Cradle cap

Cradle cap is the colloquial name for the crusty rash on the face and scalp in the first manifestation of atopic dermatitis (eczema ) in infancy. The term cradle cap goes on the similarity of the lesions with " in the pot burnt - encrusted milk " and do not mean that the intolerance to milk is the cause.

Symptoms and course

Atopic dermatitis of infancy rarely appears before the third month of life and is usually located symmetrically at the apex and on the cheeks. The acute inflammation leads to ill-defined, intense itching redness of the skin with blisters and then changes into yellow crust deposits. This exudative lesions may also be extended to the trunk and extremities and remain for several months made ​​up for about two years and then heal. or lead into the chronic inflammatory form of atopic eczema

Differential Diagnosis

Cradle cap has external resemblance to the so-called head gneiss is often confused with this and not only by laymen often equated (see Table: Classification according to ICD -10). Both lesions are indeed typical infant eczema ( Eccema infantum ), they are however fundamentally different diseases based on: Cradle cap is the first manifestation of atopic eczema in infancy, head gneiss, however, is an expression of seborrhoeic dermatitis of type I ( infantile seborrheic dermatitis), as a result of excessive production of sebum. The distinguishing criteria are compared in the following table: