Seborrheic dermatitis - removing the crust on the child’s head. Why does a crust form on a child’s head?

If you are worried about yellow or white crusts on a child's head, then, first of all, you need to understand the reason for their appearance. It is this knowledge that will help you choose correct sequence actions and cope with the problem with your own on our own. You'll see - it's quite simple!

When on your head infant crusts appear, it looks like this: something similar to dandruff sticks to the baby’s hair. Most often, the problem is localized near the fontanel, gradually growing throughout the entire scalp.

Yellow or white crusts on a baby’s head are also called “cradle cap,” and the medical name for the problem is “seborrheic crusts.” Often, when they find them on the baby’s head, mothers get scared, thinking that they are faced with a symptom of some disease. It is important to understand that in most cases this is not the case at all.

The main reason for the appearance of seborrheic crusts on a child’s head is a combination of circumstances: tender, its low protective properties, increased activity sebaceous and sweat glands. It turns out that the notorious seborrheic crusts are just sebum, which, having spread through the hair, dries out and becomes a crust. However, sometimes parents make annoying mistakes in caring for their child, which become not entirely natural causes the appearance of crusts on the baby's head.

Other reasons for the appearance of crusts on a child’s head

Many mothers are faced with the fact that they notice yellow crusts on the head at age or so. Don’t worry - this is a natural moment due to the fact that babies have increased secretion sebaceous glands. You should only worry when the problem does not disappear over time. You may be making one or more of the most common baby care mistakes.

For fear of overcooling your child, you even put a cap on him at home - as a result, the baby sweats, which leads to the formation of new seborrheic crusts.
You use cosmetics containing unnatural fragrances and dyes - they cause irritation and the appearance of yellow crusts.
When brushing your child's hair, you use the wrong comb - it is better to replace it with soft brush with natural bristles.
You diligently bathe your child every day, and this causes the skin to dry out and disrupt its natural regulation, reducing protection.
Perhaps the crusts on the child’s head are allergic reaction to new foods or changes in the composition of breast milk.

How to get rid of crusts on a child's head

The first thing inexperienced mothers do is try to scrape off the seborrheic crusts that frighten them from the child’s head, but this is not a solution. The problem needs to be solved comprehensively and consistently.

Do not forget that the fight against seborrheic crusts on a child’s head will not end with one-time measures taken. You will have to repeat the proposed set of procedures for a couple of weeks and always be careful not to provoke the appearance of new crusts. If the problem cannot be solved, but you are sure that you are doing everything right, consult a specialist - perhaps the problem is deeper than it seems at first glance.
The video tutorial below will teach you how to remove seborrheic crusts from a child’s head.

Are you worried about the yellow crust on your child's head? In children under one year old- this is a common occurrence, but if by the age of three it has not disappeared, then, firstly, you need to understand the reason for its origin. After this, you will be able to choose the right concept for solving this problem on your own, without the intervention of doctors.

Let's first determine the reasons why a child may develop a crust. Most mothers at the age of three months notice the appearance of a yellow crust on their heads in their children. There is no need to panic - this is natural. As a rule, this happens because the baby’s secretion of the sebaceous glands increases. But ifstill has not passed, then this is no longer correct, so in this case it is advisable to consult a doctor. Because before a year it should have disappeared. Or perhaps the reason lies in improper care of children's hair.

The most common mistake that causes crust on the head of a 3 year old child What still hasn't disappeared is that you force your child to wear a hat, even in warm weather, for fear of hypothermia. As a result, the child's head sweats and this becomes a consequence of the appearance of new crusts. Also, the crust can remain on the baby’s head for quite a long period of time due to use cosmetics, which are based on unnatural flavors or dyes. They can also result from irritation of the scalp and cause yellow crusts to appear. If you bathe your baby every day, his skin may dry out and natural regulation will be disrupted, thereby reducing the protection of the skin. In some cases crust on the head of a 3 year old child may appear due to an allergic reaction to a new food.

How to get rid of yellow crust.

