Cradle Cap in Adolescent

My cousin has it bad for years. His mother tried everything. He finally started using a serious dandruff shampoo and it keeps it under control. Don't know why, but it does.

Cradel Cap is dead skin and skin oils. He needs to brush his hair more to release the skin cells from his head then shake off the flakes.

My 7 year old gets it when he doesn't wash off the soap well. I've heard that olive oil is good for cradle cap. Good luck.

N., I agree, it's not cradle cap at this age. The shampoo that you are using might be aggravating the condition. Some OTC don't really help and you can't get your money back after you used it and it didn't work! I would use some botanically based products with tea tree oil in them. His scalp must be dying to breathe if all that dead skin is on it. You have to get rid of the dead skin and help it to breathe and function properly.

Use some olive oil and a gentle brush initially to loosen the dry flakes. Do NOT use mineral oil or J&J products. They don't work and actually hinder this process. Again an adult shampoo is not the answer. I would be happy to provide you with information on botanically based products and you will need to wash the hair daily to keep it clean. His oil glands in his head may just be over producing now but you need an effective product to keep it under control. The ones I use are money back guaranteed. Let me know if I can help you.

K.

Not sure if someone else has responded with this, but we were told to use Head & Shoulders sensitive skin on my daughter's cradle cap. It helped (along with diet change due to some allergies). Good luck!

My son had the worst cradle cap, and it seemed like all of the known remedies made it worse. There is a product in the baby aisle at Target called Gentle Naturals. It is in a green tube and also had Disney characters on it. They make a cradle cap treatment that worked WONDERS. My son's cradle cap was gone with about three applications and never returned.

Good luck.

My 4yo daughter had a case of it last year, we saw a dermatologist (because it also caused rashy-like red patches on her back and arms). He prescribed a foam (Luxiq foam) to be applied to the sopts on her head, and we used dandruff shampoos. We used Nizoral which has ketoconazole, but is only supposed to be used 2x/wk. So on the other days we used Pantene dandruff shampoo with pyrithone zinc. And of course the tedious combing through after each shampoo. Within a couple weeks it was all cleared up so we stopped using the Rx foam, but continued with the shampoos. And now, a year later, we usually use one or the other shampoo 1-2x/wk just to keep it from coming back. I have heard that over-shampooing can make it worse by stimulating the already over-active glands, so we shampooed every other day. Hope he finds something that works.

Herbal Shampoo and Conditioner sense to help and Silver Shield Gel and Liquid Silver Shield.

I have found that Burts Bees "Feeling Flaky" shampoo works well for my 5 year old. I use it when things seem to be flaring up, but use regular stuff when things are ok.

no get him to a dermatologist. my husband had this and it was something else and he ended up loosing osme of his hair and that was devistatin gor a teen man. please go to a differnt dr. thanks

ok so here will be the most hillbilly remedy for this that you will hear of. My daughter had this really bad when she was a kid. not sure what causes it. but the doctor had us wash it with regular shampoo then use about a 1/4 cup of listerine on her head. just the regular stuff. it will cut through that like no ones business. we did every day for about a week and the stuff was gone. after washing with the listerine make sure you rinse it really good and then use a creme rinse. it softens the stuff up. i used a soft hair brush to get it off. her head was tnder and you have to be careful not to scrape it or it may leave sore spots (this will cause sever screaming on childs part when listerine hits next day) it was a pain but it worked.

It's no longer called cradle cap since he's not a baby. My daughter has it, and I found out recently so does my dad. I will butcher the spelling, but it's something like seborrhic dermatitis. The doctor suggested Selsun Blue a couple times a week, and that does help. Because of the smell, I use the Selsun Blue only in the places she gets the patches and then wash again with her regular shampoo. My dad discovered that antibacterial soap after a shampoo works just as well. Olive oil does help to release them, but it's difficult to wash out well.

I have scalp seborrheic dermatitis (I also get it around my nose and behind my ears). There are several shampoos to try, and you have to experiment to find one that works. Some OTC shampoos include: Maximum strength Head and Shoulders, Nizoral, Neutrogena T-Gel or T-Sal, Selsun Blue. T-Sal works for me. If it is severe, or symptoms don't go away after trying out the shampoos, you can see a dermatologist for other products/medications, but oftentimes that isn't necessary. You can also google the condition...there are lots of good resources out there (unfortunately, however, there is no cure). Good luck!

Try a homeopathic remedy - my 2 yr. old son used Calcarea Carbonica in the 200 C potency to help get rid of the cradle cap. I recommend talking to a homeopathic practitioner first. Merz Apothecary on Lincoln in Chicago or at www.smallflower.com is a great place and a great resource for natural products in general.

My son will get this every once in a while during allergy season. What we found to work the best is when in the bath tub (or shower), I put baby oil on his scalp. This also seems to stop any itching he might have too.

Good luck,
C.

go to the dermatologist. make sure they take a sample (lightly scrape the area), put the sample on a slide and look at it under a microscope. the diagnosis should be confirmed before a prescription is given. so many doctors are in a hurry that they guess and figure you will come back if they are wrong.

In babies, cradle cap is usually a sign of a B-vitamin deficiency. So I suggest that your nephew be put on a good multivitamin from a health food store (they might be higher in the Bs than a mainstream brand would be, and with no artificial dyes). If that doesn't take care of it, I suggest checking to make sure he is not getting any caffeine from somewhere (which destroys B-vitamins), and also give him a child-dose B-complex vitamin from a health food store. Both vitamins should be given with breakfast, or one with breakfast and one with lunch, since giving B-vitamins later than 3 pm can interfere with one's sleep. You can see this page for more information...

http://home.mindspring.com/~djsnjones/id1.html

Best wishes,
J.

Here's 3 things I use. Bioinfusion Rosemary mint shampoo. You can get it at Walgreens. Olive oil hair mask from Avon. It washes out easier then olive oil by itself. And when the itching bothers me I spray Sea Breeze astringent on my scalp, the stuff you use to clean your face. I put a little in a spray bottle and when my head starts itching I spray a little on it. It really helps with the itching.
All the shampoos the derm. and doctor suggested just made everything worse.

May I ask.. Did the DR tell you it was cradle cap or are you just saying it is..
My older son had cradle cap Or so I thought when he was a baby.. it was on and off again yeck bad Gross..
then he was in Pre school, On to even NOW and he is 17.. WE went to a dermetologist.. IT is not cradle cap.. IT is called dermititus or something like that spelling...
HE had been told suriousis Sorry No clue how to spell it anyway he was told that for Years.. we had creams, special shampoo's and many times had to lay him down.. put glop in and pick at it...
WE finally got the right stuff we use to control it and it is doing great!
IF you have not seen a dermetologist DO go to see one.
Cuz letting it go or not treating it right it will get worse..
Good luck!
Derma smoothe is the stuff we use over night and shampoo out

for the red ichy he had they gave him hydrocodone cream

and 2 shampoo's one was Nizoral something like that...

You can use dandruff and or that T gell kind every other also but this RX one we use on 2nd shampoo .

as others said Some make shift things you do can make it worse!! And if it is not cradle cap, You do need to get it treated. And keep it under control. too many just assume and that is not good for your child. cuz That stuff is nasty ouch at times. Good luck