Cradle Cap

By Author: joe swails
Total Articles: 29
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What is cradle cap?
Cradle cap commonly develops at around three months of age, although sometimes symptoms can occur within 10 to 14 days after birth.

It is a misconception that the symptoms of cradle cap stem from poor hygiene.

The most important thing is not to aggravate the affected areas by scratching or picking at them. This will only prolong the healing process and could also mark your babies scalp in such a way that hair may not grow back there properly once the symptoms have eventually cleared up.

Symptoms
Symptoms of cradle cap include:

Patches on the scalp that are gray and yellowish in colour (although this begins as a red rash)

Scaly and flaky scalp

Yellowish crusts on the scalp

Some hair loss (this may occur occasionally – not every baby will be affected in this way.)

Dermatitis spreading to other parts of the body (e.g., eyelids, eyebrows, behind the ears and in the groin area)

Causes
Despite worldwide research, the exact cause of cradle cap is as yet unknown. Many medical professionals suggest that some babies may have a genetic ...
... predisposition to suffering from cradle cap – this means that the condition is already in the family in a previous generation and so may have been passed down.

There may be a link to the sebaceous glands (the glands that produce sebum, an oily substance in the skin). This may be the cause of symptoms – as the excess sebum flakes off, the symptoms of cradle cap appear on the scalp.

Although not a contagious condition, another suggestion is that the symptoms of cradle cap may be linked to post natal hormonal retention in the mother. That is, the baby retains some of its mother’s hormones in its system for the first 12 weeks of life.

Diagnosis
If you are particularly concerned about your child’s symptoms – and if they are also showing signs of other symptoms, such as high temperature or interrupted breathing, then make an appointment with your GP immediately. See the Treatment section later in this article for possible treatment options (where cradle cap is particularly severe).

Effect on your life
Some parents with no fore-knowledge of cradle cap can find it a worrying condition. This is only natural. However, it is important to remember that cradle cap is perfectly natural condition for an infant to develop in their first three months, and only in very rare cases do the symptoms fail to clear up.

Treatment
Most parents treat their baby’s cradle cap symptoms with over-the-counter remedies. Even then, the vast majority of cases of cradle cap clear up without applying any type of lotion or cream at all. However, at your appointment with your GP, after asking you some questions about your baby’s symptoms and carrying out a short examination (to inspect the scalp and also to rule out other possible conditions), an antifungal cream or mild steroid cream to apply to the itchy areas of the skin which are causing the most discomfort may be prescribed. However, this only occurs in rare cases of cradle cap.

How Chemist Online can help
Through this website we have a range of treatments for cradle cap available to buy.

Advice & Support
If after using the aforementioned treatment(s) the cradle cap persists, or fails to clear up after 3 months, seek medical assistance.

This information and advice is not intended to replace the advice of your GP or chemist. Chemist Online is also not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based upon the content of the Chemist Online website. Chemist Online is also not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites.

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