Parenting & Family

Cradle Cap and spots on the Face

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  • May 30th, 2008 7:51 pm
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Feb 18, 2008
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Cradle Cap and spots on the Face

Anybody else's baby getting this at all? Our 1 month old baby in the last couple of days started getting spots on the face and forehead, we also noticed that the head has some puss like spots.

The wife is assuring me that this is "cradle cap" that most babies get this????? I am just a bit worried and concerned, and don't like this sudden breakout.

Anybody else getting this or is just what babies sometime develop, and I shouldn't worry about it?
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Mar 30, 2004
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Our daughter did not get anything like that, but she could be an exception.
If in doubt, call the health nurse / visit your local doctor :)
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i wouldnt be that worried...our newborn had this but it eventually went away after a few weeks

i think it's the hormones/oil glands
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It is hormonal, don't worry too much about it, but when you see your ped/gp mention it.

For the cradle cap, use some baby lotion and a baby toothbrush to clear it, it's simply dry skin that needs slight exfoliation.
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It could be so many things, everything from simple cradle cap to excema to even a staph infection (one of ours aquired a staph infection from the hospital). If in doubt and you haven't personally seen the various conditions you may want to have a doctor look at it, especially with a newborn. One of ours had cradle cap and it certainly wasn't "pussy"...
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As always, if you are concerned, see a doctor to be sure.

Having said that, cradle cap looks like flakey patches on the scalp and the pussy spots on the face are likely baby acne. My second child had both.

For cradle cap, you use mineral oil or baby oil and let it soak in several hours before a bath (or it gets the crib greasy too). You shouldn't scrub too much as it can create raw patches underneath. I rubbed very gently with a facecloth and found that as long as I did it every other day or so, it never got too bad.

As for the baby acne, 3weddings is right, it is said to be a hormonal thing or immature sweat glands and will go away on its own (takes a while though). I didn't get his baby photos done until he was 6 months old. What seemed to help (although nothing truly helped that much) was keeping up with taking the maternal vitamins and proper nutrition (as I was breastfeeding and some nutrients would be passed along). Also, be sure not to "pop" them or rub them, it only seems to spread, and creates a break in the skin for bacteria to enter.
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Feb 18, 2008
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Thank you very much! We did see our ped and registered nurse about this before, and they both said not to worry about it, but I just can't stand looking at them on the new baby :(

Well of course our hygiene is not in question here, as we always wash our hands and everything we use around the baby. They did tell the wife to stop drinking milk though
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susan123 wrote: As always, if you are concerned, see a doctor to be sure.

Having said that, cradle cap looks like flakey patches on the scalp and the pussy spots on the face are likely baby acne. My second child had both.

For cradle cap, you use mineral oil or baby oil and let it soak in several hours before a bath (or it gets the crib greasy too). You shouldn't scrub too much as it can create raw patches underneath. I rubbed very gently with a facecloth and found that as long as I did it every other day or so, it never got too bad.

As for the baby acne, 3weddings is right, it is said to be a hormonal thing or immature sweat glands and will go away on its own (takes a while though). I didn't get his baby photos done until he was 6 months old. What seemed to help (although nothing truly helped that much) was keeping up with taking the maternal vitamins and proper nutrition (as I was breastfeeding and some nutrients would be passed along). Also, be sure not to "pop" them or rub them, it only seems to spread, and creates a break in the skin for bacteria to enter.
I disagree...for this a phone call to the Health Hotline was definitely sufficient

see post above :|

OP think it's a car :(
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i dissagree with some of the answers above... leave the craddle cap alone!!!

it's normal on some babies, natural, and is FINE. don't pick away at things because YOU don't like the way they look... it's like parents who pick away at pimples on their baby's face... leave it alone. your newborn has all sorts of hormonal changes going on and some flaky skin or some pimples is completely normal. it's only on tv / in magazines that you see babies with absolutely PERFECT complection - at ALL TIMES. my baby was clear for the first 6 weeks, then had 3 weeks of mild pimples, then it all clearled up. every baby is different, so do NOT WORRY! and no need to make a doctor's appointment for something like that... mention it at your REGULAR visit but it's an expensive cost to our medical system for someone to visit a doctor because of flaky skin / pimples.

we are so obsessed with our baby's looking perfec that we worry about all sorts of silly things that are unimportant. don't waste precious time soaking your baby's head in mineral oil and brushing dry skin off of his / her scalp, instead spend QUALITY time hugging / singing / rocking / loving your baby!!!

just my opinion..........!!!
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thelefteyeguy wrote: I disagree...for this a phone call to the Health Hotline was definitely sufficient

see post above :|

OP think it's a car :(
AnnaBanana wrote: i dissagree with some of the answers above... leave the craddle cap alone!!!

it's normal on some babies, natural, and is FINE. don't pick away at things because YOU don't like the way they look... it's like parents who pick away at pimples on their baby's face... leave it alone. your newborn has all sorts of hormonal changes going on and some flaky skin or some pimples is completely normal. it's only on tv / in magazines that you see babies with absolutely PERFECT complection - at ALL TIMES. my baby was clear for the first 6 weeks, then had 3 weeks of mild pimples, then it all clearled up. every baby is different, so do NOT WORRY! and no need to make a doctor's appointment for something like that... mention it at your REGULAR visit but it's an expensive cost to our medical system for someone to visit a doctor because of flaky skin / pimples.

