10 tips for dealing with cradle cap

Cradle cap  is skin  problem  mostly  observed  in  infants. Yellowish , patchy  ,greasy skin ,rashes are formed on baby's head ,eyebrow ,eyelids ,ear area mostly. Dandruff is formed on head and fore head area .The  skin becomes very rough to touch and sometimes red also.  
Cradle cap is  also known  as  seborrhoeic dermatitis, crusta lactea, milk crust. It is common skin problem and it  disappears  after baby  grows.Good thing is it dose not bother baby much except itching.

My younger daughter has very sensitive skin and she faced cradle cap when she was 2 months old. It was very painful to see white greasy scales on her head , eyelids ,ears, cheeks and also dandruff in her head. These  scales  started swelling slowly and she was trying to sooth it  by  itching all the time. Initially I though it's some allergy and  for precautions stopped using soap ,besan (chickpeas flour) ,oil massaging to her .Her skin was extremely rough and my fair baby was looking pale ,yellow because of the scales.It didn't get well for 2-3 days and then I rushed my baby to pediatrician who directed me to dermatologists. 
Doctor prescribed some ointments to apply on skin after bathing everyday. But with medicines also my baby's skin was same rough ,patchy,oily and with lots of dandruff. Then again we rushed to see doctor and  it went on . After number of rounds to Dermatologists clinic  cradle cap diagnosed. It was my first encounter with this skin problem and i was very much worried for my child.
I started using  everything prescribed only like  shampoo ,soaps,moisturizer for her . But the patchy scales were spreading on her hands and legs too. And then we had to use steroids for treating it. By using steroid creams her skin was getting better and dandruff from her head also disappeared . But once stopping use of steroids cradle cap started appearing again .It happened many times  again and again and it was extremely difficult to see my little baby suffering.

Dermatologist suggested some irritant like dust clothes, fragrance in surrounding might be cause of irritation , rashes in baby's skin. So I started taking extra care of her surroundings like her bed , clothes , mattress , blankets ,room .It was very difficult period for me and my family as we were taking all precautions but my little baby's skin problem was not recovering. It used to appear again after every 2 -3 weeks. Dandruff in her head and scales on her ear and cheeks made her very uncomfortable.

Dermatologists  suggested  that  this  cradle  cap  gets  cured  with  time. My baby has faced  this cradle  cap  till  her  age  of  11  months  and  after  that  it  was  cured automatically. Till 11  months we used Steroid creams to apply on her skin only when it formed  patchy  scales ,rashes  and dandruff .For this 11 months we tried following all possible things to comfort our baby.  

Following tips will be helpful for soothing in cradle cap:

1.Cleaning room

Dusting ,mopping ,  vacuum  cleaning  and  any  other  cleaning  should  not  be done when baby is in the room. Take baby out of room and then clean room. Take baby back in the room after complete  cleaning. Also increase frequency of cleaning room. Poor hygiene dose not cause Cradle cap but maintaining more hygiene definitely  helps  to avoid  cradle cap or skin disease. 

2.Baby clothes

Make sure all baby clothes and other clothes near baby are of soft and good quality cotton fabric. Mother or care takers also should wear soft cotton clothes as baby gets  exposed  to their  clothes. Its been said polyester ,  shifon , fancy clothes may irritate baby’s skin.

      3.Baby's  skin  might  be  allergic  to things  like dust, fungus, perfumes, deodorant, creams, soaps, essence sticks fragrance ,cloth detergent. So stop using deodorants, perfumes, essence sticks ,air  freshner near baby or in baby's room.

4.Baby bed

Make sure baby's mattress , pillow, blankets, towels all are not too old. Or not made up of old clothes. Old mattresses , pillow  might  have  dust , fungus  in  it  and  it may be exact allergen to  cause irritation or rashes   in  baby's  skin.

5.Baby detergent 

Normal cloth detergents have harsh chemicals in them which may be harmful for delicate skin So wash baby clothes in with liquid detergent made up specially  for baby's clothes.

6.Itching creams

When  baby’s have  cradle  cap  they  keep  on  itching  the  skin .To stop this  itching    of skin and sooth  baby , use any dermatologist  prescribed  itch  relieving  cream    on cradle  cap affected area. I  used  itchcam  (itch  relieving  cream).

7.Winter clothes

If using winter clothes for baby make sure clothes are made from very soft wool. Avoid  blankets made from wool  for covering baby . Use instead  cotton blankets. Some type of wool also may cause itching and irritation.

8.Don't use  these products for baby talcum powder ,kajal (For eyes or for vision proofing   as well) , oil ( for hair or for body massage).As these product may cause irritation for delicate and sensitive skin of baby.

9.Bath and massage

Avoid massaging  baby  as  massaging  skin  may  worsen  the  cradle  cap. Also  after    bathing baby  just  pat  dry her  skin using soft  cotton  towel  towel. While complete drying baby’s  skin  may  get  hurt.Its difficult to see  yellowish ,thick patches on her skin   but  it  can definitely  treated   with  some  care  and  medicines.

10.Apply prescribed moisturizer/  baby moisturizer  on baby's skin everyday  after bathing her Moisturizers  protects  baby’s  delicate skin and helps to heal cradle   cap .I used cetaphil moisturizer to keep baby's skin soft and it helped in recovering her yellow patches fast .