Dandruff in pre-schooler: any experience?

[Fayrazzled]

My 3yo has rather persistent dandruff. He did suffer with cradle cap as a baby but it cleared up. He's had dandruff for months now and I have tried children's Vosene but it has made no difference. Today I noticed he has two inflamed (and now crusted) "spots" on his head. They have healed but are quite large and can be felt clearly in his hair. is it time to see the Doc or will they think I'm a time waster? A lot of OTC anti-dandruff shampp says for over 12s only.

The other problem I have is that DS hates having his hair washed. He's almost phobic about it and the screams have to be heard to be believed- but does he need to be having his hair washed every day if his dandruff is so persistent?

Many thanks for any thoughts. He is starting school next month and I don't want him to be teased about this.

this sounds like psoriasis but it is not common in small children. my mother suffers from it and she gets spots/small lumps in her head. she uses a shampoo called Polytar (i think) which you can buy in Boots (it comes in a goldy/brownish bottle and smells not very nice).

make an appt to see the doctor just to be on the safe side

My ds (2.4) has crusty bits on his hea. Was at the docs for a different reason and showed it to her and she said it was cradle cap. Now obviously he is long out of the cradle but it does look the same. She said to rub almond oil in it. My neighbour said her little boy had the same and she was told to put canestan on it and it worked straight away. I will try oil first but will try caneston if it doesn't work...

my ds had really bad cradle cap and is now nearly 6 he still gets something that looks like cradle cap but my auntie (who's son had the same) has told me it is eczema. i find it is better in the summer months and find that Simple Baby Range Shampoo helps. i also use their wash as well as ds gets exzema on other parts of his body.

Thanks for your comments, everyone. I think I'll pop him to the doctors and see what they suggest, just in case it is psoriasis or eczema.

Dd has always had this problem, started as excema as a baby, went on to cradle cap and has persisted into her teens, at one stage it became infected and she had betnovate liquid to put on her scalp which cleared it up amazingly quickly, the doctor then recommended she use T gel shampoo but only the one with salisyc (sp) acid in it which she uses every other wash and its brilliant keeps her scalp clear.