Cradle Cap Explained? Or theory?

[claddaghmom]

Everyone I know has a different theory about cradle cap, where it comes from, what it means, how to treat it.

My mom says the yeast word anytime the subject comes up. I have to clean her gut, clean my gut, cut all carbs and sugars out of my diet, do enemas and take special probiotics, etc. She says I should clean it off after every bath.

My FP says it's maternal hormones and that I have an imbalance and I'm passing it to her...he has a homeopathic remedy he wants her to take. He says never to pick directly at it.

My friend says it's just a normal "unknown" type thing that all babies get and to cover it up with a hat until she outgrows it.

My other friend says it's a sign I have metal toxicity and I need to do chelation.

My other other friend says it's allergies and I need to do a food restriction program and see her allergist/acupuncturist.

So what do you guys think it is? I was actually rather happy that DD barely has it...you can't even see unless you look close. I know some of my siblings had it so bad it looked terrible lol.

[mommabear207]

i think its just layers skin cells & that stuff babies are covered with when born trapped by the bodys oils. i think the head and eyebrow areas get it most often as there is hair there also trapping it and they're delicate areas we don't really want to all out scrubbing/rubbing and its hard to get through it it in the first place and then if you don't more skin cells and oil keep getting added to it.

[nerdymom]

I say it's probably just something your LO is going to grow out of, no worries. Though it may be nutritional, because I have a friend whose LO developed cradle cap right after birth, when she was supplementing with formula. Then it seems like it went away while she was ebf, then it came back when she reintroduced formula and quit bf. But this is just my observation.

[Peppermint]

I always love it that everyone has such different "sure" answers to these things.

My kids have had varying levels of cradle cap, only one had any allergies that we ever really noticed. I truly don't believe they have yeast or metal issues, or, if they do, it only presents as cradle cap .

I will tell you this. Burt's Bees apricot oil got it off of my last son *very* easily, just rubbed it on his scalp, massaged for a few minutes, then combed it out with a fine baby comb. I only had to do it 2 times, and it never came back (it was months between those 2 times).

What have you got to lose with that approach? You just get a baby with an incredibly soft yummy smelling head- bonus all around (not that baby heads aren't already yummy smelling ).

[Quinn's Mama]

My boy has had cradle cap since he was born. My Ped says it is just there and that it will go away on its own. My boy is now 7 months old and still has it as bad as when he was born. I think I'll try the "Burt's Bees apricot oil" from the pp. I'm sick of noticing it.

[RoseDuperre]

I actually agree with the yeast/food sensitivities thing. Addressing that and using a topical solution of coconut oil with Biotin is what took care of a persistent case for us.

[felix23]

Lucy had it really, really bad and I used Head and Shoulders to wash her hair and it went away. I didn't have to scrub or anything. I was just careful to not get any in her eyes.

[sapphire_chan]

I think you should start first with the easy solutions and then go to the hard stuff if you have to. I mean, a TED and special probiotics etc are going to do nothing if it's just baby dandruff from her oil glands sorting themselves out.

For Lina's mild case around 2-3 months, she got sporadic baths or showers in plain water, I picked at the stuff that looked loose when we nursed, and I finally got a baby brush and gently massaged it all off and it never came back. My theory for her is that she had more hair when she was born and her oil glands were working for that amount of hair and when she lost it they kept on going like she still needed it.

[felix23]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

I think you should start first with the easy solutions and then go to the hard stuff if you have to. I mean, a TED and special probiotics etc are going to do nothing if it's just baby dandruff from her oil glands sorting themselves out.

For Lina's mild case around 2-3 months, she got sporadic baths or showers in plain water, I picked at the stuff that looked loose when we nursed, and I finally got a baby brush and gently massaged it all off and it never came back. My theory for her is that she had more hair when she was born and her oil glands were working for that amount of hair and when she lost it they kept on going like she still needed it.

