SEBORRHEIC DERMATITIS

To date it is not clear why it occurs. It is believed to be influenced by many factors including increased sebum. The disease is often seen in patients who have a very oily skin. There are certain neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s, where patients tend to have very oily skin; therefore seborrheic dermatitis is more common with these patients. It is also believed that it influences the presence of a fungus called Malassezia, which would explain why patients with seborrheic dermatitis respond to antifungal treatment. Other important factors are environmental and emotional. Often there is an outbreak in times of anxiety and stress, it is also common to improve during summer and get worse in autumn and winter.

In adults a discrete scaly, oily looking eczema will appear on seborrheic areas of the body such as the midface region: forehead, brow area and eyebrows, eyelids, nasal folds, chin and behind the ears. Also in the trunk part of the body lesions are distributed on seborrheic areas such as the presternal region and on the interscapular area of the back. It typically worsens with stress and during winter. It gets better during summer. Often the scalp will produce yellowish scales that are oily to the touch, and can cover a large area of the scalp that many times produces itchiness.

In childhood lesions can occur a few weeks after birth and almost always within the first 6 months of life. When it appears on the scalp it is so-called “cradle cap”. In addition it can also affect the diaper area, neck, armpits and inner thighs. The lesions are red plaques that are especially scaly on the scalp and are oily to the touch. Sometimes these lesions may cause mild to moderate itching. We can also find an infection on these lesions such as on the diaper area where a fungus called Candida develops.