Seborrheic Dermatitis Treatment Piedmont SC

Seborrheic Dermatitis

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by Dan Lukaczer, ND

Q My son is 17 and has been troubled with a scalp condition since childhood. It looks like cradle cap but never goes away. What can I do?

A What you describe sounds like seborrheic dermatitis. Cradle cap is, in effect, the infant form of this condition, and it generally disappears after infancy. Adult seborrheic dermatitis can be a chronic condition, as your son is finding out. The hallmark is a dry, itchy scalp, typically with flaky “scales.”

Various reports indicate that eliminating food allergens or supplementing with high doses of B vitamins might help. Unfortunately, these reports are quite old and there is little recent research to support or refute their claims. You can try eliminating common food allergens such as wheat and dairy for three weeks and see if the condition improves. If it does, continue to stay away from those foods; if not, you’ve lost nothing. The same is true for the B vitamins. I suggest 250 to 500 mcg of B12, and 1 to 2 mg of biotin and folic acid. Try them and see if they have any effect. They are inexpensive, nontoxic and very important for other areas of health.

More recently, scientists found that infants with cradle cap appear to have an imbalance of essential fatty acids in their blood that returns to normal when their cradle cap resolves. In a preliminary trial, topical applications of borage oil (which contains the omega-6 gamma linoleic acid) twice daily to the affected area resulted in clinical improvement within two weeks. A later test, however, did not completely confirm borage oil’s proposed effect. As a practical measure, topical borage oil seems like an easy option to try.

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