Could this be scalp psoriasis?

[LacksDaisies]

DD, 3.5, has always had a raft of skin complaints including eczema and she had constant hideous nappy rash as a baby. she also had really bad cradle cap until she was well into her second year.

We are now in a position where we can't use anything on her skin, so she has plain water baths and even then she gets irritateed so we limit them to one every 10 days or so. We can't use any shampoo on her as everything seem to irritate, caqusing red marks in her hairline, especially at the nape of her neck. The hair here has never grown well either. Recently I've noticed that around where her parting is she is very flakey, but the flakes are tiny and are a silvery colour. She says it gets itchy sometimes, but it doesn't seem to bother her too much. It's looking particularly bad at the minute, and it occured to me that it might be psoriasis?

Also, is there a genetic predisposition to it? as with the eczema? DH and I both have auto-immune conditions, and MIL has psoriasis herself.

Obviously will take her to the GP, but wondered if anyone had any insight?

Psoriasis does have a familial component, so if a GP has it, it is definitely worth raising as a possibility.

IIRC, 3.5 would be unusually young for it to manifest itself (it usually emerges at primary school age or later). It's often not itchy, though it's very satisfying to pick.

yes to the satisfying; I quite often groom her like a chimp!

thanks I had picked up that it's unusual in a little one. Can't think what else it is though; older DC has sebhorreaic (sp?) dermatitis and it looks completely different.

I'm at a loss as to what to put on it, as she has such a hideous reaction to everything.

My scalp psoriasis itches like MAD. That said the diagnosis differentiates between psoriasis and seborrhoeic dermatitis

My DS had a while where he was itchy & flaky when he was about 3 and the drs gave him some ketoconazole shampoo which cleared it up in 2 washes and he has only had it twice since

with scalp psoriasis you would probably have red patches which are flakey, rather than the flakiness on top of a normal coloured scalp.

I second the ketoconazole shampoo (you can get it off the shelf). It has sorted out dds scalp also in two washes.

thanks
She's at the docs for something else later, so I'll ask about the shampoo.

ask dr to test for celiac autoantibodies, as skin problems like that (+family history) can be a symptom of celiac/gluten sensitivity

I'm a coeliac myself nighcat, but so far none of my DC are showing signs. My DS1 has been tested, but the two little ones haven't. Might be worth asking for a test though just to check. Thanks

LacksD, celiac can be v complex, esp if you consider gluten sensitivity (my pet topic, so must stop here :), worth checking

at the risk of hijacking my own thread ....I was under the impression that blood tests for coeliac in LOs were notoriously unreliable? Or have things moved on a bit recently?

yes, they are if false neg, but you can still discuss a possibility, coz it's too serious to leave it for years if there is a risk