Cradle cap and nutrition/gut health (plus mystery rash)

[inkandpaper]

My 6-month-old dd has cradle cap on her scalp, and I'm wondering how this relates to our gut health.  She did not have cc as a newborn, but she had a little bit around 3 months that went away.  Well now it is back and getting worse.  She also has a bit of an unidentified rash that the dr. didn't recognize.  maybe I can get a picture of it and see if anyone here knows what it is.

I have been skimming the threads on nutrition and gut flora and I am fascinated.  I wonder how this all ties together?

Other random bits of info that may or may not be related:

- She has some minor mid-line defects such as sacral dimple, upper lip tie and cavum septum pellucidum.

- She is breastfed and has just started getting solids on occasion (not every day).

- She had a couple oz. of formula at 9 days old (long story)

- I took a round of antibiotics a few weeks ago for mastitis.  This was the first time I've taken abx for several years. 

ETA: I tried to get a picture of the mystery rash on her back, but it was very difficult to photograph.  Some days it shows up more than others.  Usually it looks like white spots, sometimes it is varying shades of pink and raised/mildly scaly.  Today it is light pink.  Dr. said she didn't recognize it.  This is the best pic I could get today; I can see it better if I tilt the screen.

I don't know if this is related to the cradle cap, but the more I learn about health & nutrition, the more I believe everything is related.

Edited by inkandpaper - 1/14/13 at 12:19pm

[inkandpaper]

I just updated the picture with a slightly better one.  Does anyone recognize this rash?  It appeared roughly the same time as the first instance of cradle cap.

[Vermillion]

Kind of hard for me to tell from the pic... but it's looks a little "wheely"... fungal maybe? &  Have you googled sebhorreic dermatisis? It's basically cradle cap but on the skin.
 

[eireann]

Those look like hives that I got from too much b12/b6. It could be a reaction to something I milk or solids - have you even taking anything new ie supplements?

[eireann]

Those look like hives that I got from too much b12/b6. It could be a reaction to something I milk or solids - have you even taking anything new ie supplements?

[landofjuncovill]

Definitely the antibiotics you took could have triggered this. I would do probiotics. You are right about the gut flora. You may want to get off dairy if you are nursing, and also try eliminating other allergens until you find what it could be. You could give her a liquid acidophilus, but consult with you doc about dosage. My first had cradle cap and she is now 16 and still battles eczema and is very allergic and sensitive. Look into NAET. I did it with my son who battled a nickel allergy for 5 years and it went away. Since it was successful with him I'm planning on doing NAET with her. Is your pediatrician more on the holistic side? You may want to look for someone else if he's not. Cradle cap is annoying but it will go away. Olive oil or coconut oil and comb. That's it!

[inkandpaper]

It does look kind of wheely, and I've wondered if the rash is just an extension of the cradle cap.  Fungus would fit with my recent use of antibiotics.  It doesn't look like the pictures of seborrhoeic dermatitis though.  For one thing, the spots go back and forth between flat(ish) and white, and raised and pink.  When they are raised and pink, they do look a lot like hives.  That's how I've described them before, actually.

As far as new supplements, I've been taking a probiotic since the round of abx.  The spots were there before, though.  The cradle cap came back after the abx.

I did a dairy trial a few months ago that was inconclusive.  I eliminated all dairy for 10 days, and then ate dairy on the 11th.  She was significantly fussier and her sleep was terrible after that.  Even my skeptical dh was just about convinced.  So I did another 10 day round of no-dairy, but that time there was no real difference that time.    She has good days and bad days, so we attributed it to that, and decided we were not convinced either way in regards to dairy.  I did notice she spit up less off dairy both times.

My pediatrician is definitely holistic.  She is an MD but also an integrative/holistic practitioner.  I can ask about NAET next time I'm there.  By the way, when she saw the spots, they wereflat and white.  That is what she didn't recognize.  She has not yet seen them looking like hives.  Which reminds me, I need to set up her 6 month visit.