Seborrhoeic Dermatitis

Yeast and caffeine seems to be the biggest culprits, although yet to be proven. Lots of wheat products use yeast i.e. cakes, pastries, doughnuts etc. Try to avoid them for a week or so and see if that helps.  Also, try to increase antifungal consumption in its natural form i.e. more garlic , turmeric and ginger in your meals. Drink lots of water. Goodluck!

Does anyone know if this condition can be cured or is it for life, also has anyone ever sufferred fom this condition and then it just vanished never to return. I hate having SD

I'm a 38 year old male.  My SD was getting slowly worse over the years and had spread to my cheeks, inner ears, sideburns, chin, and finally eyebrows before I'd had enough. It was driving me crazy.  I tried a lot of methods, most of which are outlined by others here. I did an elimination diet for a month and nothing seemed to be the trigger, including oils, fats, nuts, etc.

The only thing that has worked for me is Ketoconazole 2% shampoo. I use it every other day or so on the affected areas of my face, hair, etc.  From researching, apparently this kills off alot of the yeast (possibly Malassezia) that cause the reaction and inflammation. For me it's taken the flare-ups from almost constant down to almost non-existent. 

Hi, i know where you are coming from i suffer from SD as well and it is horrible. I have had it a few years now and when i get a flare up on my face i feel like i dont want to leave the house. What have you found works best on your face?

I have been suffering with this condition for 20 years, my face was just like that in the photo in the article above. For several years now I have been controlling it with Selsun Blue. It wasn't perfect but it sure did help. You can imagine, I was horror struck when Selsun Blue was no longer available in the UK. However I stumbled across an article by a doctor on the internet and I now no longer suffer from this condition, my face is now completely clear.

I'm sorry I did not take a note of the web page, and what he said flew in the face of all other advice, but having suffered for so long I opted to give it a try. Basically he said the condition was caused by a yeast fungus which gets out of control in people with oily skin ( I certainly fitted into that category). He suggested controlling the fungus by thoroughly lathering the face with soap to remove the oils carrying the fungus. Now this is not as daft as it sounds. I had been using the mildest soaps, yet would leave the Selsun Blue lather on my face for 3 minutes as suggested. 

So, this is what I did. I had been using cold water to wash my face for some time now and continued just the same, although whether that is necessary I don't know. To ensure that I was thoroughly removing as much fungus as possible I would get a good lather and wash my face (I used Pears soap but again I suspect any soap would have done). After rinsing I would repeat the same process. My skin was so clean my hands would almost stick to my face on the second rinse. I would then apply a moisturiser, although again I don't know if that is necessary, it just seems to make sense.

I now double wash my face morning and night, every single day. I started doing this 5 months ago (July 2014). The improvement was almost instantaneous - days rather than weeks and I have not suffered a single recurrence since (now Jan 2015). That has been a real surprise to me as, in the past, it had always been worst with the onset of Autumn/Winter.

I was initially really reluctant to use so much soap on my face. But my complexion is now fantastic again. It worked for me. After suffering so long I wanted to share my experience in the hope of saving others struggling on with this embarrassing condition. You must decide for yourself whether to give it a try. If you do try it, please remember to post feedback.

Good luck

Hello.

I am 19 and have had SD for about three to four years now. When my condition first started to appear I was at school and was bullied because of what I thought was dandroff and this put be off going into school. When the SD started to affect areas aroud my nose and eye brows, I became even more self concous I was a young 15 year old girl with a skin condition I know nothing about or had diagnoised.

Now I use TRESemmé Renewal Hair and Scalp Shampoo (best to get this shampoo and conditioner in either Boots or Savers)which smells amazinng and helps stop the SD affecting my scalp and made my hair look so much better, whereas the shampoo the doctor gave me dried out my hair and smelt so bad. As for my face I do use a cream regually, but also I have found in the last few months since drinking plenty of water and using my nutribullet, I don't need to use the cream so much. 

I hope this helped. Btw if you where make up, I wouldn't recommend using foundation as I found that foundation makes my skin greasy and the SD accorres more fequently.

Sounds just like I suffered. I am 35 years old and have suffered with SD for 12 years. Have tried so many different things. I tried my baby's cradle cap shampoo (dentinox) 6 months ago as a face wash and haven't had a flare up since!! It may not be advised to use on face but I figured if it's OK for a new born baby's head I'd give it a go. I would have tried anything. It has worked wonders for me. I also use boots dermalex cream for eczema as a moisturiser but have used that for years, it doesn't irritate but wasn't enough on its own. Just wanted to share in case it helped.

