When a mother discovers strange crusts on a child's head, similar to scabs, dandruff or something similar, she gets scared. She wonders where did this come from her child and what to do now? For treatment, you must arm yourself with the necessary information.
Baby crusts
What are milk crusts
Milk crusts are yellow or white flakes. They usually cover the scalp (even in the absence of hair), but can also appear behind the ears, on the folds of the arms and legs, on the face, in the buttock folds.
They appear, as a rule, even while in the hospital, in newborn babies. Hence their common name - "dairy". They become especially pronounced by 3 months. Their place of appearance is due to the presence of sebaceous glands on the baby's skin. Therefore, the main reason for the occurrence is the excessive activity of these glands, caused by the presence of maternal hormones in the infant's body. During normal functioning of the hormonal system, the skin does not secrete excess sebum. Usually the small scales dry up and naturally fall off. In the event of a failure, dead cells "stick" to the scalp or other areas of the body and layering. This is how crusts appear in a child.
It is not contagious, for family members there is no reason to worry, they also do not cause discomfort to the child. The problem in this case is rather aesthetic.
It is impossible to prevent the appearance of crusts, but some mistakes in caring for the baby can lead to their overgrowth:
- overheating causes sweating and an increase in the number of crusts, as well as their denser layering;
- frequent shampooing with a cosmetic product removes the natural protective layer from the skin and stimulates the appearance of dry scales;
- allergic reactions to baby cosmetics exacerbate the problem.
Often the causes of the appearance of crusts are gross violations in nutrition. If they begin to grow actively, then an urgent need to change the feeding diet. Exclude salty, sweet, fatty foods from the menu. Simultaneously with these measures, include in the diet carrot juice, carrot salad. The child's body needs vitamin A, which improves skin condition.
How to eliminate yellow crusts
In the event that the crusts occupy a small area on the crown of the baby, we can safely say that the scale of the problem is small. Most likely these are:
- the remains of a newborn's lubricant, therefore there is another popular name for crusts - "generic mud";
- the result of increased secretion of the sebaceous glands;
- the result of improper (frequent) bathing with a cosmetic product.
Attention! If crusts, in addition to the head, are present on the body, this is a reason to suspect atopic dermatitis and diathesis in the child. In this case, you cannot do without a visit to a dermatologist.
Dermatitis and diathesis are almost always caused by food or contact allergies. Therefore, first of all, it is necessary to identify and eliminate the source of the allergy. If the baby is breastfed, the nursing mother will have to follow a strict diet for some time. If the baby is receiving artificial nutrition, the formula may need to be changed. If complementary foods are already present in the child's diet, it is necessary to keep a food diary and strictly track which foods a reaction occurs to.
To prevent household allergies, it is necessary to ensure the cleanliness of the room where the child is, and maintain the optimal parameters of humidity and temperature. If the air is too dry, it is worth purchasing and actively using a humidifier.
Council. Doctors do not recommend touching the scabs on the face - they will dry out and fall off on their own, it is important to follow the recommendations of the doctors.
On the issue of the presence of yellow crusts on the head, there is an opinion that they still need to be carefully removed.
Combing out milk crusts
What to do with a crust on your head
Before answering the question of how to remove a crust from a child's head at 3 months, or scientifically - manifestations of seborrheic dermatitis, it is necessary to assess the degree of its manifestation. Medication may be required.
In a mild form, when the top of the child's head is covered with crusts, the condition is not disturbed, and medical intervention is not required.
With an average form of redness, the crusts begin to peel off and affect the face, neck, folds on the arms and legs, and inguinal folds. The scales are of a pronounced yellow color. The child is anxious, infants often have regurgitation and diarrhea.
In a severe form, almost the entire scalp is covered with scales; it is a solid bloom or crust of yellow, even brown color. There is even a popular name for this phenomenon - "baby's cap." A bacterial infection joins, which causes wetting and suppuration of inflammation. With her, the child is lethargic, eats little and does not gain weight well.
Treatment
If a child has a severe form of seborrheic dermatitis, it will have to be treated with an antibiotic and antihistamines to reduce itching and relieve the condition. Medium and light forms of specific treatment do not require, after a while, when the body gets stronger, new crusts will stop appearing.
The main treatment for children is the use of disinfectants. If there is no allergy to medicinal herbs, it is allowed to wash your hair with a decoction of chamomile, sage. If areas of the skin become wet, to eliminate the risk of infection, they are treated with local antiseptics: 1% solution of brilliant green or methylene blue. You can use folk remedies by preparing a decoction of plantain.
Even if the yellow crusts on the child's head are not a disease, not infectious to others, most parents still prefer to get rid of them. The easiest way is to mechanically remove them.
Attention! It is prohibited to scrape off the crusts with nails or sharp objects. This can lead to trauma to the delicate scalp, especially in the area of the not yet closed fontanelle. So, instead of getting rid of the cosmetic defect, you get serious inflammation.
Severe dermatitis
Combing out
To remove the crusts, you must first soften them. This is best done with oil. Baby massage oil, peach oil, odorless vegetable oil are suitable. The main thing is not to use oil with various food additives.
