Cradle cap in older child?

[mm123]

It seems that 4 year old DD2 may have cradle cap. Flaky, scaly scalp, and then white chunks stuck in her hair close to her scalp. It doesn't seem to be bothering her, but looks pretty bad, and it's pretty impossible to get a Terminator comb through (she's been needing lice checks due to lice at daycare).

I've heard of babies getting this, but not so much in older children. I've done some googling, and there is a lot of different advice out there. So, I thought I'm better off asking all you wise BBB'ers if you have any experience or advice! Thanks!

[Melbel]

My guess would be yeast or a fungal infection.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My 7yo still has it. You can't see it unless you really look. I remember when the boys were babies, we did some gentle loofah-ing to get it off. Since it's been there for years and not at all itchy, I'm disinclined to think it's an infection.

[Melbel]

My 7yo still has it. You can't see it unless you really look. I remember when the boys were babies, we did some gentle loofah-ing to get it off. Since it's been there for years and not at all itchy, I'm disinclined to think it's an infection.

It could be more of an overgrowth than an infection. Dandruff shampoos contain anti-fungal medications. A dermatologist can look at the flakes/chunks under a microscope and generally see if it is fungal or not.

[MSWR0319]

DS is 6 and just had his yearly checkup. He's had this issue as long as I can remember. His is more of a yellow color though. We tried a prescription shampoo when he was little and it didn't work. The pedi found it this time and told us to try selsum blue and if that didn't work in two weeks to come back in because it was probably fungal and he'd need some type of pill to take care of it. He said they'd look at it closer to determine what it was if the shampoo didn't work.

[zukeypur]

We use nizoral when our kids get it. We just did a month of nizoral last month on Dd2. Now I'm just doing it once a week.

[MamaMolly]

If Lula doesn't wash her hair frequently enough she gets it still, and she's 8. Have you tried combing oil through her hair? It makes lifting the chunks out easier for us.

[hellbennt]

Same as zukeypur: ds2 is 8 & oil helps


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[Cam&Clay]

DS1 got these patches up until he was 9 or 10. The pediatrician told me to use Selsun Blue and scrub with a brush. It ended up being the only thing that worked. I tried oils, etc but the Selsun Blue handled the fungus part and would wipe it out in a few uses.

[Simon]

Ds2 still gets that and had it pretty bad at age 4. If my boys don't scrub enough to exfoliate when they shampoo (and they often no-poo) their hair, then I think dead skin just builds up.

It hurts my Ds if I try to just remove a patch. I had good luck with using a very thick lotion, I think cetaphil from the tub, and letting it sit for 10-15 min before combing it out with a fine tooth plastic comb while they watched TV.