Yellow crusts on a baby's head: causes and methods of elimination. Crusts on a child’s head: photos, causes, treatment Seborrheic crust in a 4-year-old child

Surely most parents have encountered milky crusts on the head of a newborn - these are manifestations of seborrhea. Why the pathology develops, what other symptoms are manifested and how to remove a crust on a child’s head – we’ll talk in this article.

Enemy Information
Why do crusts appear?
Is it really contagious?
Symptoms at different ages
If not milk crusts, then what?
Treatment

Greetings, dear readers, skin problems in children are far from uncommon. They are explained by the immaturity of all organs and systems of the body. Hormonal and protective mechanisms are not yet fully functioning; the gastrointestinal tract is just “getting used to” the new world. There are quite a few nosological units (diseases), but seborrheic dermatitis is one of the most common. This disease occurs not only in children, but also in adults. However, it is unusual that three-year-old toddlers develop its “adult” form.

Background information

First of all, in order to solve a particular problem, it is necessary to collect as much information as possible about it. Seborrhea is a chronic inflammatory process that develops in the skin structures near the sebaceous glands. The skin is unevenly equipped with sebaceous glands. For example, there are none at all on the soles and palms. But there is a lot in the hair, on the forehead and wings of the nose, behind the ears, on the neck. The glands are located next to the hair follicles, in the natural folds of the skin, actively working and producing a secretion - sebum. The cells that are responsible for this process are called sebocytes, hence the name of the disease.

The pathology is fungal in nature, and its culprit is the yeast-like fungus Malassezia furfur. There are two forms of this microorganism that are “involved” in the development of the disease – oval and round. The first causes inflammation of the scalp, the second lives mainly on the torso. The fact is that these organisms use the fatty acids that make up sebum as a source of nutrients.

In the process of their life, among other things, they release unsaturated fatty acids. These components have an irritating effect on the skin, causing inflammation and peeling. Due to the fact that the skin does not “feel” very well, its barrier and protective function is significantly weakened. As a result, oleic acid, which is a component of its own secretion, also becomes an irritant.
However, why are all these mechanisms suddenly launched?

Reasons for the development of seborrhea

A disease such as seborrheic dermatitis has various causes. However, most of them are united by a single “stigma” - decreased immunity.

First of all, let’s find out what factors can provoke seborrheic dermatitis in infants and newborns:

infectious processes in the body of the mother during pregnancy or the baby itself;
non-infectious chronic diseases (including oncology), congenital malformations;
gastrointestinal pathology;
violation of the feeding regime, deviation from the rules for introducing complementary foods;
presence of allergies, especially food or contact allergies;
insufficient or, on the contrary, excessive hygiene;
treatment with glucocorticosteroid drugs (for example, ointments with GCS for contact allergies), antibiotics;
taking medications by the mother (during pregnancy and breastfeeding);
hereditary hyperfunction of the sebaceous glands (and then we can talk about a congenital form of seborrhea);
serious stress (switching to artificial feeding, especially abruptly, moving, illness).

Crusts on the head of a 3-year-old child appear, in general, for the same reasons: malnutrition, illness, stress, use of medications. There are only specifics - for example, the issues of complementary feeding and type of feeding are no longer relevant. But insufficient hygiene combined with high physical activity (kids are already running, jumping and can’t sit still for a second) adds weight. In addition, from the age of three, toddlers are usually transferred to a common table, which can also cause the development of dermatitis.

But children in adolescence have much more “opportunities” to get seborrhea. The previously listed gastrointestinal diseases, stress and allergies include:

activation of the endocrine system, causing incredible activity of the sebaceous glands (hence “teenage acne”);
hormonal imbalance (during puberty, hormones are the most unstable category);
poor nutrition (pocket money appears, and, consequently, all sorts of “harmful things”);
bad habits;
psychological instability.

Another group of reasons that are relevant for all ages is induced, i.e. artificially induced sebocyte activity. This includes excessive “warming” of a son or daughter - clothes not suitable for the weather, a fur hat at a temperature of -2°C, synthetic bedding, low-quality pillows, etc.

Therefore, when thinking about how to remove a crust on a child’s head, we must not forget that you can correct not only any processes in the baby’s body, but also your own actions.

But heredity does not play a role in the development of seborrheic dermatitis. Even if both parents suffer from allergic diseases, this does not increase the baby’s risk of developing seborrhea.

And we caught seborrhea!

Is this statement correct, seborrheic dermatitis: is it contagious or not? No, it's not contagious! The fact is that the fungi that cause the development of the disease live on the skin constantly. These are the so-called saprophytes - they do not cause any harm under “normal conditions” and everyone has them. Roughly speaking, the baby is “infected” from birth, as soon as the first interaction with the skin of another person—the mother—occurs.

