Itchy rash under teens hair

My nearly 14 year old daughter has developed a nasty rash on her scalp. She has long hair and she is often scratching her scalp to relieve the itching. She has been trying Fucidin prescribed by her doctor. But now it is spreading to almost a quarter of her head covered by hair. It is nowhere else on her face. The areas treated are going yellow but every time I look there seems to be a new area sometimes red raw. It is very worrying. What else can we try?

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Itchy rashes are most often in the seborrhea family.  This produces scaling and sometimes intense itch, and of course itch sets up a cycle of more scratching and itching.

As an antibiotic, Fucidin would not be expected to help.  Cortisone-cntaining scalp preparations are the mainstay of treatment for this, and there are many safe and effective ones a doctor can prescribe.  My advice is to get a proper diagnosis and appropriate recommendations.

Incidentally, permamanr hair loss os not to be expected after this kind of outbreak, so your daughter needn't worry about that.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff