Often, some diseases are not given much importance, and they treat the external manifestation of the disease, its individual symptoms, considering this a cosmetic defect. The disease gradually progresses, takes a chronic course, and with time it becomes more difficult to get rid of it. This attitude has developed for many to seborrhea head, which:
• is a chronic skin disease;
• develops in adolescence;
• in the first stage, as a rule, they are ignored, but then it is long and not always treated effectively.
Seborrhea of the head - what is it
Seborrhea is a skin disease caused by dysfunction of the sebaceous glands. It is chronic in nature.
"Seborrhea" means "salotherapy" in Latin, that is, increased secretion of sebum. Most often it is associated with hormonal and disorders. In this case, the bactericidal properties of sebaceous secretion are sharply reduced.
Causes of Seborrhea of the Head
The main etiological factor in seborrhea is Pityrosporum yeast, which constantly functions on the skin of a healthy person and is conditionally pathogenic microflora. Their livelihoods occur on the scalp, feed on a product that the sebaceous glands produce.
As a result of a violation of the protective function of the skin, the microflora begins to multiply intensively - seborrhea develops.
Factors affecting the occurrence of seborrhea:
1. Age: seborrhea occurs mainly in people from 30 to 50 years old with low immune status and with chronic diseases.
2. Gender: more commonly seen in men, although women are susceptible to the disease. This is associated with a high level of androgens and a predominant number of sebaceous glands in men. From the huge amount of glands, a lot of fat is secreted, used by the yeast that causes seborrhea, for nutrition and enhanced reproduction.
3. Oily skin also causes seborrhea. An increase in sebum production leads to an active growth of fungi, provoking even greater production of sebum.
4. Nervous stress leads to an exacerbation of seborrhea of the head. Patients with pathology of the nervous system often develop skin and hair diseases.
5. Hair Care:
• rare hair washing;
• too frequent washing with alkaline products that disrupt the acid - base balance of the skin.
Other risk factors
In addition to the above, other risk factors must be considered, which include:
• pathology of the endocrine system;
• genetic predisposition;
• diseases of the digestive system;
• immunodeficiency states;
• hypovitaminosis;
• errors in food.
According to the classification, three types of seborrhea are distinguished:
• oily (thick and liquid forms);
• dry seborrhea;
• mixed.
The mechanism of development of oily seborrhea
Development occurs at puberty due to an imbalance of male and female sex hormones. Concerning:
• increased production of sebum;
• its composition is changing;
• bactericidal properties sharply fall due to its changed composition;
• the yeast-like fungus Pityrosporum ovale is activated.
In connection with such changes, the sebaceous ducts become clogged, creating conditions for an increase in pathogenic microflora.
Seborrhea of the head - the first symptoms of oily seborrhea
As a result of the changes, the hair becomes greasy and always looks wet, dirty and untidy. Even after washing, they immediately stick together in locks, a thick layer of oily, without yellow scraping, scrubbing dandruff is formed. There is a painful itching of the skin, hair begins to fall out over time. In the future, this can lead to complete baldness.
With the liquid form of oily seborrhea, sebaceous cysts can appear - rounded point formations.
With a thick form, atheromas arise - huge cysts filled with a thick paste-like white mass. This form most often develops in adolescent boys, by the age of 25 it can disappear without a trace. Her hair does not fall out, baldness does not develop.
Signs of seborrhea head: dry seborrhea
Dry seborrhea is also associated with impaired sebum production. But outwardly it looks like a lack of fat. In fact, a sufficient amount of fat is produced by the sebaceous glands, but its high viscosity and density make it difficult to excrete.
The signs of a dry type seborrhea include:
1. Dandruff. With seborrhea of the head, the first symptoms are due to peeling of the skin, resulting in dandruff. Small scales are clearly visible on the hair, exfoliate and crumble. The less often you wash your hair, the faster the disease progresses and peeling increases. The appearance of dandruff leads to emotional disorders, the development of depression and psychosomatic pathology.
2. Itching is one of the main signs of seborrhea of the head. With the formation of dandruff, the itching becomes so strong that when combing, the skin is injured, inflamed, which contributes to hair loss.
3. Deterioration of the general condition of the hair: they become dull, thin, dry and brittle, lose their shine and elasticity. This also applies to signs of seborrhea of the head and is associated with the formation of a thick layer of dandruff. The blood supply and nutrition of the hair follicles is disturbed - hair begins to fall out. Alopecia areata can develop, which is almost impossible to cure.
Symptoms of seborrhea of the head are a mixed type.
With mixed seborrhea, increased fat secretion occurs only in certain areas of the scalp, for example, in the parietal and frontal. In other areas, the secretion of sebum is reduced.
Dry seborrhea treatment
Treatment of seborrhea of the head should include comprehensive measures. These include:
1. Impact on the etiological factor - specific antifungal therapy. It is the main treatment method, inhibits the vital activity of the fungus. Such drugs are prescribed for oral administration (Ketonazole, Bifonazole) and externally. The mechanism of their action is based on antimycotic, anti-seborrheic and anti-inflammatory activity.
2. Locally used special anti-mycotic shampoos (Nizoral, Friderm - zinc, Friderm - tar, tar soap) and other products. They relieve dandruff and itching. Using the above tools, you must remember:
• the duration of treatment is at least 4 weeks, and with hair loss - at least 12;
• use prescribed funds regularly;
• Do not wash your hair with hot water;
• Do not wash your hair more than 3 times a week.
3. To improve the condition of the scalp and hair, a long-term intake of multivitamins (Vitrum, Complivit, Hexavit, etc.) is prescribed for brewer's yeast, treatment with sulfur and zinc preparations (Zinc - Teral).
4. Treatment of seborrhea of the head with a neglected dry form includes the use of keratolytic and antibacterial drugs, which include zinc, tar.
5. In severe cases, hormones are prescribed.
6. To improve blood microcirculation, physiotherapeutic methods of treatment are widely used:
• darsonvalization;
• ozone therapy;
• mesotherapy;
• cryomassage of the head.
7. Diet is an important part of treating scalp seborrhea. It is necessary to limit:
• fats;
• carbohydrates;
• extractive substances;
• table salt.
Be sure to include in the diet:
• dairy products;
• seafood;
• lean meat and eggs;
• fiber-rich foods.
Treatments for oily seborrhea
In the treatment of the oily form of seborrhea of the head, all modern methods are applied comprehensively.
1. Begin with the etiological treatment acting on the cause of the disease. In this case, it is the stabilization of the hormonal background and the improvement of the functioning of the digestive tract.
2. In addition, locally used special shampoos with antifungal effects, for example, Nizoral. It contains ketoconazole 2%, which significantly reduces itching and dandruff. The effectiveness of shampoo has been proven by numerous laboratory and clinical studies.
3. Along with the above means, treatment of seborrhea of the head includes:
• keratolytic preparations (exfoliating) containing alcoholic solutions of sulfur or salicylic acid;
• shampoos, which include tea tree oil, birch tar - they effectively affect dandruff.
4. An important component of the comprehensive treatment of seborrhea of the head is the strengthening of immunity (multivitamins, minerals, fortifying agents).
Prevention of seborrhea of the head
In order to avoid such an unpleasant and unaesthetic disease, it is necessary to adhere to certain precautions:
• comply with hygiene rules;
• strive for a healthy lifestyle;
• constantly strengthen your immune status;
• stress protection;
• balanced diet;
• conducting courses of vitamin therapy;
• proper and timely hair care.
Treatment for seborrhea is carried out at any stage, but as the disease progresses, the chances of success are reduced. Even if you manage to stop the process of hair loss, restore lost hair will not succeed. If you act in accordance with the rules of prevention, you can avoid seborrhea.