The skin of the baby is populated by a wide variety of flora, and innate immunity does not allow the development of pathology. Subsequently, with the development of the protective system, immune mechanisms inhibit the growth and reproduction of microorganisms, preventing the latter from breaking the skin barrier. However, as soon as immunity decreases, the secretion of the sebaceous glands increases - it’s a great time for mushrooms. Their vital activity increases several times, and a person cannot cope with their pressure. As a result, a disease develops.

Symptoms of the disease

How to remove a crust on a child’s head - this question arises in parents as soon as they see what is happening to the child’s skin. Manifestations of the disease, although unpleasant in appearance, do not cause much concern to the child. No general symptoms like weakness, fever, etc. not observed. Therefore, the sore cannot be called severe. However, there are quite obvious differences between seborrhea in newborns and infants from the same pathology in older children and adults.

Manifestations of the disease in newborns and infants

Babies are primarily concerned, of course, with seborrheic crusts. They are also called milk crusts, but there is no such term in pediatrics. They appear already on the 14-21st day of a baby’s life.

The pathology debuts with a rash in the ear area (in the folds behind the ears), on the scalp. Rarely, changes affect the skin of the forehead and cheeks.

Why there? In small children, the sebaceous glands do not yet work actively, because the endocrine system as a whole practically does not function. But they have maternal hormones in their blood. These substances have tropism (i.e., they have the most significant effects) to the sebocytes of the head, located near the hair follicles.

A very rapid desquamation of epithelial cells begins (due to the toxic effect of fatty acids). Exfoliated cells are saturated with fat, which is actively produced by sebocytes. As a result, gneiss forms on top of the rash - those same crusts.

In extremely rare cases, the disease spreads throughout the body, affecting the groin area, knee and elbow bends, and tummy. Usually, all symptoms go away on their own within a few (4-5) weeks. In extreme cases, symptoms may disappear and reappear before the child is one year old. Then they disappear completely.

Gneiss is almost never accompanied by itching or pain and usually does not cause any concern to the baby. There is also no wetting - the sweating of the rash by tissue fluid. This increases the feeling of dryness and tightness of the skin.

However, just because the rashes do not “open” does not reduce the risk of infection. If an infection occurs, pyoderma develops - purulent inflammation of the skin, provoked by staphylococci and streptococci. Exudate (wetting), itching, pain appears, and the child becomes restless and moody.

Often parents, not knowing how to remove a crust on a child’s head, begin to “pick” at it, trying to remove it with their fingernails. This cannot be done - the risk of infection increases several times!

Dermatologists distinguish two stages of the disease:

Easy. The rash and the gneiss covering it are found only on the scalp (sometimes on the ears, cheeks, rarely on the forehead) and do not spread. The general condition is not impaired;
Moderate weight. Rashes and crusts spread to the body and limbs.

But if the symptoms of seborrhea are accompanied by diarrhea, vomiting, and there is also a delay in physical development (underweight) - it’s time to sound the alarm! Perhaps the baby has developed desquamative Leiner's erythroderma, and this is a very serious pathology that requires urgent medical attention.

Seborrhea in children 3 years and older

The disease occurs in children both one and two years old. Often, parents who dealt with the pathology when their child was in infancy practically do not pay attention to the newly appearing symptoms. Their answer to the question of how to remove a crust on a child’s head is simple advice: wait, it will go away on its own. In most cases, it proceeds in the same way as in infants - scaly gneiss appears on top of the papular rash. The skin doesn't itch, nothing hurts, the kids don't worry.

Crusts on the head of a 3-year-old child are a fairly common occurrence. Perhaps this is due to the serious stress of a three-year-old little man - enrollment in kindergarten. However, they look a little different from the “baby” ones. There are rare cases when a 3-4 year old child develops “milk” crusts. The formations, firstly, are less dense, there are usually fewer of them, and they become more and more similar to dandruff in the usual sense.

In children of this age, “scales” begin to appear on the eyebrows and on the wings of the nose. The skin peels not only on the head, but also on the body - in the elbows and knees, on the chest and back. Crusts are formed by the same mechanism as in infants.

If crusts appear on the head of a child 5 years of age or older, a chronic form of the pathology has most likely developed. This means that there are periods of remission (“health”) and exacerbation, determined by the general condition of the body. It is likely that any disease (banal acute respiratory infection) will cause the appearance of a new “portion” of crusts.

Differential diagnosis

Differential diagnosis is the choice of one from a list of diseases that are similar to each other. This stage is extremely important (both in evidence-based medicine and even more so in self-medication). After all, if you draw the wrong conclusion and start treatment for the “wrong reason,” you can worsen the situation.

