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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Large Sores On Scalp?
daycarediva 05:08 PM 08-29-2012
My dcg (almost 9 has large patches of clustered, scaly sores on her head/scalp. She has been itching this week and Mom told me it was really bad dandruff, possile psoriasis when I mentioned it Monday, I checked her for lice and it looked like the worst dandruff I have ever seen. Today dc asked me to put her hair up. It was DISGUSTING. There are spots that she has picked so raw they are bleeding and crusted over. This is since Monday! I asked if she was scheduling or even calling the pediatrician and she said Oh no, I bought her some dandruff shampoo. I am really grossed out by this, and I REALLY think she needs to be seen. She was laying on the throw pillows and left a noticeable amount of this stuff behind!
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familyschoolcare 05:12 PM 08-29-2012
She does need to be seen one time my sister had what my mom thought was dandruff untill my dad took her to the doctor and she had some kind of fungas that was causeing the dandruff
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itlw8 05:43 PM 08-29-2012
dgd got some sort of fungus this summer she was put on an oral med for a couple of months this summer

could even be impitigo I would insist she be seen before she comes back.
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Crystal 06:08 PM 08-29-2012
I would DEMAND that she see a doctor. Regardless of what it is, it is not healthy for the other children in your care to be exposed to excessive amounts of shedding skin, open wounds or blood. No ifs, and or buts....cannot return to care without a note, and then it is at YOUR discretion if she can stay.
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Kaddidle Care 06:19 PM 08-29-2012
I agree with Crystal - she should see a Dr. or Dermatologist. If it is psoriasis, normal dandruff shampoo isn't the answer. I have a friend that has psoriasis and she uses the Neutragena T-gel several times a week to keep it in check as well as special shampoo that the dermatologist prescribes.

The child is suffering if she is scratching to the point of developing sores like that. She needs medical help.
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Mom&Provider 06:29 PM 08-29-2012
I agree with the others, she needs to be seen and I'd want a Dr's note!

Poor girl...to be itching like that it muct bother her alot! It always amazes me that some parents think they have everything all sorted out even when their child is clearly not well in one way or another!?
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youretooloud 06:34 PM 08-29-2012
Two daycare girls (sisters) got something like that three summers ago. The youngest lost every single hair on her head. It didn't grow back for over a year. The three year old lost a lot of hair.

They were both on antibiotics for a long time, and had to use two different prescription shampoos...one to clean all the scales off for the first month, then another for a few months after that.

The first shampoo looked like Selsun Blue that you can buy in the store. But, I would demand they go to a dermatologist.
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Crystal 06:39 PM 08-29-2012
Is this only on her head?
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sharlan 06:41 PM 08-29-2012
My niece developed a yeast infection on her scalp at birth. She ended up with big sores. My sister had to use a special shampoo and ointment on her.
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spud912 06:45 PM 08-29-2012
I have psoriasis and it generally affects hands (like the palms) and elbows/knees, but it can spread to other areas if unchecked. Has she had this for awhile and is it anywhere else on her body? It sounds more like a fungal infection. I second going to a doctor or dermatologist.
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daycarediva 04:48 AM 08-30-2012
No other areas of her body are affected. Her mother pretty much refused to make an appt and miss work to take her to the doctors for 'dandruff'. I may call my health plan consultant and have her make a visit and then tell dcg's Mom that they recommend it since apparantly my concerns aren't valid.
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countrymom 04:49 AM 08-30-2012
is she also stressed about something, does she wear hats too.
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countrymom 04:50 AM 08-30-2012
Originally Posted by daycarediva:
No other areas of her body are affected. Her mother pretty much refused to make an appt and miss work to take her to the doctors for 'dandruff'. I may call my health plan consultant and have her make a visit and then tell dcg's Mom that they recommend it since apparantly my concerns aren't valid.
Yes!! do this, I wish we had one.
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Snapdragon 05:11 AM 08-30-2012
Agree with what other posters have said. Aside from the fact that this poor dck is suffering from the itchiness, it probably won't clear up on its own. My dd had very large patches of dandruff that no regular or dandruff shampoo cleared up; turned out to be a form of ecxema. The doctor prescribed a special medicated shampoo that she has to use every now and then if it starts up again.
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NiNi.R. 06:23 AM 08-30-2012
One day when I was putting my daughter's hair up in a pony tail I noticed a spot that I thought was a mosquito bite that had got infected and crusted over. That is until more of them started showing up on her.

I took her to the doc and he gave her a cream for impetigo. This stopped the growth and spreading but didn't make them go away so he ended up having to give her an antibiotic.

Such a shame this mom is acting this way
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Crystal 06:50 AM 08-30-2012
Originally Posted by daycarediva:
No other areas of her body are affected. Her mother pretty much refused to make an appt and miss work to take her to the doctors for 'dandruff'. I may call my health plan consultant and have her make a visit and then tell dcg's Mom that they recommend it since apparantly my concerns aren't valid.
I would NOT let it be up to her. I would NOT give her a choice. In fact, I would seriously consider reporting her for neglect. This is not only having serious complications for the child, but is also putting every one in your home at risk. If it is impetigo, or mange, or something of the sort, you risk others catching it and losing other clients for failing to exclude her from care until she has been treated.

This makes me very angry with mom....who lets their child suffer like that????
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cheerfuldom 07:09 AM 08-30-2012
My youngest had cradle cap REALLY bad....I have seen multiple babies with cradle cap (even older babies) but when it gets really bad.....its like you described, red and crusty and flaky and all of that. So it could be something like this but either way, it has to be addressed. This baby is suffering....my poor little daughter was scratching and uncomfortable constantly.
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Blackcat31 07:19 AM 08-30-2012
Sounds to me like this child has Scalp psoriasis and the patches you are descibing are exactly what psoriasis is. The body produces skin cells quicker than it is shed leading to massive patches of build up.

