Toddler with sore on head- HELP!

[WindyCityMom]

Last week I noticed a clump in DDs hair (she's 33 months old), we figured it was peanut butter or something, and hoped it would wash out. We washed her hair, and it remained. It turns out it's a sore- very crusty and scabby, I'm not sure how exactly to describe it. It's about 1" in diameter. The scab that is shed (or the goopy stuff that it produces) causes clumps of scabby stuff in her hair in that spot.

Has anyone dealt with this before? I'm thinking of washing the area with head and shoulders (I use it because I get really bad dandruff).

As a baby, my DD had cradle cap and some of it remains. The same is the case with my 9 month old DD.

WWYD? If I can't figure anything out I'll take her to her doctor.

She's not complaining and says it doesn't hurt.

[ameliabedelia]

Could it be impetigo or something like that? For impetigo, you would wash it with betadine and put antibiotic ointment on it (I know, a bit tricky in the hair).

Another possibility would be ringworm? You could put tea tree oil on it. Garlic oil would also work. I know..those are icky in the hair too.

Good luck!

[mbbinsc]

Is it an open sore? My DD had some areas of scales. I dipped my fingers in some apple cider vinegar and did a little scalp massage. I let it sit for 10-15 minutes before shampooing. It helped clear her scalp. I would not do on an open sore as the vinegar would hurt.

[WindyCityMom]

I washed the area with head & shoulders yesterday, and it did help to dissolve some of the gunk that was caked into her hair in that spot. Now that I can see the sore itself, I can say that it looks like a raw pink patch on her head. It's smaller than 1" also.

I have yet to check it this morning as she keeps running away from me... anywho, I might try coconut oil on it, and might try garlic also. (I don't know if she'll let me do that though!). Would garlic sting an open wound?

[ameliabedelia]

Garlic oil would not sting. Don't put raw garlic directly on an open wound..that wound burn and hurt a lot.

[Crafty]

Keep an eye on it- that sounds a little like how I discovered my son's psoriasis. Has she complained about it being itchy at all? My son had mentioned his head itched, and being paranoid about lice, I checked his hair, and HOLY COW, there was a huge round patch of scaly skin there, some of which had scabbed over because he'd been scratching at it. I took him to the doc, because it was this perfect round circle and I was worried it was ringworm or something like that (and since he was in gymnastics, I didn't want it to possibly spread to other kids there). Nope, she took one look and diagnosed psoriasis. It flares up more when it's cool and dry, but he's had patches in the summer, too. Thankfully his isn't bad.

Anyway, I hope your dd is okay and that it's nothing bad.

[mbravebird]

My baby had something like that and it was staph, or impetigo. Ours was about dime sized and red and oozing/weeping. It gets to the weeping stage after the initial stage, which is a cluster of small blisters.

We have tried so many things at this point, and are still struggling with it. He gets it whenever he gets a bugbite now. It blisters and turns into a sore and weeps. When he doesn't get bugbites, he doesn't break out. So I think we've made progress. But goodness, it's slow progress. I hope it's not that in your case.

[brummymummy]

Hello WindyCityMom - did you get a diagnosis for the sore or manage to get rid of it?
My 29 month son has exactly the same sounding thing and I've just freaked myself out googling the possibilities :0
Would really appreciate any info before I run to the docs - if there's something like tea tree oil rather than prescription meds...
Thank you!