I.hope you get things sorted.

My daughter had this and I spent a fortune on shampoos etc (including Aveda dundruff brush and treatments!) and I wanted to see the GP. She suggested it could have a fungal element and to try the £5 nizoral can be found on Amazon or chemists. It cleared up in two weeks.