First of all, let's talk about psoriasis. It is necessary to understand how it differs from seborrheic dermatitis. Despite the fact that outwardly these diseases may resemble each other (especially to the average person), there is a difference:

with seborrhea, lesions are almost always only on the scalp, psoriatic rashes are spread throughout the body;
psoriasis looks like a large-focal rash - there are white scales on bright red papules, but seborrheic dermatitis is just crusts on the surface of the skin;
with psoriasis, the peripheral part of the rash is not covered with white scales;
The scales themselves are oily and yellowish in dermatitis, and white and dry in psoriasis;
When you try to remove the crust, the seborrheic lesions come off, usually painlessly. But with the second pathology, this “number” will not work - the process causes discomfort, the skin under the scales begins to bleed.

The second disease is atopic dermatitis. It is allergic in nature, is hereditary and does not go away on its own.

Atopic dermatitis:

begins in children older than 3 months;
characterized by intense itching;
manifests itself as a rash on the face, in the area of the elbows and knees, rarely in the head area;
the rash tends to ooze.

So, now all the necessary information about seborrheic dermatitis has been collected, and you can begin treatment. Of course, it is best to consult a pediatrician (and if we are talking about a newborn or an infant, this is a mandatory condition). The specialist, firstly, will clarify the diagnosis, and, secondly, will recommend treatment that is suitable for your baby. But if you are confident in the diagnosis and decide to treat yourself, how to remove a crust on a child’s head?

Treatment of seborrhea

In fact, the big question is: if seborrheic dermatitis develops in children, is treatment necessary, at least at home? In infants, this disease goes away on its own by 6-8, maximum 10 weeks of life. It is extremely rare for it to be “delayed” for up to a year. Dr. Komarovsky, for example, does not consider seborrheic dermatitis to be a serious problem and mentions that it goes away on its own without causing any particular inconvenience to children.

However, if the baby gets more and more crusts, they cause him anxiety, they itch, get wet, the skin turns significantly red, it is better to start treatment. “Preventive therapy” is also necessary if the baby is prone to allergies, skin pustular infections, and pain.

The “first line” of treatment is the use of specialized shampoos and combing, i.e. a combination of therapy with pharmaceutical drugs and folk remedies.

The Mustela line of products for children can boast of excellent recommendations. This is Mustela Bebe Foam-shampoo for crusts on the head of a newborn baby and infant, as well as “Friderm tar” for older children. You can use a combination of Mustela Stelaker cream (applying it to the baby’s head at night) and antiseborrheic shampoos.

If “simple” exfoliating shampoos do not help, resort to antifungal agents.

One of the most effective is Nizoral shampoo, which is based on the antimycotic substance ketoconazole. Shampoo “Kelual D.S.” is effective against the fungus Malassezia furfur.

Milk crusts are extremely common in infants. Many children with this condition are not seen by medical services, so the exact number of cases is unknown. They most often appear in the first or second month of life and usually go away over the next few weeks. Less commonly, this condition persists for 6 or more.

The disease is accompanied by the appearance of dense white and yellow crusts on the scalp. In some children, seborrheic dermatitis occurs on a small area of the scalp, while in others it affects the entire scalp. Sometimes milk crusts in infants can even appear on the eyebrows, eyelids, ears, back of the neck, crease of the nose, groin and buttocks, or in the armpits.

Seborrheic dermatitis is not contagious and is not a sign of poor child care. In most cases it goes away on its own. For severe or persistent cases, your doctor may recommend a medicated shampoo or lotion. Washing your baby's hair daily with mild shampoo will help reduce and remove crusts on your baby's head.

Although it can look quite scary, milky crusts on the scalp usually don't bother children.

The exact cause of the appearance of a crust on the scalp of a newborn is unknown, although some scientists suggest that it is caused by excessive production of sebum in the sebaceous glands and hair follicles.

A type of fungus called malassezia can grow in the sebum along with bacteria. This is another factor in the formation of a crust on a child’s head.

Seborrhea most often occurs in infants and adolescents. During these periods of a person's life, hormone levels are high, which also plays a role.

Certain factors, such as extreme weather conditions, oily skin, weak immunity, stress and the presence of other skin diseases, increase the likelihood of a child developing seborrhea.

Symptoms

Seborrheic crusts in each child have different shapes and sizes. They can be combined into tufts, scales, or located far apart on the body.

Affected areas have one or more of the following symptoms:

A thick crust or plaque on the baby's head. Sometimes it is on the ears, eyelids, eyebrows, nose, neck, groin or armpits.
Greasy spots on the skin covered with yellow or white scales.
Dandruff in babies.

In very few cases, babies with seborrhea have flaky skin that is itchy and looks a little red. Some babies even experience hair loss. Although hair usually grows back after seborrhea goes away.

When should you see a doctor?

Seborrheic dermatitis is usually easy to identify at home by simply looking at the crusts.

However See your doctor if:

This is your first time processing crusts;
your child has crusts in places where he has no hair;
you have tried home treatments, and all of them did not lead to success;
the skin condition worsens and the rash covers large parts of the body;
the rash causes hair loss or itching;
the affected skin feels hot, red and swollen - these are signs of infection;
your child has a weakened immune system.

