Baby's head smells!

[StylishDuck]

My 8 wo DS's head stinks. It's a horrible sour smell. I kept thinking he'd thrown up some milk and I'd missed it and it had gone stale. I know cradle cap can cause this but he doesn't have any visible signs of flakiness or scaly skin. Could it still be cradle cap? Any tips on how to get rid of it? I miss the lovely newborn smell from his head when I cuddle him!

have you ever washed their head? are the ears stinky or behind the ears crusty?
is it just one location or everywhere? is it your nose?
how often do you wash the baby and change hats/bedding?

Is he chubby? My DN had milk in her fat creases around her neck. She was a bit wifey until they realised what was causing it.

He gets a bath every other day. Just with water at first but we've started using newborn baby top to toe wash in the last week or so. It's literally only the top of his head that smells, he hardly has any hair. He is a chubby baby but I've investigated all his neck creases and they're all clear. It's not the cheesy smell you'd associate with old milk, it's a proper sour almost mouldy smell. The sheet in his cot is changed at least once a week and I wash his gro-bag frequently because he brings up quite a lot of milk
after feeds.

It's not my nose DH can smell it too.

id go and raise it at the baby clinic.
is there a weekly drop in /weigh in or midwife that visits you or some thing?

I think all babies smell like that, I've never experienced that lovely baby smell everyone goes on about. My 18 month old niece and nephew still smell like stale milk sick to me.

He definitely had the lovely newborn smell until a few days ago.

I'll give my HV a ring tomorrow, see what she thinks. I'm inclined to think it might be cradle cap thanks to Dr Google. He does have skin that's on the dry side, has done since birth, it's just that he doesn't have the scales that you'd associate with cradle cap.

Try rubbing a bit of olive oil into his head half an hour before bath time. Then in the bath use baby shampoo and rub with a flannel. Bet that'll fix it.

George I'll give that a go, thanks

My children both had this, is was milk in crevices in their neck - I was shocked when I saw it on DD as she wasn't chunky with fat rolls etc but it did pool!

Agree with George, if it’s still there after, call the HV

Ok, I put some coconut oil on it half an hour before his bath then washed it with a flannel and some baby shampoo. Smell is still there and his scalp is looking a bit flaky now. I'll ring the HV tomorrow and see what she says. To top it off he had his first lot of jags this morning and is a bit out of sorts tonight, wee soul

some people are allergic to coconut oil FYI.
Olive oil is far less likely to cause a reaction.

We've been using coconut oil on his dry skin since he was tiny and he's been fine.

It does sound like cradle cap. DCs2 and 3 had it something rotten, no pun intended. The smell was just as you described.

Olive oil was the cause my son’s smelly scalp at around 2 months old. Used it as advised by HV and friends to deal with dry scalp. After a consultation with a consultant dermatologist it turns out olive oil encourages fungal growth so it is no longer recommended. Ended up having to use an anti microbial wash until it went.

Have you checked behind his ears? I remember when DD was the same sort of age I kept noticing a funky smell. She was kept clean and bathed regularly but the skin behind her ears had become a little grubby and smelly (my kids are clean - promise). I think it was a cradle cap type thing behind her ears.

I’ve scrubbed her ears every night since 😂

I rang the HV this morning and she said it sounded like cradle cap. I've literally sniffed him all over and it's only on the top of his head, not in his neck creases or behind his ears. I got some Dentinox shampoo for cradle cap today so we'll see how that works. He seems remarkably unbothered by it.

Dentinox is good stuff. Fingers crossed it helps you. When DD went whiffy it was milk that had drained from the edge of her mouth and whipped round the back of her ear! However, the smell you report does sound fungal. I think lavender has anti fungal properties. You could try it mixed with some oil on his head.

If it smells "mouldy" it probably is a fungal infection so you might need an antifungal cream.