please help fungal head infection or cradle cap?

smileylunar

in short my three year old son had an area of dry skin on his scalp for ages, I was treating it as cradle cap, using cradle-cap shampoo,& olive oil, about 4 weeks ago he had chicken pox and we took him to the doctors, as an aside I asked the doctor if he could reccomend anything for the treatment of this cradle cap. The doctor had a "quick" look and diagnosed fungal infection, he said this is "doing the rounds" in our area. he prescribed an anti-fungal medicine which tastes disgusting and takes a lot of persuasion for my son to take, it's sort of hit and miss, I also have been massaging tea tree oil and olive oil into his scalp, but the whole area seems to be getting worse and causing my son great itchy discomfort. we are due to see the doc again on wednesday, but I was just wondering if any-one else has experience of this problem that they can help me with? I know this may not be the place to post, but I feel so crappy about the whole situation, thinking I am making his scalp worse.

Poppy9

My DD had "cradle cap" for the first 5 years of her life. It was a big dry very scaly patch. I only tried Olive Oil and it didn't work. GP said it was a form of dermatitis and would clear up in it's own good time which it did; I noticed big flakes of skin growing out with her hair when she was about 5. Co incidentally her excema cleared around the same time.

richt71

smileylunar wrote: »

in short my three year old son had an area of dry skin on his scalp for ages, I was treating it as cradle cap, using cradle-cap shampoo,& olive oil, about 4 weeks ago he had chicken pox and we took him to the doctors, as an aside I asked the doctor if he could reccomend anything for the treatment of this cradle cap. The doctor had a "quick" look and diagnosed fungal infection, he said this is "doing the rounds" in our area. he prescribed an anti-fungal medicine which tastes disgusting and takes a lot of persuasion for my son to take, it's sort of hit and miss, I also have been massaging tea tree oil and olive oil into his scalp, but the whole area seems to be getting worse and causing my son great itchy discomfort. we are due to see the doc again on wednesday, but I was just wondering if any-one else has experience of this problem that they can help me with? I know this may not be the place to post, but I feel so crappy about the whole situation, thinking I am making his scalp worse.

Hi,
I get that now (even at 36). It can be a form of Ezcema. It manefests itself as a yeast infection. Best not moisterizing that area as this feeds the yeast. What you need is a shampoo with cold tar in it. It's a medicated shampoo and I use mine daily if it flares. A few weeks and it makes a big difference. I get T/gel therapeutic shampoo from most major supermarkets but be warned it's about £5.50 for a smallish bottle that lasts 6 weeks. Alternatively if your doctor will give you a prescription for coal tar shampoo I know you can get a very large bottle for your prescription fee.

mummytomoo&roo

I'd use the tea tree oil, the 100% stuff you buy in the chemist.

It's totally natural and the best antifungal/antisceptic there is, but it is strong so i'd suggest adding it to your final rinse when washing the hair instead of putting it straight on the scalp and massaging it.

I'm always dubious about these expensive lotions and potions and try to buy natural if poss.

Have you tried just using nothing and waiting for it to clear up on its own? You might be irritating the scalp more and making it worse by applying the oil straight to the head.

Good luck and let us know if you find something that works.

Mrs_B_12

I agree with the poster above, neat tea tree oil is strong and could be causing the irritation and leaving it alone and seeing what happens is a good idea if it wasn't bothering him before.

smileylunar

Many thanks to all posters, my "thanks" button is missing!
I usually dilute the oil 5 drops to 20mls carrier oil, and have tried not doing anything with his scalp ,apart from usual hair washing, but this seems to build up a "scum" which , bless him he picks at, causing more redness .
I am going to have a long chat with doc ,as I said earlier he prescribed an anti-fungal medicine which is not without it's own side effects, and if I could avoid this all the better.
Thankyou for all the alternative suggestions, I will certainly look at these.

mummytomoo&roo

smileylunar wrote: »

Many thanks to all posters, my "thanks" button is missing!
I usually dilute the oil 5 drops to 20mls carrier oil, and have tried not doing anything with his scalp ,apart from usual hair washing, but this seems to build up a "scum" which , bless him he picks at, causing more redness .
I am going to have a long chat with doc ,as I said earlier he prescribed an anti-fungal medicine which is not without it's own side effects, and if I could avoid this all the better.
Thankyou for all the alternative suggestions, I will certainly look at these.

Just a thought, he might be allergic to the shampoo you are using.......

I use a really good organic shampoo - shampure by Aveda - my little girl had eczema when she was a baby and this was the only shampoo that didn't irritate her scalp, i'd tried loads of the baby ones thinking they would be fine but they only made it worse. Its got no chemicals in it whatsoever and is made totally from plant extracts so is really gentle. Ideal for all the family, smells fab and was so gentle I used to use it on my Westie too!

Clive_Woody

Ask your GP about anti-fungal creams, depending on what sort of fungal infection this is, he may be able to give you something like this which may well be more effective than a medicine.

dora37

My DS2 has always been plagued by 'scabby' areas on his head. We use a tiny drop of Polytar shampoo for a couple of days and it always clears it - it does smell awful though!!

It can be bought in Chemists and I think Supermarkets - it is in a brown bottle.

alison6692

Hiya

I am a peads nurse and I would recommend Nizoral

http://www.nizoral.co.uk/Advance-treatment-for-dandruff-causes_480_480_.html

I don't know if this is okay for children so I would recommend checking with the dispensing pharmacist.

Love alison x

PS- A health visitor I used to work with swore by regular brushing of the scalp with a soft baby brush to cure / prevent cradle cap.

HTH

Love alison x

smileylunar

Hi, sometimes I read threads and think "I wonder what happened there?", so this is to let you know that I took DS to the docs and he diagnosed infected excema and prescribed antibiotics and a head lotion..betnovate gel. DD seems to be responding to treatment and the soreness itchiness seems to be decreasing.he will be reviewed a week later, if I have learnt anything it is A) trust your instincts. ask for help from others C) don't always presume "doc knows best"(he was misdiagnosed and had to take a potentially damaging medicine) and finally D ) act sooner rather than later....... we live and learn, MANY MANY thanks to all who posted responses, even if I didn't action some suggestions just knowing that some-one cared enough to respond gave me great comfort and support..
again THANKS.