Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

My DS will be 5 weeks on Wednesday and for the past 3-4 days he has had horrible small red bumps on the side of his face, some in his hair line, and a few on his cheeks and eye area. It seems to get worse every day. He also has some dandruff and yellow dry patches above his eye brows. I spoke to the ped today and he said it sounds like cradle cap or perhaps baby acne and I should keep his face clean but leave it alone otherwise. If he seems to be scratching or rubbing it excessively, the dr. said I should use a mild hydro cortizone cream. He said this was totally normal and should go away soon enough.

I am a FTM so I am probably overly paranoid but I just think it looks so bad! At what point does it go from being normal acne to something worse like a rash or allergic reaction? If it is purely a cosmetic issue I am fine with that but I worry that it could be something worse and I am neglecting him by not treating it. Any advice or experience with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Re: Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

aquaphor in my house is the equavalent of windex in 'my big fat greek wedding' it works for EVERYTHING

Sean a pretty severe case of cradle cap, but that was my fault b/c I wasn't scrubbing his head enought when washing his hair ........i was so afraid to hurt him that I wasn't scrubbing at all ........I used baby oil and a very fine tooth comb to soften it and comb it out ........did that repeatedly for a few days - hydrated his skin and scalp, removed the flaking skin - and it was fine after that.

any time they get a bit of acne or a dry patch, the aquaphor is my BFF - again, hydrates for them so they aren't uncomfortable, heals it, and it's safe to use on ther face.........

Re: Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

My DS has baby acne and eczema. I use aquaphor on the baby acne or leave it alone. It was the worst at about 4-6 weeks and he will get small spots now and then.

His head is really dry and the Dr said either leave it alone or put baby oil on it and then use a small tooth comb.

Re: Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

As the PP said, I also used baby oil and a fine tooth comb and combed out all the nasty flakes. It took a while but worked in one treatment!! I also use Mustela shampoo and brush his head before rinsing.
Good luck!

Message edited 4/23/2012 3:27:54 PM.

Re: Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

My DS had cradle cap and I used "little remedies" cradle cap lotion, it definitely helps but I had to use it twice a day. He also has eczema and for that i use "triple paste" eczema cream, he still has that and if I use it twice a day, it usually keeps it under control

Re: Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

Aquaphore for acne
Baby oil and comb for cradle cap.

Both worked great!

Re: Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

our Ped told us to use head and shoulders, scrub it in good and for added help, olive oil and fine tooth comb beforehand. We did..no more cradle cap.

We also use aquaphor around the scalp and eyebrows everyday- helps alot!

Re: Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

My ds has cradle cap and had baby acne. The cradle cap my dr said just to use a little baby oil and comb. For the baby acne my ds had it very bad, dr said i could use a 1% hydrocortisone cream and this has helped alot!!!

Re: Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

My little guy had horrible acne. The ped said it could be a sign of a milk allergy and to keep and eye on it. If it started to spread down his neck and shoulders, which it did.
We switched formula to Nutramigen (He did also have spit up issues) and within a week or so it cleared up. Now at 10 months old, he definitely has a milk allergy. We tried yogurt and he broke out in hives.

Re: Did you LO have severe baby acne or cradle cap?

DS has acne right now pretty bad so I feel your pain. I have seen this with other babies in the family at this age so it was one less thing to worry about, I am going to try the Aquaphor.