Seborrheic dermatitis: how to recognize it?

Reddened skin, yellowish and greasy scales, annoying itching and, in some cases, hair loss. These are the symptoms of seborrheic dermatitis, an inflammatory skin disorder that affects areas particularly rich in sebaceous glands.

Affects men more

Between three and five percent of the world’s population, mostly male, suffers from it.

In Italy, these data do not differ from global ones, with an increase in the population concerned expected in the coming years, probably due to pollution and the spread of an increasingly unbalanced diet.

Known in newborns as cradle cap, the disease most affects both young people and older people equally.

Seborrheic dermatitis is also particularly common in those suffering from a reduction in the activity of the immune system: for example, between 34 and 83 percent of HIV patients (human immunodeficiency virus buys) suffer from it.

What are the causes?

Seborrheic dermatitis is characterized by an accelerated multiplication of skin cells, associated with increased activity of the sebaceous glands.

Although a single trigger has not been identified, there are several factors that can contribute to its onset:

• alterations in the composition and production of sebum
• individual predisposition
• infection with microorganisms such as Malassezia furfur. These are yeasts that normally live on the skin, preferring areas rich in lipids, and that can proliferate excessively, causing the characteristic irritation. At the moment it is not yet clear whether it is this yeast that causes the disorder or, vice versa, if it is seborrheic dermatitis that creates the ideal conditions for its proliferation
• oily skin
• excessive production of androgen hormones
• stress
• immunodepresion
• neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease
• environmental factors, such as pollution or unbalanced nutrition.

Knowing how to identify it

The diagnosis of seborrheic dermatitis is made mainly through the finding by the doctor of the typical yellowish and greasy scales. More rarely, a skin biopsy is required.

Sometimes confused with psoriasis, due to comparable symptomatology, seborrheic dermatitis can be identified by:

• localization in well-defined areas, such as the hairline, the scalp, eyebrows, sides of the nose, folds behind the ears and, in men, the chest. More rarely, it can manifest itself in the armpits, groin, udder and between the buttocks.
• The affected areas appear greasy and itchy, unlike what It is observed in psoriasis, where instead the lesions are drier and They rarely itch.