Eat several ways to get rid of scales:

Remove scales from your child's head fingers. The baby's scalp will not be harmed if you use your hands and not tweezers or any other auxiliary tools. This is the simplest and most effective way to get rid of scales and crusts.
Rub the crusts with your fingers, then gently comb out the scaly dead skin;
If you don't want to use your fingers to remove the crusts, put on a pair of thin latex gloves.
Make sure in advance that your baby is not allergic to latex. You can also cover your hands with plastic wrap to avoid touching the scales;
Do not use tweezers or other sharp instruments to remove scales, as you may inadvertently damage the skin and deeper tissues of the scalp, causing injury.
Wash your child's hair daily. Using warm bath water, rinse your baby's head and gently massage the skin with your fingers. Water will help soften the crusts. Then you can comb them out easily.

While the baby's head is wet, use a soft brush for this purpose.

How to remove crust on a baby’s head if regular shampoo doesn’t help?

Ask your doctor about over-the-counter medicated or anti-dandruff shampoos. These products contain components (zinc, salicylic acid, ketoconazole and selenium) that will help treat dryness and flaking. Separate, stronger forms of these medications require a prescription.

If you are using a medicated shampoo, rub it a little into your child's scalp and leave for a couple of minutes. Then rinse off the shampoo and repeat the procedure one more time.

You may have to do this every day or twice a week. But after the skin condition is under control, you will only need to use medicated shampoo once a month.

If the milky crusts on the baby’s head do not decrease, you can use baby or almond oil:

Pour a small amount of oil onto your fingertips and gently massage into your scalp. Make small circular movements with light pressure. Let the oil sit for 15 minutes. It will moisturize the skin and help loosen the scales on the head, making them easier to remove.
Take a soft baby hair comb and brush your baby's scalp, again using small circular motions. This helps separate the flakes from your scalp so they can be easily removed from your hair.
Wash your baby's hair with mild baby shampoo. Apply shampoo and leave it on the head for a few minutes while you bathe your child. This allows the shampoo to dilute the oil so that it can be easily washed out of your hair. After washing your hair, rinse the shampoo thoroughly.

Shampoo that is not properly washed off the scalp can cause dryness and dandruff.

For seborrhea of other parts of the body or severe irritation of the child's skin, steroid creams with hydrocortisone can be successfully used.

You should consult your doctor before using hydrocortisone.

Preventive measures

Humidify the air in the room. An infant with seborrhea often has other symptoms associated with dry, easily irritated skin.
Use a humidifier in your baby's room to maintain optimal air humidity so that your baby's skin doesn't become too dry;
Moisturize your baby's scalp after washing. Applying moisturizer while your head is still slightly damp and warm from bathing will help retain moisture in the skin, preventing dryness and flaking. Use ointments or lotions specifically formulated for the delicate skin of infants.
Child nutrition. In some cases, the crust is caused by an allergy to formula milk. If your child develops red rashes on the face, or has diarrhea or other allergy symptoms in addition to seborrhea, consult a doctor. He will tell you how to switch to a formula that is more suitable for your child.

Seborrheic dermatitis may disappear within a few months and then appear suddenly. But by following the steps above, you can control it.

Yellowish crusts on the baby's head are seborrheic dermatitis, which occurs due to the secretion of sebum, which is qualitatively changed in the baby due to natural hormonal imbalances. A rash does not always indicate any pathology, but it cannot be ignored. Crusts may appear on the eyebrows and other parts of the body. Such seborrheic crusts appear both in the first days and closer to the year. Seborrheic dermatitis, as a rule, does not require drug treatment and disappears on its own. Cases with complications of the disease, when the disease affects large areas of the body, are treated with special means.

Seborrheic crusts from the head can spread to the face - mainly eyebrows and cheeks

Main features

Many mothers know well what seborrheic dermatitis looks like in a baby, since it is common. Let's list the main features:

Grayish or yellowish scales covering partially or completely the scalp of the baby. The greatest concentration of scales occurs in the parietal region. They accumulate in a dense layer, popularly called a cap, shell, or cradle cap.
Crusts also form on other parts of the body. Rarely, they can appear on the neck, face, and behind the ears. Dermatitis in a newborn affects the buttock, axillary and groin areas.
The formation of seborrheic crusts is not accompanied by inflammatory processes and does not cause irritation, which makes it possible to distinguish them from atopic dermatitis. Details about atopic dermatitis are described in our other materials (we recommend reading:).
The scales look unassuming, but do not cause itching. The child does not react to them in any way, he does not experience discomfort.

The manifestation of this type of dermatitis occurs between the ages of one week and 3 months. The lifespan of scales depends on the individual characteristics of the child. Most often they disappear without a trace by the age of one year, but in some children they persist for up to 2-4 years. Localized under the hairline, the crusts do not make it difficult to comb hair and do not bother the baby.

