Natural Ways to Treat Seborrheic Dermatitis

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  1. Pay attention to your skin-care routine! Use medicated anti-dandruff shampoo to wash your hair if seborrheic dermatitis affects your scalp – do it according to the recommended schedule and instructions! If there is no improvement, see a doctor! Your doctor can prescribe shampoo containing different active ingredient.
  2. Over-the-counter antifungal lotions /creams are also available. Depending on the containing active ingredients, you cause use it with /without prescription. Some containing ketoconazole usually can be used without prescription
  3. Since dealing with the urge of scratching can be the most challenging of the problem during flare-up, applying an anti-itch lotion /cream to the affected skin can be so helpful to improve the problem.
  4. And always remember that scratching is not the answer of your itchy skin, instead it can worsen the problem and make your skin itch even more. So avoid it whenever possible!
  5. Be careful in choose soap to wash your body, make sure it is safe enough and will not make your skin dry even more. Dry skin is bad for eczema since can be a starting point for the flare-up to recur. Therefore, it’s much better to avoid harsh soaps! And don’t forget to rinse soap completely off your scalp & body!
  6. Watch on what you wear, choose smooth-textured & loose cotton clothing to make your skin breathe well and keep comfortable! Tight & unfriendly material of clothing can cause skin irritation.
  7. In some cases, mustache or beard can worsen the problem. For this reason, it’s also commonly recommended to shave off mustache /beard if you have seborrheic dermatitis.

Alternative treatments

As mentioned before, an irritation due to overgrowth yeast (Malassezia) may play a key role in causing seborrheic dermatitis in some cases. The overgrowth of this yeast may affect the balance of oils on the skin, particularly for susceptible individuals.

Some studies found (though there is currently nothing that has been proved) that using certain oils that make the skin more supple and softer (such as applying emollients) may help improvement and prevent the flare-up.

Fish oil supplements

Studies found evidence that fish oil supplements (especially those that contain omega-3 fatty acids) may be helpful to help treat and improve this kind of eczema.

However, these supplements can cause some side effects (such as diarrhea, nausea, or burps) in some people. Fortunately, taking about 3 g of fish oil /day is commonly considered safe for most people.

But these supplements should not be taken at high doses. Too much consumption can be potential to affect the ability of blood to clot. And this may increase internal bleeding.

Tea tree oil

In one small research, the natural tea tree oil may work effectively in helping to treat seborrheic dermatitis. However, this study may be still debatable.

And be careful, tea tree oil can trigger an allergic reaction in some people – this may vary from person to person! It may also have an effect in affecting the whole body on certain hormones.

To keep safe, it is always better to see and discus with your healthcare provider /dermatologist for more advice before trying any alternative treatments for seborrheic dermatitis.

Citations /references:

  1. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000963.htm
  2. http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seborrheic-dermatitis/basics/lifestyle-home-remedies/con-20031872

All these citations accessed on April 2014

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