An infant with Cradle Cap

Close up image of Cradle Cap

Cradle Cap (Infantile seborrhoeic dermatitis, or crusta lactea, milk crust, honeycomb disease; croûte de lait, eczéma infantile, dermatite atopique infantile (French); ne shqip njihet si - rrjebull ose rrjebulla (Albanian); crosta lattea (Italian); and σμηγματόρροια του τριχωτού της κεφαλής των νεογνών (Greek)) is a patchy, greasy, scaly and crusty skin rash that occurs on the scalp of recently born babies. Cradle cap can occur in any baby, and most commonly begins sometime in the first 3 months. The same rash is often prominent around the ear or the eyebrows. It may appear in other locations as well, where it is called seborrheic dermatitis rather than cradle cap. The following codes are used with International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Baby_With_Cradle_Cap. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Baby_With_Cradle_Cap. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Cradle_Cap_Detail. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Cradle_Cap_Detail. ... A close-up of human skin. ... A typical rash A rash is a change in the skin which affects its appearance or texture. ... The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the face anteriorly and the neck to the sides and posteriorly. ... Seborrhoeic dermatitis is a skin disorder affecting the scalp, face and trunk causing scaly, flaky, itchy, red skin. ...

Causes

The cause of cradle cap is not clearly defined but it is not caused by an infection, allergy or from poor hygiene. Possibly it has to do with overactive sebaceous glands in the skin of newborn babies, due to the mother's hormones still in the baby's circulation. The glands release a greasy substance that makes old skin cells attach to the scalp as they try to dry and fall off. There may be a relationship with skin yeasts (malassezia). An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. ... A gland is an organ in an animals body that synthesizes a substance for release such as hormones, often into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). ... Look up mother in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hormone is also the NATO reporting name for the Soviet/Russian Kamov Ka-25 military helicopter. ... Human circulatory system. ... This article is about skin in the biological sense. ...

Treatment

A small amount of oil will soften the scales. Olive oil is often recommended, but some doctors discourage this, as it may lead to yeast infections. Mineral oil or baby oil can also be used. After several minutes / hours they can be brushed away with a soft brush or cloth. In her book, Dr. Miriam Stoppard also advises washing the baby's hair regularly with a mild baby shampoo. In severe cases some doctors recommend use of dandruff shampoo. A bottle of olive oil. ... Miriam Stoppard (nee Miriam Moore-Robinson) is a British physician, author, television presenter and agony aunt. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

External links

• DermNet NZ
• NIH/Medline
• BBC