My DS's head smells like stinky feet...

sourpatchkids

My DS's scalp is a bit flaky, dry, and smells like stinky feet. When he was about 2 weeks old, his entire scalp peeled off...I guess it was cradle cap? I don't know. It only lasted a few days.

His lymph nodes in the back of his head/neck are swollen and pedi said it is probably due to some type of irritation to his scalp...so I'm assuming that the stinky smell correlates to that. BUT I didn't notice that his scalp smelled this way until yesterday. 

What is going on here?

ETA: I bathe him every night and use soap every other night. However, I have been washing his hair every night because he has a lot of hair and when I try washing it every other night it gets extremely greasy.

susan1017

Does DS still have flakes on his scalp? My DS has terrible cradle cap and he smells like a ripe Provolone cheese. We have been lovingly calling him cheese-head when he needs a bath.

We are using Aquaphor on the scalp and letting it absorb overnight. In the morning I lift the flakes with a baby hair brush and then wash his hair with special cradle cap shampoo and then do the process over starting at night with the aquaphor.  It seems to be helping the scalp but his hair is a greasy mess. He is not so stinky now so I guess its a trade off.

Good luck! 

sourpatchkids

susan1017:

Does DS still have flakes on his scalp? My DS has terrible cradle cap and he smells like a ripe Provolone cheese. We have been lovingly calling him cheese-head when he needs a bath.

We are using Aquaphor on the scalp and letting it absorb overnight. In the morning I lift the flakes with a baby hair brush and then wash his hair with special cradle cap shampoo and then do the process over starting at night with the aquaphor.  It seems to be helping the scalp but his hair is a greasy mess. He is not so stinky now so I guess its a trade off.

Good luck! 

His scalp is dryish looking and flaky. You can't even tell it is until you look in direct sunlight and move his hair. So maybe it is just a mild case of cradle cap? I might try putting lotion on his head at night. I have cetaphil - will that work jsut as well?

susan1017

sourpatchkids:

susan1017:

Does DS still have flakes on his scalp? My DS has terrible cradle cap and he smells like a ripe Provolone cheese. We have been lovingly calling him cheese-head when he needs a bath.

We are using Aquaphor on the scalp and letting it absorb overnight. In the morning I lift the flakes with a baby hair brush and then wash his hair with special cradle cap shampoo and then do the process over starting at night with the aquaphor.  It seems to be helping the scalp but his hair is a greasy mess. He is not so stinky now so I guess its a trade off.

Good luck! 

His scalp is dryish looking and flaky. You can't even tell it is until you look in direct sunlight and move his hair. So maybe it is just a mild case of cradle cap? I might try putting lotion on his head at night. I have cetaphil - will that work jsut as well?

Not really. You need an emollient like Vaseline or Aquaphor. Either works and the Vaseline is not as goopy as Aquaphor. My DS has hard yellow flakes so I am using the Aquaphor for slower absorption. I tried baby oil but my pediatrician said he was too far gone for that and even told me to try Selsum Blue every other day.

Your son's sound much more mild so maybe try the baby oil and then go to Vaseline if that doesn't work? My DD had it bad too and she STILL has issues with Excema so I am hoping this is NOT a sign!

Swoop1

My pediatrician has always recommended baby oil on the scalp 30 minutes before bath time and then massaging it out with a baby brush and shampoo, every night. It worked for my boys. Good luck. 

sourpatchkids

Ok, thanks ladies. Ya, he maybe has 1 or 2 yellow flakes on his entire scalp, but he mainly has white flakiness going on. I will do the baby oil treatment and see if that starts to help!