scalp fungus

[Jezanna Gruber]

My 9yo son has a strange scalp condition. Parts of his scalp are very white, and it itches and cracks and can bleed if left too long. I took him to the doctor and they gave us a medicated shampoo, saying it was fungal, it wasn't ring worm, and we would probably only have to use the shampoo a few times. We have done that (used it 4 times) and more than a month later, it still isn't gone.

Natural remedies I have tried besides the shampoo include (all topical): coconut oil with tea tree oil added, Neem oil (which we only used once because he really can't stand the smell), apple cider vinegar rinse after shampooing, baking soda paste allowed to dry then washed off, and homemade kefir allowed to dry then washed off. Each of these things, including the medicated shampoo, has helped, but none of them, including doing one after the other after the other, has made it go away.

I am looking for advice on what else to try topically, and also how this might be related to gut health, and what I can do to improve things from that angle. I have been adding coconut oil to his diet, already.

Thanks!

[Pat Robinson]

Have you tried eliminating dairy?

Any history of antibiotics, steroids?

I'd add Omega 3 and consider black seed oil topically.


Pat

[Jezanna Gruber]

No steroids, but he has had antibiotics a few times: just after birth, as a toddler for ear infection, and a few years ago when he got Lyme.

Eliminating dairy would be a major challenge. Also, his best probiotic is the dairy kefir I make. He takes fish oil for Omega 3 and I add hemp seed to his kefir smoothies which he has daily. I will look for black seed oil.

Thanks, Pat!

[Jezanna Gruber]

After trying many things unsuccessfully, we went back to the doctor who sent us to a pediatric dermatologist, who determined it isn't a fungus at all, but psoriasis. Although he has a yeast/fungus elsewhere on his body, and also eczema.

I'll be around here a lot doing research while we make diet and other changes...