It isn't contagious and it isn't something you should exclude for. It is itchy, uncomfortable and can bleed and be sore at times. They do make specific shampoos for this as it is NOT dandruff and cannot be treated or cured with dandruff shampoo. They make OTC shampoos as well as presciption ones too, depending on the severity of it.

I would suggest to the mom that if she wants thelp her child out, seeing a dermatologist would be best since her child is at the age where she will start becoming embarrassed by this condition. It can flare up due to weather, other hair products and the foods she eats but unless mom is working super closely with a dermatologist and an allergist, it is almost impossible to narrow down the exact cause of this. It also is often a combination of things.

My youngest brother suffered with Scalp psoriasis from early toddlerhood on. He saw a multitude of specialists and nothing really worked. He is able to control it a lot more now but it doesnt just go away.

http://www.psoriasis.org/page.aspx?pid=442
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Crystal 07:25 AM 08-30-2012
Blackcat...you are right, it COULD be that. But what if it isn't? What if it IS contagious?

Not a chance I would be willing to take. It won't kill Mom to take her child to the doctor to find out.....and regardless of what it is, she needs to see a doctor anyway.
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Country Kids 07:34 AM 08-30-2012
Does this child wash her own hair? My dd had a something like this (not this severe) but I figured out they weren't gettting all the shampoo out when rinsing their hair and it was sticking to their scalp.

Might ask if she does her washes her own hair.
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familyschoolcare 07:43 AM 08-30-2012
what does the school say?
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Blackcat31 07:45 AM 08-30-2012
Originally Posted by Crystal:
Blackcat...you are right, it COULD be that. But what if it isn't? What if it IS contagious?

Not a chance I would be willing to take. It won't kill Mom to take her child to the doctor to find out.....and regardless of what it is, she needs to see a doctor anyway.
Oh, I agree...I definitely think mom should bring the child in to be 100% sure. I kind of wonder what type of parent WOULDN'T want to bring their child in since they are suffering like that?

You are correct too that "what if it isn't psiorasis.." is too big of a possibility that I would make sure she has a written doctors diagnosis before allowing her back in daycare as the group of children's health is much more important than one parents issue with taking a day off to address HER child's needs.
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Willow 08:01 AM 08-30-2012
Originally Posted by Country Kids:
Does this child wash her own hair? My dd had a something like this (not this severe) but I figured out they weren't gettting all the shampoo out when rinsing their hair and it was sticking to their scalp.

Might ask if she does her washes her own hair.

So did my daughter.

She's also 9 and simply wasn't scrubbing her scalp hard enough or rinsing well enough. Add to that we have well water that's iron heavy so when I finally realized what was going on the scaley/soapy patches were near bright orange. Of course I panicked and brought her in.

Doc said it's a pretty common occurrence when kids start becoming more independent with caring for their own bodies. Because she was was becoming more confident in doing her hair on her own and it was summer time I let her. Doc said it doesn't take long for the scalp to build accumulations and start to itch, which leads to scratches. She didn't have many of those but I can see how quickly a deal like that could get out of hand.





OP - I would let mom start with the dandruff shampoo and helping her scrub her head and see if it helps before talking exclusion and demanding doctors notes, but that's just me. You need to decide what YOU'RE most comfortable with though. Go with your gut. If it tells you this is something to be worried about then you need to require mom to take action that'll ease those concerns. Tough beans if that's not the course of action she prefers to take, it's your home, your daycare. The worry wouldn't be worth the stress it would cause holding out if you really think this is an urgent health concern.
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daycarediva 10:51 AM 08-30-2012
I did call my health care consultant and she called me back right away. Nothing is going around, but she said she would give it a week and see if it improves, then require a drs note.

DCG is almost 9, Mom helps her in the shower and she is VERY self conscious about this, she actually mentioned it to me today since she is starting 3rd grade.

She doesn't wear hats, and she does get a bath a few times a week that Mom assists with, and this is brand new. I wonder if psoriasis can just suddenly develop like that?

It looks exactly like this:


which is scalp psoriasis, but again, I didn't think that would develop within a week at her age?
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Willow 11:03 AM 08-30-2012
Yeah that's not dandruff or just from not scrubbing or leaving soap in.

Did your consultant see the picture?


I wouldn't wait. I'd demand mom bring her in TODAY. I would not admit her back until she got a doctors note. That's poor girl.....
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countrymom 11:12 AM 08-30-2012
ewww, you need to tell mom to bring her in and don't let her back until she has a drs note. Its like really bad cradle cap. The poor girl doens't want to go to school like this, can you imagine, all the kids will make fun of her, dont let the kids make fun of her, make her mother take her to the dr.
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Sugar Magnolia 11:23 AM 08-30-2012
In my state, we must send any child home that has "open sores", and if this is bleeding, those would qualify as excludable open wounds.
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Kaddidle Care 11:29 AM 08-30-2012
It looks similar to what I thought was cradle crud that my son gets. His isn't itchy and it doesn't get that bad. When it acts up I use baby oil on his head, let is sit a while and then use the really fine toothed baby comb to remove it. Unfortunately it takes a few shampoos to really get the oil out.

He takes allergy meds a good 6 months out of the year (3-4 months in Spring and 2 months in Fall) and this condition worsens when he's on his meds.

His pediatrician said to try the dandruff shampoo but it didn't do much. I'm also leary of it as it tends to make my head break out when I use it too often.

I've also found that it isn't as bad now that he's washing his hair daily or every other day. I used to think it was dry scalp but nope!
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