The crusts on the baby’s head do not bother them, but they look unsightly - like severe dandruff in an adult

What are the causes of scales?

Dear reader!
This article talks about typical ways to solve your issues, but each case is unique! If you want to know how to solve your particular problem, ask your question. It's fast and free!
Doctors have not identified precisely established causes leading to the formation of seborrheic crusts. Only assumptions are voiced, among which are the following:
Formation of the baby's endocrine system. Developing inside the mother's womb, the child's body receives the necessary hormones from her. After childbirth, the resulting hormones begin to be withdrawn, which leads to a predictable malfunction of the endocrine system. The work of the sebaceous glands intensifies, excess sebum appears on the skin in the form of small scabs, and a crust forms on the head. Since the hormonal background of children can be different, in some children it does not appear at all.
Negative external stimuli. The crust is formed due to wearing a headdress for a long time. Sweat and heat provoke seborrheic dermatitis. In addition, scales on the baby's head form from frequent washing. Using the wrong detergents causes the top layer of the epidermis to dry out. Dry skin becomes the culprit of a malfunction of the sebaceous glands.
Quality of mother's diet. It is believed that seborrhea on the head is the baby’s body’s response to the mother’s poor diet (we recommend reading:). Perhaps, with mother's milk, the baby receives certain elements that affect the endocrine system. The same version applies to artificial feeding, when the child is given a formula that is poorly tolerated by his body. Early introduction of complementary foods also provokes the disease.
Activation of the opportunistic fungus Malassezia furfur. The fungus constantly lives in our skin. Hormonal imbalance gives impetus to the rapid proliferation of the fungus, which leads to the appearance of yellow rashes.
Weakening of the immune system. The version is based on the fact that every baby is born with a weak immune system. If the child’s protective functions are weakened, the fungus described above begins to multiply and the functioning of the sebaceous glands is disrupted. The baby's low weight, infectious disease, and heredity also affect the stability of the immune system.

Frequent wearing of caps creates a moist environment favorable to seborrheic dermatitis. At home and in the warm season, the child should walk without a headdress
How to identify seborrheic dermatitis?
Only a specialist can correctly diagnose the disease. A dermatologist, by comparing the signs, is able to distinguish the disease from ringworm, atopic dermatitis, an infectious skin disease, and psoriasis. The diagnosis is based on an external examination and test results, which include:
microscopy and mycological examination of scales;
skin biopsy;
research on the state of the child’s hormonal levels.

What is the treatment?
Yellow crusts, which cause concern for the mother, do not pose a danger to the baby’s life.
Treatment of seborrhea does not involve serious medical measures; in most cases, it simply disappears over time. Reducing the density and dryness of the crusts will help you quickly get rid of the unpleasant formation.
Lubricate the scales on the baby's head, behind the ears, on the forehead and eyebrows with cleansing oils. Pharmacies offer different types of oils: almond, primrose, peach, jojoba, olive. Oils are sold in regular bottles and sprays.
Treat places where rashes accumulate (behind the ears, on the eyebrows, on the forehead) with cleansing gels, creams, emulsions. Under their influence, the crusts soften, you don’t have to comb them out, just rinse the child’s head well and remove the residue with your hands. In addition, the composition of gels and creams includes substances that regulate the functioning of the sebaceous glands. The secretion of excess fat decreases and a “shell” does not form. French-made drugs work well: D.S. Uriage and Mustela Stelaker. Apply the products at night and rinse thoroughly in the morning.
Wash the baby with antiseborrheic shampoos. Shampoos are applied to damp hair and rubbed in until a thick foam is formed. After holding for 5 minutes, wash your baby. Use the Friederm brand, which contains antifungal agents.
Use dermatological creams. The drug should be rubbed into dry scalp up to 2 times a day, do not rinse. The best baby cream is Bioderma Sensibio DS+. Acts against microbes and restores normal functioning of the sebaceous glands.

Use any of the medications only after a doctor’s prescription, and no more than twice a week. Duration of treatment is 1-2 months. If you are afraid of artificial compounds, turn to traditional medicine, which has its own, long-established methods of combating seborrhea. We offer the most common method of folk getting rid of an unpleasant phenomenon.
What folk remedies help?
The main folk method of treating the disease is the use of vegetable oils: sea buckthorn, sunflower, olive. Oils soften the crusts, then carefully comb them out. The process goes like this:
Generously coat the affected area with oil and leave it on for 20 minutes. Before the procedure, do not moisturize your baby’s hair; the skin should be dry.
To soften the crust well, you should put a thin knitted cap on the baby’s head.
Take a soft brush and carefully remove the crusts from the head and behind the ears.
Wash your baby's hair and head with shampoo to remove any remaining oil.
If there are still scales left after washing, you need to take a clean brush and comb them out.

