10 month pulling own hair and scratching own head

[cdubb16]

My 10 month old son has a recently developed habit of scratching the back of his head and pulling his hair.  It seems to be when he is  tired or stressed out for some reason, but it still is bothersome.  He has actual scratches on the back of his head.  We're making sure to keep his nails short to minimize this as much as possible.  I read something on Dr. Sears that sometimes infants/toddlers develop this habit as a form of self soothing and it usually passes with time and it is best to just ignore the behavior, but it is difficult to do.  It also seems to come at a time that he has developed sleep difficulties.  He's always been a good sleeper and able to get himself to sleep, but the last 2 weeks, he's had difficulties.  I don't know if they are 2 separate issues, or if they are related somehow.  

Anybody have experiences with anything like this?

[zeynep]

Dear cdubb16,

I have read about your atrophy after the cortisone injection. I have the exact same problem and been to many doctors and I still have no idea why this left a dimple on mine. So did the saline injections worked for you? I have been getting some temporary injections to fill it up but they work for 3 weeks max. Any new info will be appreciated. Thank you

[MandaP00]

Does he do it all day or just when he's ready for a nap?
Have you asked his doctor?

My daughter didn't scratch, but she would pull her hair when she got sleepy.  I would rock her & she would be almost asleep, then start pulling her hair.  Of course it would wake her up & she would look at me like I did it.  She then moved on to holding & tugging at my hair to get her to go to sleep.  I have a very sensitive head & decided that I couldn't take it anymore.  SO...I got her a soft blanket that was always with us when we rocked.  She would reach for my hair & I'd gently wrap her little hand around the blanket.  It didn't take long & she would reach for the blanket to hold & scrunch her little fingers on.  Don't know if it would help, but maybe gently distract him w/ something else.  Especially if he's doing it to sooth himself.  Maybe a stuffed toy...
Wish I had a better answer for ya!
Good luck!