Dandruff: Causes and Treatment

What is dandruff (Seborrheic Dermatitis)?

Dandruff is a common term used for the condition where white-looking skin flakes visibly accumulate and may or may not form a thin layer on the scalp and/or other hairy parts. Technical term used for this condition is seborrheic dermatitis. Dandruff is neither contagious nor life threatening but is annoyingly itchy and bothersome. It may be persistent or may keep coming and going. It can occur in all ages and both males and females but is commonly found in age above 10-12 years.

Causes of dandruff

The skin of a healthy person continuously keeps shedding dead cells. Under certain conditions the sebaceous glands become overactive and start shedding more cells that stick to the skin rather than clearing off but why this happens is not known with certainty. There are different views about it. Some of those are:

• Dandruff occurs when sebaceous glands produce more oil than normal that keeps the dead cells sticking to the skin.
• Some people feel that it is caused by yeast fungus called Pityrosporum ovale but many do not agree with it.
• Some people attribute it to bad hygiene, hormonal changes, emotional stress, sensitivity of the skin, some kind of allergy, heredity predisposition, excessive use of hair sprays, use of low quality shampoos, unsuitable weather conditions or improper nutrition. There may be more views.
• Another point of view is that dandruff is caused by psoriasis, which does not sound correct. Dandruff may be a mild form of psoriasis but is not caused by psoriasis.

There is a possibility that dandruff is caused by improper nutrition in most of the cases, which may be further aggravated by too warm water frequently used for bathing and certain weather conditions. These three factors put together disturb the functioning of sebaceous glands, which in turn causes dandruff. I do not believe it to be hereditary.

Common symptoms that may be found along with dandruff include sensitivity to cold, general lethargy, hypotension, subnormal body temperature and history of improper nutrition.

Treatment of dandruff

Dandruff is a curable condition but many people think that since exact cause of dandruff is not known, it cannot be treated successfully and permanently. They mostly recommend products for external use like shampoos and moisturizers etc. but the fact is that moisturizers do not help and neither do the shampoos. Whatever relief they provide is only temporary. Such external applications might remove the dandruff for a time but not permanently.

Dandruff can be easily treated by internal medication supported by modifying dietary habits. Diet is one factor that gets the least importance and is generally considered immaterial whereas the fact is that whatever we eat produces definite effects on our bodies in certain areas. Those effects depend on the characteristics of the item. For example, the effects produced by milk, meat and tea differ from each other and have their own areas of influence. So if you wish to see your dandruff cured permanently, you would need to modify your diet. Include vitamin B rich items in your food to aid the cure and exclude items like shellfish, chocolate, black tea and the stuff that creates dryness in the body to avoid aggravation of dandruff. With correct medicines and proper diet, permanent cure of dandruff should not take too long.