Feedback: I have had seborrhoeic-dermatitis for the last 20+years. I was given cortisone cream to use sparingly. It didn't work for me. At times trying to get rid of rash and flaky skin my face would end up almost raw. I then read somewhere that COAL TAR SOAP was good for this condition. I have used the soap, applied with wet cosmetic pads and rinsed off with pads. The flakes came off right away with little to no effort. My face and hairline has never been so clear. This is a cheap and effective solution and really worth a try. Good Luck. 

Hi Guys. I don't normally do this kind of thing but after reading some of the posts I felt compelled to help and share my experience of how I CURED my S.D.

I'm a 32 year old Irish Stud (joke). In 2011 I developed a small spot underneath my right eye. Little red patch and would come and go. I took no notice. I returned to Ireland after 6 years in Sydney and in 2012 my S.D. had spread to about a 50cent coin size of bright red flaky skin under both eyes, one on my cheek and another on my chin.

Like you guys I tried everything and anything and couldn't figure out WTF this was. My G.P. gave me steroidal cream (daktocort) twice to apply. No good. I then went to him the third time and he suggested that I should try some Daktocort I said enough of this clown.

A doctor in my neighbouring town was known to be a good dermatologist so I gave him a visit. Told him my whole story and I was ecstatic he gave me a cream that he claimed would sort it out. No good. I discovered a few days later this cream was a generic version of Daktocort. (I'm a clown).

I know it had to be something I’m eating or allergic to so I bit the bullet and booked an appointment with a specialist doctor who deals with allergy and skin conditions. He was expensive (150euros) but I was willing to pay anything to get rid of these blotches on my face!

So I walk into his office. "Hi Sean. You have some allergies do you". Me- "I don’t know. I'm mainly here to fix this", pointing at my facial rash. "Ah yes, that’s no problem, that’s seborrheic dermatitis, we can fix that easy".

I was elated. He did a skin test anyway which turned out to be very helpful as it showed I was actually 80% allergic to Cow’s milk. That would explain why any night I would have a glass of milk with dinner, I would wake up with a hangover the next day. Cow’s milk is for baby calves not humans!!!

I have yet to find what this legend of a man gave me to fix my S.D. on any thread on the interweb! 

NYSTATIN POWDER. It’s a disgusting tasting powder that you mix with a bit of food or water. He explained that I had a fungal imbalance in my gut and that what caused my S.D. Nystatin attacks the fungus in your gut. Your body can’t digest nystatin. It passes through but on the way upsets the fungus.

He also gave me a "gut fermentation" diet to follow for a month. Basically no sugar or simple carbs. Could still eat rice and potatoes which was a bonus being Irish!!!!!!! Also take a probiotic everyday to help my gut bacteria.

I went home and started taking the powder as directed. Tip of a spoon for 3 days, half a spoon for 3 days and work up to a full tea spoon. I never did the diet.

I never to this day took even half a spoon. A small amount of this stuff and within 3-4 days people were giving me compliments on how well I looked. I was completely free of S.D. and dandruff.

Every now and then it would reoccur as I would eat a lot of sugar and I never followed his advice and did the diet for a month to balance my gut flora but the powder did the trick every time.

P.S.

I watched a doc called "fat sick and nearly dead". It's on YouTube. I recommend it. It’s funny and very informative. About a guy with horrible skin conditions, diabetes and weight problems who went on a diet of just fresh veg and fruit juice daily for 3 months. He was cured of all conditions and off all medication after 2 months and lost a shed load of weight. I did this for 10 days before I discovered Nystatin and it was the only thing that cured my S.D. but it is very severe. Who wants to live their life not eating and drinking just green juice?

I'm waffling. I hope this helped someone and would love to hear back.

Good Luck.

X.

Hi have you spoken to doctor 1st do some tests to why etc try that 1st

Be very careful of irritation to the nose area, staff infections like cellulitis are very serious. Try using Manuka Honey soap, if you can find it with oatmeal even better. Also put a think ointment on to guard from infection. I have had this all over my body for 45 years. Unfortunately cortisone is the only thing that clears it up for me. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.