Anyone have a successful treatment for cradle cap?

[ChocolateMouse]

DS is 8 months old and has had cradle cap since 3 months. Recently he has disturbed sleep and is scratching/rubbing his scalp like crazy. He also has what looks like eczema on his legs and arms but not sure if that's related in any way.

GP prescribed Epaderm but that doesn't seem to do much for the itch on his limbs. Also told me to put olive oil on scalp, which also doesn't do much for the itch either.

Ear infection has been ruled out though he is teething and have wondered if that could be affecting it all as he has rash on cheeks and chin from saliva . We take him swimming in chlorinated pool once a week - that would affect it too, right? Putting on a barrier cream is what I'll do before his next swim.

Anyone got any success stories for treating cradle cap?

We just used olive oil with DD1, rubbed on vigorously with cotton wool. Good luck, hope he stops itching soon x

Thanks TMS, - maybe I just need to be a little patient with it . I'll continue trying and hope it gets better soon.

Would also say olive oil - takes a while to work.
With eczema-type thing I found with ds1 that the trick was to cover him in talc after I'd dried him and make sure I got all the creases etc so he was absolutely dry. When he looked quite sore I'd then put some Sudocream on overnight in those places.
Even now, when gps bath ds2, I find he gets sore after a day or so because they aren't thorough enough. And we don't ever go swimming.

Thanks CM, was going to start this myself (so obviously no advice but watching with interest).

DD2 is 5 months and has had it since about 3 weeks including all over her forehead for quite a while. The Dentinox shampoo works a bit but her head gets really red and sore. It bothers other people (DH) more than it bothers me, doesn't seem to cause her discomfort and I am not going to make her head sore because he is embarrassed about his crusty baby!

Advice I have had is:

Dentinox (use Epaderm 1/2 hr before)
Olive oil
Vaseline (added bonus of nice brylcreem do)
Anti-fungal shampoo e.g. Nizoral but haven't done as worried is too harsh

Both DDs have sensitive skin (DH has quite bad psoriasis and my skin is less than perfect) - DD1 had all dairy cut out and gradually reintroduced, now has most dairy foods but soy milk as that seemed to make a difference (also to congestion).

The other thing is we only bath every three days, on recommendation of GP.

Hi chocolatemouse, my dd is almost 2 and a half and we are still looking for a cure for cradle cap. The oil does loosen it and it can be combed out but it doesn't stop it coming back. Have you used the Dentinox cradle cap shampoo? Friends tell me it works but my dd has eczema and it really irritated her face so I only used it once. If your ds only has the eczema on his legs and not the face the shampoo might be worth a try.
We use Epaderm to keep dd moisturised but I don't think emollients help the itch very much. When dd has a bad flare up we use Emuovate cream which clears it up but it is prescrption only, I think and can only be used occasionally. The only thing that helps when dd is really itchy is to give her an antihistamine but I think you ds is too young for that.
If you look on the allergies thread there is loads of advice about eczema,different creams etc. Best of luck

I know someone who used a small diluted bit of 'head and shoulders'. It worked a treat.

I went down the pick it off route myself

well we tried everything on dd, but dentinox was what sorted it, almost instantly

i am usually mrs homeremedylentilweaverdo it the natural way type, but the olive oil method seemed to require too much picking, rubbing and actually seemed far more brutal than the nasty chemical approach

worth a try

Olive oil and long finger nails

Actually, dd2 is 4 ans still gets a small patch.

A nit comb also works

With DS2 I have used olive oilover night, followed by dentinox and vigerous towel rubbing in the morning (and also a sneaky finger nail or two) for several days and it seemed to do the trick to a certain extent - but it hasn't gone completely!

DS1 had it for years but once the hair covers it it's not such a big deal. He never got itchy with it though.

I used a nit comb too and it worked brilliantly.

bio oil
it dissolved instantly

(dd was covered in it and had tried dentinox and olive oil for months with no success)

The only thing i found to get of it, is head and shoulder shampoo.

I only found this because i forgot to pack dd's shampoo when we went on holiday so i used my shampoo and it all went in a week.