we are so obsessed with our baby's looking perfec that we worry about all sorts of silly things that are unimportant. don't waste precious time soaking your baby's head in mineral oil and brushing dry skin off of his / her scalp, instead spend QUALITY time hugging / singing / rocking / loving your baby!!!

just my opinion..........!!!
ANd I'll disagree with both of you about not seeing a doctor. For the record it was my 3rd child that had the staph infection from the hospital, so not inexperienced by any means. It looked like normal baby acne or a heat rash (June 1st baby). We walked into our doctor's office for her 7 day check and she was literally pulled out of my arms and rushed off. Within 45 minutes she was back in the hospital (in isolation) with IV antibiotics and we were being told "hopefully" we caught it in time and all would be fine. After a 7 day hospitalization it was thankfully. If you've never seen a staph infection (or even if you have) it's better to have it checked out by a trained professional, especially in this day and age of antibiotic resistent staph infections IMHO....
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CSK'sMom wrote: ANd I'll disagree with both of you about not seeing a doctor. For the record it was my 3rd child that had the staph infection from the hospital, so not inexperienced by any means. It looked like normal baby acne or a heat rash (June 1st baby). We walked into our doctor's office for her 7 day check and she was literally pulled out of my arms and rushed off. Within 45 minutes she was back in the hospital (in isolation) with IV antibiotics and we were being told "hopefully" we caught it in time and all would be fine. After a 7 day hospitalization it was thankfully. If you've never seen a staph infection (or even if you have) it's better to have it checked out by a trained professional, especially in this day and age of antibiotic resistent staph infections IMHO....
first thing the nurse on the phone will ask you is if your baby has a fever :|

by bet is the OP's baby didnt have a fever...


however the nurse on the phone will prob tell you to see your doctor....it always ends that way to avoid liability
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Our daughter didn't have a fever lefteyeguy, and was BF'ing well and was not fussy or irritable either. By all acccounts she was a perfectly healthy and normal newborn....
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Ok - I can buy the arguement of calling telehealth to see if it requires emergency care, however, after determining that, they would have still told him to follow up with the doctor as they cannot see things over the telephone.

Posters here have assumed it was baby acne because it is so common, however, as CSK'mom pointed out, just because it is common does not mean that it couldn't be something else.

As for the cradle cap, I can again buy not rusing to the doctor, however, if you have never seen or heard of it, then mentioninig it at your next dr. visit isn't over the top.
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Our son had it and we left it alone and it started to smell bad, almost like athletes feet, and apparently it is like a fungus. We treated with mineral oil, let that sit for a good 15 minutes and then used a baby brush to brush out the flakes. Then we rinsed with shampoo to get rid of the oil. This took a few applications but it worked. I also heard using head and shoulders works, that was going to be the next try but we didn't need it.

Oh and there is nothing you can do to prevent this, it just happens. And it's nothing you did or didn't do, so don't blame yourself. ;)
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Feb 18, 2008
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Thanks everyone for all your suggestions, they seem to be working so far, as there is a BIG improvement now from last week to last night.

We have been doing the oil thing, let it sit for 15-30 mins and then shampoo the hair at bath time before bed.

Someone mentioned head and shoulders, that is what we use.

Just hope the spots on the cheeks goes away soon.

Thanks
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Oct 5, 2006
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From my experience, my child had something similar, went to the Pediatrition and he said it was an infection (the puss on the head, from scratching the exzema during his sleep) and prescribed an antibiotic, but the face was similar to the scalp but no puss, he sait it was baby exzema, usually more prevalent in the winter. Not satisfied with the results over the next week & yes he told us to use Head and shoulders, and selsum blue. We asked for a referral to a dermatoligist, Well the dermatoligist said to not bath our child with soap. basically do this:

-Humidifier to stabilize humidity in home
-Bath twice a day, do not use soap but an oil (aveeno oil, or kerri alpha oil) this is not a soap but places oils (emmoilants) on the skin to be absorbed
-while the baby is still wet after taking him out of the tub, use Lipikar (available at shoppers) apply to the whole body and this will seal in the oils and moisture for the dry skin.
-use extra virgin olive oil on the scalp and rub it in as often as necessary.

Since then 99% of breakouts are now gone and his skin is soft and moist.
I can breathe easy, he no longer scrathes those spots, or rarely gets any exzema breakouts anymore.

P.S. my wife also noticed that placing the cream used for your nipples during breast feeding on the exzema areas really works fast at eliminating them. I don't recall the name now, but if you need it just ask.

This was just my situation, yours may differ, but a dermatoligist specializes in skin, pediatricians know about babies and yes generally do well, but our dermatoligist was spot on for our situation. Your situation may differ, but a second opinion is a good thing.
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acne on my baby did not bother me at all...i used photoshop ;)

and it does go away eventually
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roccco wrote: Thanks everyone for all your suggestions, they seem to be working so far, as there is a BIG improvement now from last week to last night.

We have been doing the oil thing, let it sit for 15-30 mins and then shampoo the hair at bath time before bed.

Someone mentioned head and shoulders, that is what we use.

Just hope the spots on the cheeks goes away soon.

Thanks
head and shoulders on a baby...yikes :|
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thelefteyeguy wrote: head and shoulders on a baby...yikes :|
Yeah, thats what I was thinking. Chemical city, I'm surprised that the baby's scalp is not irritated by it.

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