Dry and scaly skin on baby..wht to do?

a few days back, i started using johnson's baby oil on my one month old baby after giving him his daily bath..since then i have noticed tht his skin, specially ard his legs, arms n neck has become very dry..i m using eucerin cream on him in the morning but it is not helping..


he also has a very scaly scalp which doesnt seem to be getting better at all..apart frm being scaly (dandruff), his scalp seems to be oozing something tht dries up to become yellow blobs..


pls tell me wht to do

Dry and scaly skin on baby..wht to do?
the stuff on his head is called cradle cap, its caused by an over production of the oil that coats our hair. there is some over the counter stuff that you can find in the baby section at pretty much any store (walmart, walgreens) the scaly skin might be a reaction to the oil. try switching to another baby lotion. my son had kind of scaly almost gritty feeling skin when he was a baby and the doctor told me that it was baby eczema and to use DOVE soap instead of baby wash
Reply:call the doc ASAP your babys getting dry skin or eczsma and the scalp is cradle cap he has a infection and the oozy stuff is puss...
Reply:My baby is 7 months old and I'm having a really hard time with him skin being so dry too. We just took him to the pediatrician last week and was told to use Vaseline on the hands and Triamcinolone 0.1% on the spots that were extremely dry and scaly. I was then told to use Aveeno 1% Hydrocortisone creme. I have also made an appointment with a dermatologist.
Reply:First of all, a daily bath? For a 4 week old. Stop doing that. Is it hot where you are? If so, then maybe a bath 4 times a week, but if it is cold, then only get his bottom wet to clean with soap, but not his whole body. That is too much. I mean, does he really get THAT dirty? Second, he won't need a cream or anything. It will go away naturally. Third, if his scalp is oozing "stuff", then you need to call the doctor.
Reply:you might look for a hypoallergenic lotion and body wash until you can rule out allergies. Some hypoallergenic lotions that work beautifully for my son are cetaphil and CeraVe...they can both be found at walgreens.
Reply:i agree with another poster. a daily bath is too much. that might be causing the dry skin. but you should ask your doctor. it may be eczema and need a prescription creme.
Reply:-No more baby oil all over the body.


-No more daily baths, every 3rd day is fine. If you start having to do the emergency dunk in the tub because of poopy diaper blow outs more than once a week, it's time to move up a size in diapers. (you'll know, the blowout will happen with every poopy diaper you don't catch right away) Urine is sterile so you can just dry baby and change clothes if he does a golden shower.


-Put a humidifier in babies room (or wherever he sleeps).


-Get an actual baby moisturizer to use once a day on baby if you live in a home with forced air heating or cooling and it's being used right now. If not, use the moisturizer only after the bath.


-Use the baby oil on the scalp - massage a liberal amount onto the cradle cap and let sit for 15-20 minutes then wash out with baby shampoo. Make sure to thoroughly rinse babies hair (use fresh water, not bath water). Brush or rub the cradle cap gently to remove what comes off easily, repeat for each bath (it took 3 times for it to come off my son).





Changes in diet can also cause changes with skin. If you recently switched formula you will just have to give it time to sort itself out. If you are breastfeeding and have an abundance of stored breastmilk you can actually use that as a moisturizer (Grandma's wisdom, didn't get the chance to try that with my guy)





Don't use baby wipes on anything other than the babies bum - different types of skin and the face does not handle baby wipes very well. If you want convenient wipes, find the ones made specifically for baby's face. Learned the hard way (poor guy, I felt so bad that I caused his dry skin on his face)





If you take baby out in the cold (anything below freezing), put some Vaseline on any exposed skin (you only need a very thin layer). It won't hurt them to ingest it (although they will poop good if they get a fair bit) and it will protect skin from wind burn and from drool freezing directly on baby's skin. (I live where the temp can hit -20 with wind chill and we still have to live life, Vaseline is amazing)
Reply:Im going through the EXACT same thing only mines 2 mths old. I will be honest I've tried baby oil, Johnsons baby lotion, Johnsons baby oil, johnsons creamy baby oil, johnsons night time lotion, parents choice baby lotion, aveeno baby lotion, exzema (sp?) baby lotion, Aqauphor, and Lubriderm intense. Plus a humidifier and I cut her baths down to once every three days. The baths helped the minor regular ashy skins areas but the itchy rough scratchy awful places NOTHING is helping and that includes the cradle cap. The best thing Ive done for cradle cap is taking her baby brush and (not using a whole lot a pressure) scrubbing it in the opposite direction of the flakes then dust them off. BUT dont do it to the sore places it makes them bleed. Just leave them alone, my baby's goes away when they heal. God Ive ranted but maybe Ive helped you some. Ive just been VERY stressed about this too and the Dr. wont do anything to help her.