Manipulation progress:
- The oil selected for the procedure must be heated; you can do this under running hot water. The oil should be just warm, not hot under any circumstances.
- Smear areas of the skin with a crust with plenty of oil. For better softening, you can even put on a thin cap or knitted hat and wait 20-30 minutes.
- Gently comb out loose crusts with a child's brush. In this case, you need to make movements in different directions. The brush should be soft with rounded bristles.
- Wash off oil and combed crusts from the head with baby shampoo. Massage the skin while washing your hair.
- After bathing and washing, pat dry your hair with a towel and comb again.
The procedure is simple, but you need to understand that it will not be possible to get rid of the whole problem at once. Therefore, the process will have to be repeated several times, until complete disposal, but not more than 2 times a week.
Regular brushing
Instead of manipulating the oil, you can use a special baby shampoo to eliminate crusts on the head. On forums and online communities, you can find reviews of similar products, manufacturers and purchase a product. Shampoo works like an oil, it also softens the formed crusts, which must be combed out after washing your hair. Therefore, there is no need to talk about any fundamentally different approach. The procedure as a whole repeats the "oil" one, but time for softening is excluded. Its effectiveness is assessed very individually. For some it helps in a few steps, for others it does not help for many months.
Another way to get rid of crusts is with a baby scalp cream. The manufacturer claims that the product resolves the problem in an average of one week. Combing is not required. The tube is equipped with a convenient applicator with which the cream is applied to the head. Hands and clothes remain clean. It doesn't run like butter and doesn't leave a sticky residue. The cream acts on the crusts themselves, softening them, since the composition includes a softening component - borage oil, which also has a moisturizing effect. Also, the cream eliminates the very cause of the appearance of crusts, since it regulates the work of the sebaceous glands. The cream must be applied to the scalp with massaging movements and left overnight. In the morning you should wash your hair, the crusts should easily come off the head.
Washing head
Scab care
There are the following ways to care for the scalp, which, although they will not relieve parents and baby of the problem, but will significantly reduce its manifestations:
- Do not overheat the child. Always take off your hat indoors, be at home without a hat. In this case, air baths are good for the head as well as for the priests. Dress for a walk according to the weather.
- Maintain air humidity in the room at 50-60%.
- Do not get carried away with washing your hair using shampoos, gels, foams. Washing off the protective layer leads to excessive dryness of the skin, and the problem will only worsen.
- In the summer, be in the sun only with your head covered.
- Use only proven household chemicals and baby cosmetics so as not to provoke allergies and dermatitis.
- Brush your baby daily. The arsenal of caring parents should include a brush with soft bristles and a comb with rounded teeth. Daily brushing should be one of the items in daily grooming, like washing and brushing your teeth.
- You may need to cut your baby's hair short until the scabs heal on their own, or the combing process is complete (or some other way to get rid of them). With long hair, the process can be delayed.
- Moisturizing your scalp after bathing will be an additional preventive measure.
When the crust passes by itself
It is believed that by the year the crusts will go away on their own, even if they are not combed out or washed off. A variant of the norm is also considered to have them before reaching the age of three. Strictly speaking, they will pass, but the cure time for each baby is purely individual.
Doctors even recommend not to try to comb out milk crusts, since the problem itself is not so terrible as the possible consequences of overly active actions of parents to eliminate it. Particularly zealous parents use metal combs with sharp teeth or begin to scrape the delicate skin with nails, injuring the hair follicles, which are just forming and ripening. You don't need to do anything of this.
Attention! If the problem is not expressed by a severe form of seborrhea, and the existing crusts do not give the child unpleasant sensations, it is better not to take any action. Sooner or later, the crusts will pass by themselves, says the famous pediatrician E. Komarovsky.
Don't forget about baby hair. Often, children are born with hair, rather even with a downy head, which then falls out. Scales on the scalp interfere with the growth of new hair, which cannot easily break through dry, dense crusts. Therefore, skin care is extremely important; further full hair growth depends to some extent on this. The following rules should be followed:
- Regular cleansing. Washing once a week with a baby product, on other days it is allowed to use a decoction of medicinal herbs.
- Regular brushing, even if there is no hair yet. Daily massage stimulates blood circulation and promotes hair growth.
- For healthy hair growth, you should monitor the humidity regime in the room, as well as the baby's drinking regime.
- Since the appearance of the hair depends on proper nutrition, the infant must be provided with adequate nutrition: this is mother's milk or high-quality milk formula, later on timely introduced complementary foods with the necessary set of vitamins and microelements.
- A correctly chosen comb and brush do not injure delicate skin and will help the active growth of hair follicles. The brushes should not have jagged edges, sharp teeth.
- The use of baby shampoos without the use of sulfates is desirable with the addition of natural ingredients no more than once a week.
Regular cleansing is the best prevention
With the observance of preventive measures, crusts will not become a big problem. They will pass without leaving a trace, beautiful curls will grow on the head.