That sounds like a good theory! Lucy had a head full of hair and then went totally bald. It was during the bald time that she developed cradle cap.

[funfunkyfantastic]

I think it's probably a combo of dead skin cells and maybe eczema. My girl has had it very mildly. I didn't even notice she had it until I realized that those brown spots on her head were cradle cap! lol. We put some massage oil (no scent) on her head and used a soft tooth brush to get it all off. Haven't noticed it coming back yet. It was only about a month ago though.

[claddaghmom]

Thanks, everyone. She didn't start to get some until 3-4 months, then it piled up until around 6 months when I held her as she slept and picked every teeny tiny bit off lol. But now two weeks later I can see a bit creeping back.

I'm of the mind to not bother/worry about it but it seems everyone has to make a comment and it had me wondering exactly what it is all about.

[wild fire child]

MIL says it's when the sweat glands start working . Of course, she thinks hiccups mean they'll grow an inch lol

DS has it on his head and had a really bad case on the eyebrows lol. I pick at it after showers lazily. My brother actually had it all over his face when he was less than a month old, my mom took him to the ped's and the doctor called in others to see because such a bad case is so rare.

[tanyam926]

I don't know, my ds2 had it so bad that it was thick and horrible and wouldn't go away. He was also the one that had major food sensitivities, so once I took dairy, wheat, and corn out of my diet it went away.

I think it can probably be caused by a few things, but my first two kiddos had it and they are food sensitive, and my ds3 had a slight touch that was very temporary and he doesn't seem to have any food issues.

Who knows? It is horrible though and it drove me insane! I second the baby apricot oil idea, I would soak ds2s head in it about 30-45 min before bath time and them gently comb it out.

If it is a really persistent, bad case I would look into diet.

[tanyalynn]

Given the world we're living in, I think seriously considering mom's and baby's gut health is a good place to start. People with metal issues usually have gut issues, but I wouldn't say everyone with gut imbalances has a heavy metal problem. And food intolerances often mess with peoples' guts, and for some just removing the problematic food is enough to allow a better balance to restore itself. I had to provide a lot of probiotic foods along with getting our allergens out for my daughter, and still her gut tends to be yeasty (easier to see yeasty poop if it's not in a diaper, so it took me a while). It seems like there's a lot of overlap between several of these things, and it takes some personal investigating to figure out what's up.

[MCPM]

It also could be the kind of thing that is triggered by an number of body situations - oil, yeast, whatever. I mean, skin problems that look the same on two people can be linked to totally different causes, so why not cradle cap?

[DevaMajka]

It seems, from my reading, that cradle cap *combined* with eczema can mean allergies/intolerances are likely. It seems that cradle cap in a kid without eczema isn't really an indicator of allergies. That's just from reading threads about cc related to allergies, etc.

My ds has cradle cap (not that bad), eczema, and food intolerances. The eczema is definitely related to the intolerances. I'm not sure if the cc is or not.

I'm interested in the yeast thing...I've wondered before if it's something I should look into.

[staceychev]

DD1 didn't have it as a babe, but developed it as a toddler. It was always worse if we used California Baby shampoo. It went away eventually. (FWIW, I think it's genetic: DH and SIL both had it, and DH still has dandruff, which seems to be related.)

[Tattooed Hand]

DD has it REALLY bad and it was preceded by ezcema. She has food intolerences. When I stopped eating soy, dairy, wheat, eggs, and nuts, it went away. Interestingly, at the same time she got it, we also had thrush too. I never connected the two before.

I picked it off when it dried up because it was too thick to get off with a brush and it had grown into her hair - she looked like a little reptile.

[anj_rn]

Was taught in nursing school that it is a combo of overproduction of oil in the skin and an irritation from yeast. It is like overactive dandruff for babies. It runs in families.

At home we rubbed olive oil into DS's head and wrapped it with a warm damp rag. That loosened the scales, then we washed the area with shampoo.