The same folk method, which helps remove scales, is suitable for treating dermatitis on the eyebrows and behind the ears. If your treasure has long hair, cut it before the procedure to prevent it from getting in the way. Monitor the effect of the cream or shampoo. If an allergic reaction occurs, immediately wash off the product, stop using this shampoo or gel, and try a different brand.

Crusts softened with oil or cream can be painlessly removed using a soft brush.
What is absolutely forbidden to do?
A warning to impatient mothers and those who are concerned about the aesthetic appearance of your child: it is strictly forbidden to pick off scabs or remove them from dry skin. Such removal only provokes the formation of new scales. By carrying out a “barbaric” procedure, you can injure the skin. The resulting wound will cause infection and the situation will worsen.
What complications does seborrhea cause?
Complications do not appear on their own; there are always provoking factors - improper care, the effects of diet, drying out of the scalp lead to complications of dermatitis. Then the crusts on the head turn into a depressing state. Remember the manifestation of alarm signals:
Expansion of the area of the scaly “shell”, transition from the head to other parts of the body. Redness and itching appear. Hereditary predisposition to atopy leads to the development of atopic dermatitis.
The slightest wound or abrasion in the area of seborrhea causes skin infection, which can lead to secondary infection with streptococci and staphylococci. The rashes become pustular in nature, the area of affected skin increases, and dermatitis spreads to the axillary, buttock and groin areas. The baby will have to be given antibacterial medications.

One of the complications of seborrhea can be atopic dermatitis if the baby is predisposed to it (more details in the article:)
Is it possible to prevent the formation of crusts?
Having successfully eliminated the unpleasant process, mothers are looking for remedies that can prevent the problem from recurring. Dr. Komarovsky, explaining why dermatitis appears, focuses on diet. A well-known pediatrician suggests that nursing mothers balance their diet by reducing the proportion of carbohydrates and fatty foods that affect the fat content of milk. Simple preventive measures will help you avoid encountering the problem again:
Install a humidifier at home. The device will maintain the necessary humidity in the room, which is especially important for children with dry skin and those prone to allergies.
After washing your baby's hair, use moisturizing products (gels, lotions) from the children's series. Treat not only the head, but also the space behind the ears. They will protect the skin from peeling and dryness.
Accompanying milk crusts with itching, redness and diarrhea indicates that the baby has an allergy. Go to the doctor, he will analyze the condition and develop a gentle diet for you and the baby.
Dress your treasure according to the weather, do not wrap it in a hundred clothes. Touch the crown and feet of the newborn: if they are dry, it means he is dressed correctly; if they are hot, lighten his outfit. In addition, overheating causes weakened immunity.

The measures described are relevant both after cured seborrhea and at the moment when you get rid of it. If your treasure is diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis, don't be alarmed. Milk flakes are not dangerous, they are just a temporary phenomenon that can be successfully treated with simple remedies. A competent approach to treatment is a surefire tool for quickly getting rid of an annoying “spot” on a child’s appearance.

Not a single millimeter, not a single area on the baby’s body is left without the attention of caring parents. This is the fate of all desired babies. It’s good when nothing worries adults, but it’s another matter if someone finds something “special” in a child that requires treatment or other active action.

Seborrheic crusts in infants is what often forces mothers and fathers to start studying specialized literature, forums and online publications. For your convenience, we have collected all the necessary information on this matter together, which will allow you to thoroughly understand the problem and take all necessary measures to eliminate it.

From this article you will learn:

The appearance of peculiar scales on the head of a newborn or older baby should not cause panic in parents. There is nothing wrong with such formations.

They are also called “milk”, “gneiss”, “cradle cap” - this is a type of dandruff, only in adults it is provoked by dry skin, and seborrheic crusts in children arise due to excessive secretion of their sebaceous glands, improper nutrition of the nursing mother or due to improper care for delicate skin.
Crusts on a baby's head are usually localized in the parietal part, as well as on the forehead and in the area of the fontanel. They can be dry, transparent, white, yellowish, oily, with or without odor. To get rid of them once and for all, you just need to follow simple rules and recommendations.

What baby skin doesn't like

Before you start dealing with the trouble that has befallen your little one, analyze your actions. They can be the main cause of skin defects.

Is your child wearing a cap 24/7? There will be more short spots on the baby's head;
Have you chosen a fragrant colored shampoo to wash your hair? The child may react to the dye or flavoring.
Do you wash your baby's hair every day? You may be drying out his skin, causing crusts to form on it.
Is the child allergic? This means that scales on his head can appear regularly and be pronounced.

Wearing a cap

As for wearing a hat at home, there is no consensus on this matter. Experts of the “old school” insist that a baby needs a hat (although they don’t always talk about when to forget about it). More progressive doctors recommend not putting a hat on the child upon arrival from the maternity hospital, especially if it is warm in the nursery (+23-24 degrees).