Inexperienced mothers first of all try to scrape off these same crusts from the baby’s head, but this will not get rid of the problem. It needs to be solved consistently and comprehensively. First, soften your baby's scalp using baby oil. Apply it to your baby's head an hour before bathing him. Wear a cap to prevent oil from getting into your eyes and to keep warm. Before bathing, lightly massage your baby's scalp with a brush that has natural, soft bristles.

When bathing, use only mild shampoos based on natural ingredients. Gently rinse your hair and rinse off the shampoo thoroughly. After bathing, do not dry the child, but simply dry the body, hair and head with a towel.

If after shampooing crust on the head of a 3 year old child not completely washed off, don’t worry - use a comb and carefully comb the child’s hair, while carefully removing the remnants of the ill-fated crust from the head. Do not forget that scabs on children’s heads do not disappear immediately. In order for this to happen, you will have to repeat this set of measures more than once, perhaps a couple or three weeks and not provoke a new manifestation yellow formations on the head.

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Scabs and milky crusts on a child’s head always cause concern for the parent. This problem is widespread - almost half of babies have it to one degree or another. These skin manifestations are not a disease if we're talking about about infants up to 4 months. If seborrhea manifests itself later, this is already a variant of dermatitis that needs treatment.

Features of the disease

Seborrhea is inflammatory process, occurring with the involvement of the sebaceous glands. It can be of allergic and non-allergic origin. The cells of the sebaceous glands, sebocytes, produce the skin's fatty secretion - lard. The appearance of crusts is due to the fact that yeast-like fungi from the Malassezia furfur family settle on the surface of the skin, which actively feeds on the products of the sebaceous glands. One of the varieties causes seborrhea of the scalp, the other - the rest of the skin.

Photo of seborrhea in children on the head

In infants, the epidermis is still poorly developed, and the work of the sweat and sebaceous glands is just being adjusted. More often sebaceous glands They are working too actively, and their sweat is not enough yet. As a result, the skin becomes easily vulnerable to any factors, including infections and various fungi.

Causes of crusts

Experts have not yet definitively determined what causes seborrheic dermatitis in infants. However, the main reasons are believed to be:

non-compliance with nutritional rules;
overheating of the skin;
sweating;
reaction to hygiene products;
failure to comply with hygiene rules.

One version says that the activation of the sebaceous glands in the first weeks of life is caused by androgens hormones that entered the child’s body during pregnancy. The process of removing hormones and, accordingly, normalizing the functioning of the sebaceous glands takes some time. During this period, the baby develops milky crusts on the skin.

Overheating of the scalp due to improperly selected clothing and increased sweating leads to the fact that fungal pathogens begin to multiply on the baby’s skin, which cause inflammation. The colonization of the skin occurs immediately after the birth of the child. However, fungi do not normally cause skin damage. And only when it is weakened, crusts appear.

Immaturity digestive system also provokes the development of dermatitis. While the body does not produce the required amount of enzymes, new foods can cause skin rashes. A lack of vitamins B and PP in breast milk can lead to the baby suffering from the appearance of milk crusts.

Using age-inappropriate shampoos can also cause inflammation skin. Some parents become overly zealous about hygiene, washing their child’s hair every day. In this case, even the use of the most gentle means will cause seborrhea. Rare washing is also unhealthy and causes exactly the same symptoms.

Sometimes seborrhea in infants is provoked infectious diseases suffered by the mother during pregnancy, various congenital anomalies, pathologies and immaturity of the gastrointestinal tract.

In children over 2-3 years old, crusts on the head can cause:

allergic reactions;
stress;
medications;
eating disorders;
dysbacteriosis and malabsorption nutrients in the intestines;
infrequent hair washing or use detergents not by age.

IN adolescence Seborrhea of the scalp is caused by:

Hormonal changes.
Stress.
Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Poor nutrition.

At any age, overheating of the skin causes activation of the sebaceous glands. This inevitably leads to the appearance of crusts.

Heredity plays virtually no role. Numerous studies have shown that the appearance of crusts in a newborn has no connection with whether his parents had similar phenomena in childhood.

