Seborrhea, also known as seborrhea dermatitis is actually an inflammation of the skin and is characterized by redness and itching of the skin accompanied by flakiness. It affects the area of the body that have sebaceous glands.
Seborrhea frequently occurs around the scalp, eyebrow area and around the folds of the nose. Dandruff is actually the mildest form of seborrheic dermatitis.
What Causes Seborrhea?
A type of yeast called Pityrosporum ovalehas an affinity for these glands and may sometimes be the cause, but this has not been proven yet. It is believed that the build-up of yeast in these glands causes the skin to get irritated and causes the redness and flaking that characterizes Seborrhea.
Seasonal temperature and environmental changes, stress, and immuno-suppression all seem to affect seborrheic dermatitis.
Who Gets Seborrhea?
Seborrhea is known to be more common in men than in women and affects about 3 percent of the general population.
It also occurs more commonly in older people who are bedridden or have neurologic conditions such as Parkinson’s disease.
Seborrhea affects almost 85 percent of people with the AIDS virus.
Treatment of Seborrhea
People with seborrhea may experience a waxing and waning course with this skin condition. Meaning it cannot be completely cured but it can be controlled with proper maintenance and hygiene.
Frequent washing of the area or the hair is an important factor in controlling this condition.
Exposure to sun is also helpful as it inhibits the growth of the yeast Pityrosporum ovalehas.
Topical shampoos and treatments should also be used at least 2-3 times a week on the scalp, and can also be used on the face and body as long as follow the same instructions that are given for the scalp, making sure it does not get into the eyes.
The main shampoos are selenium sulfide found in Selsun, pyrithione zinc found in Head & Shoulders and Sebulon, coal tar found in Sebutone and Tegrin, and finally ketoconazole found in Nizoral.