Now about cosmetics

The choice of baby shampoo should be wise. There is no need to fall for advertised products that are fragrant, beautiful and attractive:

Firstly, in order to attract new customers, the manufacturer may forget about the end consumer - the child;
Secondly, the simpler the composition of a cosmetic product, the less harm it causes to babies.

Excessive care

It is clear that parents strive to give their baby maximum attention, but washing your hair every day is not reasonable. Once or twice a week will be more than enough.

Children with allergies

Special attention should be paid to children with allergies. Due to the peculiarities of their immune system, the issue of skin care should be discussed with a pediatric dermatologist. Only a doctor can tell you what can be used and what should be abandoned immediately.

Rules, tips and recommendations for the elimination and prevention of seborrheic crusts on the head of infants

Let's move on to the issue of eliminating the problem that has arisen. You can forget about unpleasant formations by following the instructions below.

Step one: softening the crusts

To thoroughly cleanse your scalp, you need to thoroughly prepare it for washing. To do this:

About an hour before water procedures, apply regular baby oil to the skin surface affected by scales (vaseline, vegetable oil and, in difficult cases, salicylic ointment will also work);
Put a cap on your baby. It will prevent oil from getting into your eyes and will also create a lasting “greenhouse effect.”
Immediately before taking a bath, remove the cap and massage your head with a brush with soft natural bristles.

Step two: wash

When the crusts have become soft enough and have already begun to peel off from the surface of the skin, you can start washing your hair.

Under no circumstances should you try to pick out the scabs with your fingernails. This way you will only injure the delicate skin and introduce an infection into the microscopic wound.

Apply baby shampoo and massage the scalp;
Rinse off the shampoo so that there are no traces of cosmetics or oil left on your head;
Dry your head with a terry towel.

Step three: removing any remaining crusts

Everything that did not go away with water and shampoo is removed now:

Take a blunt-toothed comb and run it over the child’s head in different directions;
Now arm yourself with a brush and comb your hair/fluff, paying attention to the places where the crusts were concentrated. She will collect everything that the comb “lifted”;
Enjoy the purity and perfection of your head.

Clean, neat and pleasant to the touch - this is what a baby’s scalp will look like after the procedures. The following will help preserve and consolidate the positive effect:

Following a diet by a nursing mother: fried, smoked, salty and sweet foods causes the baby’s sebaceous glands to work with redoubled force, which aggravates the condition of his skin;
Cosmetics on a natural basis, without chemicals;
Air access. Moisture is the best friend of milk crusts, so it’s better to forget about caps at home;
Observations and proper care. If you cannot get rid of the problem at once, repeat the procedures a few days later.

It is believed that a set of measures to combat milk crusts in infants can take 10 days. If this period has passed, and the scales do not disappear/grow and bother the baby, you should seek medical help.

Pediatrician's advice and parents' personal experience (video)

Yellow crusts on a baby's head are seborrheic dermatitis, which appears due to excessive secretion of sebum. Crusts do not indicate any disease, but they cannot be ignored. Sometimes they can appear on the eyebrows and other parts of the baby's body. It happens that they appear in the first days after birth or closer to a year. Seborrheic dermatitis does not require drug treatment, and it usually disappears on its own.

Main features

Many mothers know what seborrheic dermatitis looks like on the baby's head, because it occurs quite often. These could be:

Yellowish crusts that cover partially or completely the scalp of the baby's head. Their greatest concentration may be in the parietal part. The scales accumulate in a dense layer.
Crusts can also form on other parts of the body. In rare cases, they are found on the neck, face and behind the ears.
Yellow crusts on the head are not accompanied by inflammation and do not cause irritation. This is how they differ from atopic dermatitis.
The crusts look unattractive, but do not cause itching. They do not cause negative feelings to the child.

Yellow crusts on the head of a newborn most actively appear between the ages of 10 days and 3 months. How long will they last? This depends on the individual characteristics of the baby’s body.

Most often, crusts on a child’s head disappear without a trace before the age of one year, and sometimes they persist up to 2-4 years. Being under the hair, they do not cause any difficulties when combing the baby.

Causes of yellow crusts

Experts have not established the exact causes that lead to the appearance of seborrheic dermatitis. There are only the following assumptions:

The process of formation of the endocrine system. When developing in the mother's womb, the child receives the necessary hormones from her. After his birth, their withdrawal begins, which causes a malfunction of the endocrine system. The activity of the sebaceous glands increases, and excess sebum accumulates on the skin in the form of scabs. This is how yellow crusts form on the baby’s head.
Negative influence of external stimulus. Crusts may appear due to prolonged wearing of the cap. They can be triggered by sweat and heat. Washing your hair frequently can also cause flakes. An incorrectly selected shampoo causes the top layer of skin to dry out. This is what provokes a malfunction of the sebaceous glands.
Food quality. The occurrence of seborrhea on the baby's scalp may be his body's response to the mother's unbalanced diet. It is possible that through breast milk the baby receives certain substances that affect its endocrine system. The same applies to artificial feeding. After all, the mixture can be poorly tolerated by the child’s body and provoke the appearance of crusts when complementary foods are introduced early.
Activation of the opportunistic fungus Malassezia furfur. It constantly lives in human skin. Hormonal imbalance contributes to the rapid proliferation of fungus and the appearance of yellow crusts.
Due to the fact that the baby’s immune system is not yet very developed, the above fungus multiplies, which disrupts the functioning of the sebaceous glands.

Low weight, infectious diseases and heredity also negatively affect the immune system, which can lead to crusts.

How is seborrheic dermatitis determined?

Only a specialist can make an accurate diagnosis. A dermatologist, by comparing all the signs, is able to distinguish the pathology from ringworm, psoriasis, and an infectious skin disease. The diagnosis is made by external examination and based on test results.

The origin of yellow crusts on a baby’s head is determined using a skin biopsy, mycological examination of scales and a study of the baby’s hormonal status.

What treatment is given

Yellow crusts on a baby's head do not pose a threat to the baby's life. Treatment of seborrhea does not require the use of serious medications; it can disappear from the skin on its own over time. To quickly get rid of unpleasant seborrhea, in many cases, pediatricians recommend taking the following measures:

Lubricate the crusts on the head, neck and eyebrows with oil. To do this, you can use the following types: peach, almond or olive. The product can be purchased in bottles or as a spray.
You can use various cleansing creams and emulsions to treat rashes. Under their influence, the crusts soften, but it is not recommended to comb them out; it is enough to wash the child’s hair thoroughly. And remove the remains by hand. In addition, cosmetic products contain substances that regulate the functioning of the sebaceous glands. The increased secretion of sebum gradually decreases, and crusts do not form. It is best to apply the product at night and carefully remove the scales in the morning.
You can wash the baby's head with antiseborrheic shampoos. They are applied to damp hair and rubbed until foam forms. After holding for 5 minutes, the shampoo is washed off. There are several types of remedies; your pediatrician will help you choose the most effective one.
Mothers can use dermatological creams. They are applied to the child’s scalp twice a day without rinsing off. Creams are effective against microbes and can quickly restore the functioning of the sebaceous glands.

Any of the listed remedies should be used only after it has been prescribed by a specialist, but not more than 2 times a day. In addition to medications, you can get rid of yellow crusts on a baby’s head using traditional medicine. There are gentle and proven methods.

Traditional medicine

How to remove yellow crusts from a baby's head? The main method of treatment includes the use of various oils: sea buckthorn, sunflower or olive. They are able to soften the scales, which will allow mom to easily remove them. The treatment process goes as follows:

The affected area is generously lubricated with oil and left for 20 minutes. Before the session, you should not moisturize your baby's hair.
In order for the crusts to soften well, you need to put a hat on the baby’s head.
Using a soft brush, parents carefully remove the crusts from the head.
The baby's hair is washed with shampoo to remove any remaining oil.
If after this the scales remain on the scalp, they are passed over them again.

The same method will help remove crusts on the eyebrows and behind the ears. Parents should monitor the effect of the cream or shampoo. If an allergic reaction occurs, use of this product should be discontinued.

What not to do

If parents find yellow crusts on the child’s head, then it is prohibited to rip them off from dry skin. This will lead to the appearance of new scales.

Also, this method of getting rid of crusts can lead to wounds on the head. This leads to infection and worsening of the condition.

What complications can seborrhea cause?

Complications can appear under the influence of the following negative factors: improper care, unbalanced nutrition or dry skin. Only in such cases do yellow crusts on the baby’s head represent a depressing condition. Negative consequences include:

Increase in the area affected by scales. They can occupy other parts of the body and cause itching and redness. Sometimes atopic dermatitis develops with an existing hereditary predisposition.
Through wounds or abrasions in the area of seborrhea, the skin can become infected with streptococci and staphylococci, which leads to suppuration.

If such symptoms occur, the baby must be urgently shown to a specialist. Indeed, in such a situation, more serious treatment will be needed.

Prevention measures

If the problem is successfully resolved, mothers look for solutions that can prevent its recurrence in the future. Dr. Komarovsky suggests that women during lactation eat properly, reducing the amount of fats and carbohydrates in the diet. After all, this directly affects the fat content of milk.

Other preventive measures include:

Maintaining the required air humidity in the room.
Using moisturizers after bathing your baby. This will protect the skin from drying out.
If yellow crusts are accompanied by itching and redness, this may indicate an allergy. In such a situation, proper treatment from a specialist will be required.
The baby must be dressed according to the weather, and should not be overly wrapped. If the child's crown and feet are dry, it means he is dressed correctly.

These measures are relevant not only during the treatment of crusts, but also after getting rid of them.

Conclusion

If the baby has yellow crusts on his head, the mother should not be upset. They are completely harmless and can be treated with simple remedies.