Symptoms

In the photo there are crusts on the baby's head

The leading symptom is the appearance of greasy yellowish or whitish crusts on the scalp. They can be located in patches or cover the entire surface of the scalp. The scab consists of a large number of scales resembling dandruff. Sometimes seborrheic dermatitis can affect the folds of the limbs, abdomen, eyebrows, and groin area.

A scab can appear as early as 2-3 weeks of a child’s life. Sometimes they spread to the eyebrows, forehead, behind-the-ear areas, and cheeks. The scales are easily separated from the skin. In children over 3 years old, seborrhea can occur in oily, dry and mixed type. With the oily type, the scales form crusts around hair follicles. When dry, they are scattered over the entire surface of the head, forming grayish crusts. In this case, the hair underneath breaks and falls out. In adolescence, these two forms combine with each other, forming a mixed form.

Important: Unlike other types skin lesions seborrheic dermatitis does not cause itching, discomfort, pain or irritation.

If the scales are separated with difficulty, and wounds remain after them, then there is a completely different skin lesion that requires special treatment. Since infant seborrheic dermatitis does not cause itching, there should be no scratching. If they exist, most likely it is seborrheic variety atopic or allergic dermatitis. Seboric dermatitis differs from psoriasis in that psoriasis has a rash that is not covered with scales.

At mild flow There are only crusts on the head. In moderate cases, lesions appear on other parts of the body. In case of severe severe course Desquamate erythroderma may develop, in which developmental delays and diarrhea will be noted.

Diagnostics

Seborrheic dermatitis must be differentiated from atopic and allergic dermatitis. In adolescence, it can be confused with psoriasis. The diagnosis is made based on examination. A blood test does not show the presence of antibodies and immunoglobulin E.

Treatment of seborrheic crusts in children

Scabs on the head look untidy and frighten parents, but they are completely harmless to the child’s health. There is an opinion among people that if the scab is not removed, then the child’s hair will not grow. This is wrong. Seborrheic dermatitis does not damage the hair follicles in any way.

Classic seborrheic dermatitis in infants goes away on its own by three months, as a last resort by six months or a year. However, this does not mean that there is no need to fight with crusts, because an untidy appearance the child's head is not painted. Moreover, in large quantities, crusts can already cause discomfort.

You cannot pick out the crusts and comb them out with sharp combs. This can damage the skin and cause infection.

The simplest and effective method– combing. To do this, two hours before the expected time of bathing, the crusts are generously lubricated with oil. This can be a special oil for baby skin care or any vegetable oil, preferably olive or almond. Next, a cap is put on the baby’s head. In 2 hours the crusts become soft.

During bathing, wash your hair as usual. Then the skin is blotted and the crusts are carefully combed out with a comb with blunt, rounded teeth. Can be used to wash hair special shampoos from crusts. Mustela and other manufacturers have such lines. If there are a lot of crusts, then the next bathing the procedure will have to be repeated. The hair of older children can be washed with antiseborrheic agents such as Nizoral, Quelual. From the folk, but very effective means, you can recommend tar soap.

Usually, drug treatment not required. Only in severe cases after four years, fluconazole or metronidazole can be used. No pills in preschool age are not assigned. At protracted current Older children can benefit from Tsinocap and Pimafucort ointments.

Prevention

In order to get rid of seborrheic dermatitis or prevent its development, you must follow some rules. First of all, there is no need to bundle up your child or put clothes on him that are out of season. Secondly, walks and air baths will be useful. Thirdly, bed linen should be cotton or linen, pillows should be made of natural materials.

Antihistamines and antibacterial drugs, antifungal ointments used together with vitamin complexes for chronic forms seborrheic dermatitis in children over 4-5 years of age and in adolescents.

Diet for children

Proper nutrition will help you get rid of the scabs faster. For infants, it is important to follow the schedule for introducing complementary foods and exclude foods that can cause allergies. Older children are recommended to exclude from the diet:

carbonated drinks;
sweets;
nuts;
smoked meats, pickles, marinades;
fast food;
chocolate;

Forecast

Seborrheic dermatitis in infants, as a rule, goes away without a trace and does not lead to further allergic diseases. If it is detected in children over 7 years of age, it can then be complicated by atopic dermatitis, allergic reactions or erythroderma. But in most cases, with adequate therapy skin problems disappear completely by adulthood.

