Dr Bernadette Carr answers your questions on cradle cap and elbow pain

Dr Bernadette Carr answers your questions about dealing with cradle cap and injuries from playing sport regularly.

Q. My four-month-old son still has cradle cap. What lotion, shampoo or treatment would you recommend I use?

A. Cradle cap (seborrheic dermatitis) is very often seen in young babies and it is normal for it to persist in the first six months of life.

It causes a scaly yellow covering on the scalp and it is a very common and harmless condition in young babies.

The condition may persist or develop in the first 12 months of life also and sometimes adults will present with the same symptoms and it can be triggered at the time of puberty.

If it occurs at puberty or in adults it may occur more commonly with an associated rash on the face and body as well as the scalp.

Cradle cap may be triggered by a yeast infection of the skin which causes a reaction in the sweat glands of the scalp causing them to be over active.

This will present as scaling and a yellow crust. Some babies will also develop a reddish rash as well as the cradle cap around the area.

Cradle cap will most often resolve on its own without the need for any specific treatment. It is not serious or painful and generally requires no action.

Regular scalp washing and gentle massage or brushing away of the scale may help to loosen the scale and improve the appearance. It can be useful to soften the scale before bathing the scalp using baby oil or a moisturising ointment.

In very severe cases sometimes your doctor can prescribe an antifungal antidandruff shampoo, however, in the vast majority of cases the cradle cap will disappear with time and there will be no recurrence so this will not be necessary.

Q. My 50-year-old husband has been complaining of pain in his right elbow for the last few weeks.

He plays golf regularly but doesn’t recall hitting it against anything. Should he have an X-ray?

A. Playing sport regularly such as tennis or golf can place particular strain on the tendon (which attaches muscle to bone) in the elbow due to repetitive overuse, similarly repeated heavy lifting or taking up new exercise, weight programmes or DIY can also cause these symptoms.

The tendon in the elbow will become stressed, inflamed and painful.

Tennis elbow occurs at the outside of the elbow joint while Golfer’s elbow occurs at the inside.

This injury occurs most commonly in people in their 40s or 50s and affects both men and women to the same extent.

The common presentation is pain and tenderness at the side of the elbow which will be sore to touch and on movement and may be worse when gripping items tightly.

Pain usually comes on gradually and there is usually no history of a trauma.

An x-ray is not usually necessary to diagnose these injuries; however, it may be used if the diagnosis is uncertain or if something else is considered more likely.

Pain will generally settle over time (generally over a matter of weeks to months).

It is a good idea to change the activities you are performing which aggravate the symptoms by resting and avoiding any activities which worsen symptoms during the time of pain to allow the tendon time to heal and return to activity gradually.

Anti inflammatory pain killers or paracetamol can also be helpful in reducing the pain and symptoms as well as icing when it is in its early stage.

In some cases rehab exercises may be suggested to strengthen the muscles in the forearm and improve flexibility, sometimes physiotherapy sessions can be helpful and it may be recommended to perform massage to the area and help with performing these stretching exercises and overall rehabilitation.