[genoisegurl]

My poor 4mth old son has seborrhea dermatitis on his head, cheeks and between the fat folds of his neck. He has soo many scratch marks on his head and forehead! Does anybody know a natural treatment that works for this? The ped. says either put organic olive oil or TTO/grapeseed oil on it. I wasn't too sure about that so I just bought some baby calendula cream for him. It doesn't seem that effective so far. Also, does other people rubbing his face or kissing his cheeks irritate his skin? Should I ask them not to do that or is that too over protective???

 

[gabysmom617]

I have seborrheic dermititis too (which I think is the same thing), and I treat mine with grapeFRUIT seed extract, because it has antifungal properties, and they now think that seborrheic dermitis is caused my a certain type of fungus or yeasties. (I know lots of folks who have seborrheic dermitis and get lots of yeast infections. I used to get thrush all the time, too.)

Olive oil has antifungal properties too. I have find that, for my dermititis, any treatment that doesn't have antifungal properties either flat out will not work, or will work for a really little while before the dermitis starts to get resistant to it.

I find that oily stuff will make it worse.

Try this:
Get some distilled water and some liquid grapefruit seed extract. Put about 10 drops of grapefruit seed extract into 1 ounce of distilled water, and take a cotton ball and dab some of this on baby's neck. It's safe, some people even use this solution to swab on baby's tounge if he or she is having thrush in the mouth, so it would be ok to swab some on baby's neck. I've even drank some of this solution, but it's very bitter, but edible.

Then just let it dry, because fungus doesn't like dry conditions. Do this about 3 or 4 times per day and see if that makes any difference.

 

[genoisegurl]

Thanks for the advice! Where can I get grapefruit seed extract? at a healthfood store? Is extract different from essential oil? I heard from others that the rash on his neck won't be gone until he can sit up. Guess I just have to bear with it a little longer.

 

[bluetoes]

Tea tree cream and olive oil seem like they'd be a good combo. Teatree is antifungal and olive oil combined with that little scalp brush will help get rid of the flakes and moisturise. My son had terrible cradle cap but eventually it just went away. We just made sure to give his scalp a good oil and scrub before baths.

 

[gabysmom617]

Oh yeah, forgot all about tea tree oil, that's antifungal too. I have found, though, that for seborrheic (sp? I can never spell that right) unless it's an oil that is definitely antifungal, it's not going to work, because the word "seborrheic" comes from a word meaning oily, and the rash is usually oily, and the fungus likes that oil, so more oil doesn't work, unless it's an antifungal oil. (I hope all that made sense)

I find grapefruit seed extract at healthfood stores. I'm not sure about the rash on the neck, because usually the area needs to get lots of air and be dry for the fungus to go away. Can you lay the babe some kind of way to let his neck get some air? Maybe let him get some tummy time? Will that let his neck air out?

As for cradle cap, you can try it, I use grapefruit seed extract for my scalp, but I know a lot of folks say that you pretty much have to wait for the cradle cap to go away on its own. But there's a chance it might work if it's all the same kind of dermititis caused by the same type of fungus that causes seborrheic dermitits.

 

[danna]

One other thing to consider, is that it could be a food sensitivity. My DD had a similar rash that the ped diagnosed as seborrhea dermatitis, but it was really a dairy allergy. Once I stopped eating dairy, everything cleared up (it took about a week). I would look at your diet as well. See if eliminating dairy or soy has any positive impact on your child's condition.

I know it's not "natural" but a teeny bit of 1% hydrocortizone cream could help.