Why does a crust appear on a child's head? This question worries parents. Many mothers are upset when they see a greasy yellow crust on the crown of their baby. The layering peels off, sticks to the hair, but is quite easily removed. People call this condition “cradle cap,” but the official name is seborrheic dermatitis. A crust on a child’s head is nothing more than a severe form of dandruff. The child does not feel discomfort, but parents are worried, as dermatitis spoils the baby’s attractiveness.

Why do crusts form on a child’s head? Sometimes seborrheic dermatitis can cover the entire scalp of a baby, spreading to the face, ears, nose, armpits and groin areas. Everywhere except the head and eyebrows, the condition is called seborrheic eczema.

Development of the disease

Seborrheic dermatitis is very common in infants younger than 8 months. Most often, unaesthetic yellow crusts appear on the baby's head at 1-2 months of life. Medical name“cradle cap” - gneiss. The disease lasts from several weeks to several months.

Parents sometimes discover oily layers under the hair of preschool and even younger children school age. Although it looks unsightly, it does not harm the child, there is no itching or other discomfort. However, attempts to remove the crust in children over 3 years of age give the child unpleasant sensations.

Doctors distinguish three degrees of development of the disease: mild, moderate and severe. The latter is usually combined with the general feeling unwell child - dysbacteriosis, vomiting, anemia, insomnia. This condition is observed in children deprived of normal care.

Main reasons

Causes of seborrhea:

Action of maternal hormones. These substances remain in the child's body from the prenatal period. They increase sebaceous secretions, and dead skin cells stick together on the crown of the head.
Hereditary allergies, especially such as eczema.
Dysbacteriosis. Gastrointestinal disorders provoke malfunctions of the sebaceous glands.
Development yeast fungus on the scalp.
Lack of vitamin B in the body.
Difficult pregnancy of a mother with metabolic disorders.
Maternal use of antibiotics during pregnancy.
Poor hygiene, insufficient child care.
Bad living conditions- dust, gas contamination, etc.
Wrong clothes. Too warm hats or wearing a hat in a heated room cause heavy sweating scalp.
Wrong selection of shampoo.

Seborrhea in children and adolescents

Dermatologists distinguish 4 types of seborrhea in children:

Fat. Large flakes of dead skin and sebum stick together at the roots of the hair. In infants, with careless care, this form leads to the development of fungal infections. Teenagers can suffer at the same time oily seborrhea and acne.
Dry. Individual skin particles are scattered over the entire surface of the head. They stick together into yellow or gray crusts. May be accompanied by a reddish rash on the body and loss of some hair.
Mixed. A combination of two forms: on the hair - dry, on the skin of the face - oily. Not observed in infants and children under 13 years of age;
Physiological. It is typical for adolescents, and, as a rule, is a continuation of the “cradle cap” in infancy.

Treatment methods

Mothers of infants are wondering whether seborrheic crusts need to be removed? In addition to aesthetic reasons, there is also a health problem. The accumulation of fat deposits on the scalp isolates the skin from air, causing hair roots to suffer. So that the child does not have brittle problems in the future rare hair, it is necessary to periodically clean his head of deposits.

Methods for removing crusts:

Wash your child's hair regularly. Do not use regular baby shampoos. Sold in pharmacies special means against seborrhea, for example, La-Cri, Emolium. These shampoos contain no dyes or perfumes. They are created using a special “no tears” technology and can be used for babies from the moment of birth. Medicinal ingredients shampoos are salicylic acid, coal tar, zinc. The shampoo should be left on the hair for 2 minutes and then rinsed off.
After washing, rub it into your baby's skin. baby oil, almond oil or just vegetable oil. If the crust on the head has become very hard, you can leave the oil overnight. In the morning, loose flakes are cleaned with a soft brush.
Baths with medicinal herbs- chamomile, string, nettle if the child does not have allergies.
Very good action provides Coconut oil. This product does not require preheating. You need to remove the oil from the refrigerator, leave it at room temperature for half an hour and rub Not a large number of into the baby’s scalp before bathing;
Tea tree oil has a similar effect.
You can lubricate the baby's head with Vaseline.
Many mothers use their own as a means of softening crusts. breast milk. It should be applied to the child's head before bathing.
Any oil must be washed off very carefully. Excess of it can worsen the condition;
All hygiene procedures should be carried out no more than 2 times a week.
Do not remove scales from the baby’s head with a fingernail or other hard objects. Sometimes the seborrheic film sticks to the head too tightly. Picking can damage delicate skin baby, cause infection and inflammation.

Cannot be used to lubricate the baby's head olive oil. Its smell may irritate the baby. For children over 3 years old, you can take olive oil and use it at night.

You should act very carefully in the fontanelle area. To remove crusts, pediatricians advise using a special baby comb with short, fine teeth.

Head cleansing should be done when the baby is good mood, smiles. Seborrheic crusts do not cause concern to the baby, but the removal procedure is not very pleasant for him.

If the skin under the cradle cap is red and swollen, the child should be taken to the doctor. An even more serious condition is bleeding cracks, a rash on the head spreading to the face, and a rise in temperature above 37°. This may indicate exposure to an infection. The doctor will prescribe antifungal cream or a course of antibiotics.

Seborrheic dermatitis may disappear and return within a few months. Preventive measures should be carried out for several more months after the child has recovered.

Seborrheic dermatitis in children over one year of age

As a rule, the milk crust disappears forever after 4 months of life. But sometimes similar problems remain or fade for a while, relapsing after one year of age. There are known cases of seborrhea at 4, 5 and even 10 years of age.

If the baby suffered from this disease after six months, parents should carry out preventive procedures from time to time. The most important of them is to prevent the development of yeast fungus. To do this, you should always have it in the bathroom medicated shampoo Sabulex or Nizoral. Once a month you should wash your hair with an antiseborrheic agent.

You should consult a doctor if:

parents discovered crusts in the child after a year;
the baby often scratches his head;
large greasy scales are noticeable on the hair.

This condition can be caused bacterial infection. In this case, the child is prescribed antibiotics penicillin group, injections of vitamin B and glucose. Also useful ascorbic acid to boost immunity. Local treatment may include steroid creams or antifungal ointments. Useful zinc ointment, which dries and relieves inflammation.

Scabs on a child’s head go away without any complications if the parents provide the child with proper hygienic conditions. But they may be the first signals about serious problems metabolism, such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, diathesis.

If crusting is combined with abnormal weight gain, Leiner's disease may be suspected. Attentive parents should show their child to specialists in a timely manner if his condition deviates from the norm.

The child is 4 years old, and we still have crusts on the top of our head; a few days ago they began to peel off. Just leave with such flakes.
I'm afraid, what if it's something serious? Although he says that it doesn’t itch and doesn’t bother him, it worries me a lot. We don’t go to the kindergarten, but we attend developmental classes, there are also children there and he is there every day for 3-4 hours.

How to get rid of crusts on a child’s head; could they be a symptom of something?

Comments: 18 »

The crusts on the child’s head should have gone away before the age of one, but your baby is already 4. He may have a lack of vitamins, consult your pediatrician.

I think it’s worth contacting not just a doctor, but a dermatologist, perhaps this is the beginning of some dermatological disease very many begin with peeling, it is not necessarily something contagious, but it is better to check with a specialist.

My two-year-old daughter also had scabs, we got rid of them not so long ago. Our problem was that the child’s sebaceous glands were actively working, and we did not wash his hair often, since the child was simply afraid of water pouring on his head. When the fear of water went away, they began to wash their hair every day, the crusts disappeared by themselves. So it is not necessary that this is some kind of symptom, perhaps just increased activity of the sebaceous glands. Wash your hair every day with a mild shampoo and see if there is any result. It helped us.