Badger balm calm for babies, made with organic olive oil and camomile. I just rub it in really well, leave it for a few days, then wash hair with a tiny amount of baby shampoo and rub with wet cotton wool. Its taken me about 4 weeks but he is nearly clear.

Yes the chemical one does work well, I used that on DS1 and he never got it back, but I am more adverse to using chemicals now

Time worked for all 3 SmallDragons. I did nothing whatsoever and it went. By about 18 months although I wasn't paying attention TBH.

aqueous cream worked for us. Its s'posed to be good for mild eczema too. (and its cheep!)

aqueous cream worked for us. Its s'posed to be good for mild eczema too. (and its cheep!)

Don't pick!

My 5 year old still has some and it is really taking its time to go. Dentinos isn't working imo.

Jojoba oil.
Rub in every night for a week and then brush the hair.
It comes off in lots of scaly bits! Very satisfying indeed.

Hi everyone, thanks so much for all of your replies

yomellamoHelly, littlerach, Thanks. I think I need to be a little more patient with the olive oil - I haven't been using it for very long. I liberally cover with cornstarch based powder after each bath, especially nooks 'n' crannies so hopefully that has helped to some extent. Will look into Sudocream too - thanks

OMaLittle, Thanks. I tried to see if a similar thread had been started but couldn't find one so here's this one - hope you're finding it useful too . I too get psoriasis - had it for 23 years and counting I dearly hope DS won't take after me on that one. DS has a slight lactose intolerance and have had to use hypoallergenic milk along with normal formula - maybe that could also be a factor.

justaboutsensible - Thanks. Really? Wow - your mum sounds like a great person to know! I'll see how I get on with the others before I consider this one

suiledonn, mazzystar, EEC, Thanks. No, I haven't tried Dentinox but will definitely give it a try. DS has some dry skin behind his ears but I'll try it anyway - will get some tomorrow for after his swim. Eumovate - that's a steroid cream I think? I did wonder about whether I could give antihistamine or not but even if I could I would resort to that at the last minute. I'll try the allergy threads too - thanks

amner, lizziemun, Thanks. Head and Shoulders was great for me - if I need to, DS will try it too! Thanks

Surfermum, Thanks - A nit comb sounds like a great idea combined with the olive oil - thanks

sagacious, Thanks - is that the Bio Oil from Boots? I think I may have some somewhere . I'm sorry to hear that the olive oil and Dentinox route didn't work for you - what a pain. I think I'm going to give it that a try first though.

beeper, Thanks; I've heard of Badger Balm but didn't know you could get some specifically for babies . So after the Badger Balm, do you put the baby shampoo on first then wet some cotton wool and rub it in? Sounds excellent to me and well done for getting it nearly clear after 4 weeks. I'm like you - hate the idea of chemicals - yuk! But right now I'm thinking 'anything to stop the suffering'.

SoupDragon, Thanks, I wish I could be as patient as you, (I think I used to be ). I just can't bear to see him get aggravated by it though.

havoc, Thanks, any particular brand of aqueous cream that's worked for you? I'll look into that one too

ImnotMamaGbutsheLovesMe, Thanks. I think I've done pretty well not to pick so far but I don't know how long I'll last at that one . I don't want to risk making things worse so I'll hold off for a bit longer

likessleep, Thanks for that. Do you wash the hair after each rub in or leave the oil in for a week before washing? Hmm, that's another one to consider too

I used Johnsons Baby lotion (in the pink bottle) rubbed a bit in, left in over night and washed it out in the morning and the vast majority of it had gone.

My daughters hair fell out because of cradle cap, not lumps of it but all over thin bits of it??

My friend with two children asked if I was rinsing her hair with the bath water? and I said yes, she told me to give her hair a final rinse with fresh warm water out of the tap and it would go?? Well she was right it went within a week, apparently the soap scum builds up on their head and can be a cause of cradle cap? Not proven though, but worth a go if your not doing it??

The best treatment for my dcs has been normal conditioner and a nitty gritty nit comb. Got all the icky bits out no problem. It came back again after a few months though.