ds2.5 has really stubborn flaky scalp...

[desperatelyseekingsleep]

.. could it be crqadle cap even at this late age - a friend reckons it's some kind of fungal condition as most of his scalp is covered in large, thick, greasy flakes. Olive oil and/or dentinox seem to make no difference. He's had it since he was about 9 months and it's getting worse and worse (I naively assumed it was just cradle cap and would get better of its own accord). Has anyone got any advice on whaqt it might be and how to get rid of it - should I go to the doctor with it?

my dd is 5 and still has this, tried everything you have, will be interested in other replies too.

Feasibly, cradle cap is certainly an option - ds still has it at nearly 4. But if it was cradle cap, I would expect it to respond to olive oil... although with ds I find I need to leave the oil on for a while - eg 15/20 mins or so - before it penetrates his great thick thatch of hair

I posted a similar thread when he was about the same age, and I know a couple of people posted about a skin condition that looks similar to cc, but needs more specialist treatment ... will try and find it, but might be worth a trip to the GP to check

humm, can't find it (but did find a post suggesting olive oil overnight for more stubborn cases (I have a RL mate who does that) - might be worth a try?

DD and DS had this. Olive Oil worked with ds but not with dd. With her I used Neutrogena T gel for sensitive scalp shampoo and really really rubbed it in. When the hair was dry I attacked gently combed the affected area over and over again (whilst dd was more concerned with cleaning her teeth) and although it was a little pink afterwards it seems to have worked, and the next day looked fine (little bits of the nasty stuff in her hair, but that combed out)

I will probably get told off by any MN medical police, and I'm sure it wasn't the right way, but it worked (I think the key is that the skin wasn't broken, so it didn't hurt at all) and I just make sure the bit of her scalp that was particularly bad is rigourously combed regularly!

DD didn't have significant cradle cap as a tiny baby, but at around 13 months she developed a scabby patch with some pus on her head (sorry). Showed it to the HV who didn't really have anything to say. It went but returned a fortnight or so later but to a much greater extent. Took her to the GP who prescribed some Capasal shampoo which had to be applied neat to the affected area, rinsed off then applied again. It took some weeks for it to go, but it did clear up. GP said that if left untreated it could become very nasty. The shampoo is coal-tar based so a bit smelly when you're washing it in, but it doesn't linger on dried hair.

I'd second the T-Gel shampoo - ds suffered from something just like you describe and the GP recommended this stuff. Like moodlum, I was quite "vigorous" in washing his hair till the worst of it was gone. We had to keep using the T-Gel regularly for a few months to keep it from coming back.

My ds is nearly 7 and still has it!!

Is this a world record?

Yup, sounds like scalp psoriasis I think - T-gel best thing! Me and my whole family have got it!