We also had the same problem. Here’s what I did: before bathing, I lubricated the places where there were crusts with baby cream and waited for about 10 minutes. Then I tried them, with the help comb out. After the cream, the crusts become soft and can be easily removed.

We also have this problem. I noticed that these crusts appeared on the top of my head when my son ate too much sweets. I lubricate it with vegetable oil and comb it out. I myself had such crusts as a child until I was 5 years old.

Crusts in the head are a sign of diathesis in a child. First you need to grease the crusts with some with a fatty agent, and then steam it. The crusts will go away when you scratch them, but if you don’t get rid of the diathesis, they will appear again. Therefore, try to exclude foods containing large amounts of carbohydrates, such as potatoes, sweets, etc. from your child’s diet. Sometimes even regular milk may cause diathesis. Observe which foods your child develops scabs after eating.

My son also had crusts on his head for about 4 years. I took him to a dermatologist and a pediatrician, they didn’t give any good advice. I began to wash my child’s hair more often, before washing I applied baby cream to the crusts, and then washed my hair and combed it. Over time, they became smaller, and then disappeared completely, and now everything is fine.

My daughter gets crusts due to treatment with antibiotics and sweet cough syrups, throat tablets that are sweet. It is necessary to comb out with vegetable oil.
Also review your diet, eat less sweets.

Most likely, the crusts are not a sign of illness, they are the so-called lep. You just need to comb it out well. Half an hour before bathing, lubricate your scalp burdock oil, before bathing, comb out with a fine-toothed comb (sold in pharmacies). Repeat for several days until everything goes away, because... once is usually not enough.

During bathing, I put a wet cap on my head; during bathing, the crusts got wet and then were easily combed out, but the child did not like it.

My son also had crusts for a long time and I smeared his hair with vegetable oil and combed it with a soft comb, and then simply washed his hair with baby shampoo.

Crusts on the scalp are normal for the newborn period, but in a child aged 4 years it is a cause for concern. This could be an allergic reaction, neurodermatitis or fungal disease. First, try changing the shampoo; if that doesn’t help, then see a dermatologist-trichologist (this is a doctor who specifically hairy part deals with the head) and to an allergist.

My son also has crusts on his head. At first I was worried, but then I noticed that they gradually went away on their own. It’s just that we are not yet a year old, and at 4 years old, it seems to me that they definitely shouldn’t exist anymore. Infants are advised to apply baby oil, wait 10 minutes and comb out carefully with a soft comb. You can also soak it while bathing (by placing, for example, a wet cloth on your head) and then comb it out in the same way. In your case, since the child is already relatively large, I would definitely contact a dermatologist.

Crusts in the head are a sign of the presence of a disease such as “Atopic dermatitis” (allergies, diathesis). We had this for up to a year. They also flew off in flakes. A-Derma shampoo helped us, and very quickly. Special cosmetics are required for this atopic skin, no bubchens, vegetable oils, baby showers will not help. Contact your doctor and he will prescribe you shampoos. It's not scary, it's not contagious. By five years will pass itself.

Perhaps these crusts are not completely combed out mold. My friend’s son is 4 years old, so she also has the same thing. I combed my son for a long time, until he was two years old. Before bathing (not before every bath, but about once a week) I smeared my head with Vaseline, and after half an hour I bathed it. The crust went away well, the problem was that it appeared again... Well, if you are worried, then, of course, go to the doctor.

Don't worry, we are 3 and we have one too small area with a crust. After steaming, I comb it out a little and wipe it with peroxide, gradually everything goes away. The pediatrician said there’s nothing wrong with it and there’s no need to take the child to the doctors and get it treated. You’ll get over this inconvenience as quickly as possible.

This usually means frequent washing scalp, that is, not in the sense that it is dirty, but that the scalp is not moisturized. We still have (6 years) the crusts coming back and by the way oils don’t help us. The dermatologist prescribed Betasalik for us, I lubricate it well, comb it and wash my hair - it cleans it the first time. But until the child outgrows it, it may return.