Seborrheic dermatitis is an irritating skin condition that affects the scalp. It causes severe dandruff, scales on the scalp and inflammation of the scalp skin. It mainly affects the body parts with oily areas like eyebrows, eye lids, face, ears, side of the nose and chest. Dandruff is the main symptom of seborrheic dermatitis. Yellow or white scales or flakes can be seen on scalp, eyebrows, eyes, eye lids, axilla, chest, face, under breast etc. with severe itching and irritation. The scales fall off from scalp in to back of neck and forehead when scratching.

The actual cause of seborrheic dermatitis remains unclear, it can be caused by excessive oil in the skin, family history, fungal infection. It is associated with other skin diseases like psoriasis, and other autoimmune diseases. Seborrheic dermatitis is aggravated in very cold and dry climate, emotional stress and anxiety. The normal lifespan of our skin cells is approx. 30 days. When there is an inflammatory change in the scalp, probably due to the overgrowth of the yeast – Pityrosporum ovale, and subsequent immune responses, the lifespan of the skin cells reduces to 7-8 days. These excess formation of dead skin cells clump together and peel out.

Ayurveda explains Seborrheic dermatitis in the name of Darunaka, by the vitiation of Vata & Kapha dosha. Excessive use of incompatible food (eg: curd with fish or meat) in daily food, suppression of natural urges, excessive exposure to sunlight, dryness of skin by not applying oil, not follow proper hair wash etc. the doshas are vitiated and causes the symptoms like itching, burning sensation, dryness and scale formation.

Ayurvedic management of Seborrheic dermatitis focused on to pacify Vata & Kapha dosha, it includes internal medicines in the form of herbal decoction and external therapies like Shiro Lepam (application of herbal paste on the head processed in butter milk), Thakradhara (stream of medicated buttermilk on the forehead), Shirodhara (streaming of medicated oil on forehead) and shiro abhyangam (application of oil on head) etc. This type of Ayurvedic treatment helps to reduce the symptoms and it is also beneficial for proper hair growth. The condition is aggravated in seasonal changes, ayurveda advice to do seasonal purifications in the form of Vamana (emesis therapy) and virechana (purgative therapy). Vamana is an excellent purificatory procedure advised for dandruff patients, it controls the disease from its root cause.

Back to Roots Ayurveda Clinic in Abu Dhabi offers an effective Ayurvedic treatment for Seborrheic dermatitis. Our Ayurvedic doctors at Abu Dhabi suggests appropriate treatment for Seborrheic dermatitis patients. We advise the seborrheic dermatitis patients to reduce cold and dry foods, sour foods, curd, fish, urud dal, milk etc for improved results.