Any dermatitis – It’s not a pleasant disease, but seborrheic dermatitis in particular – because it’s localized. It can occur on the head and neck, as well as on the face, where it is visible to all. At such moments, the only desire – stay out of sight of others. It can be hard to be in everyone’s face – Make yourself go to work, go on a visit, go on a date. We are taught since childhood to save face, so when we can not do it, we feel uncomfortable. Fortunately, there is a solution to the problem of seborrheic dermatitis that everyone concerned should know about.
What is seborrhea?
This word is formed from two roots: the Latin «sebum» – «lard» and Greek «» – «current». All together translate to «increased sebum». Seborrhea sebum does produce an overabundance of sebum – it practically pours like a river. Pressing on the skin – and from the ducts of the sebaceous glands are released thin white strands of sebaceous secretion. It serves as a breeding ground for malassezia – A yeast-like fungus that lives on the surface of almost everyone’s body as part of the normal microflora.
The task of normal microflora – Protect the skin from potentially harmful microorganisms. But with increased fat excretion, malassezia literally starts to grow like yeast. On the scalp it usually makes up to 46% of all normal microflora, but with seborrhea there is almost twice as much – 83%.
The result is that the body becomes sensitized to the products of malassezia, i.e. it reacts allergic to them by producing specific antibodies – Class E immunoglobulins: the same as in atopic dermatitis. Therefore, atopic and seborrheic dermatitis are itchy, have similar symptoms and are treated with the same external medications, such as Feniveit cream or ointment.
Where does seborrheic dermatitis occur?
On areas with many sebaceous glands. There are quite a few on the back between the shoulder blades and on the chest in the décolletage area, but especially a lot on the scalp and face – On the eyebrows, forehead, cheeks, wings of the nose, nasolabial and nasolabial folds, behind the ears, in the external auditory canal. At first there are small, puffy, pink blotches covered in oily, yellowish-brownish scales. Afterwards the spots thicken into nodules which form ring-shaped or oval plaques. Eyelid inflammation can occur – blepharitis. Honey yellow crusts around the eyelids and flaking of the skin around the eyebrows are characteristic. All this is accompanied by burning, itching, and it looks so bad that you don’t even want to look in the mirror. Hurry to a dermatologist: the sooner the diagnosis is made and treatment begun, the easier it will be to cope with the problem.
What is the diet for seborrheic dermatitis?
Malassezia – Lipophilus, which means in Greek «A lover of greasy foods». Put her on a starvation diet, preferring fat-free foods. Sour cream, cream, butter, lard, and fatty broths increase the load on the pancreas and liver. Excess fatty acids enter the bloodstream, and from there are excreted on the surface of the skin by the sebaceous glands. Malassezia multiplies at a doubled rate in these conditions, and seborrheic dermatitis is exacerbated.
Also avoid allergy-tolerant foods (caviar, citrus fruits, chocolate, etc.).д.). Eat less sweets and pastries – Cooked with yeast, it acts in concert with yeast-like fungi that increase skin allergies.
In summer, be careful of the sun’s rays. Excess UV light weakens the immune system, which is all the malassezia need.