Dandruff

Dandruff is a normal condition which tends to affect the skin on the head. Normally it is seen with white flakes of skins coming out and sticking to hair and falling down to your shoulders. The severity of this condition varies from person to person and has its own various stimuli. The dandruff starts to appear when the skin cells are in process of renewing themselves, giving away the dead skin. The condition would mean that your skin cells have been renewing too fast. The stage of dandruff affects almost every men and women on different levels. Dandruff occurs in case of infants too in the form of white flakes which takes months at a time to clear up properly. The survey though shows a bias, with dandruff affecting men more than women in all the demographies.

Symptoms

The symptoms are the appearance of seborrhoeic dermatitis which is the white flake part of the skin scalp. These flakes are nothing but dead skin, which starts to come off. The patient may also develop greasy patches of skin. The affected person feels itching in head area and would observe lot of flakes on their shoulder areas often. In case of babies; the most affected from dandruff is scalp, which is also known as Cradle scalp.

Causes

The actual causes are still unknown. The condition is not caused by poor hygiene which is one of the widely known myths about this condition. Improper brushing of the hair could be one of major causes for dandruff since the dead skin cells would not come out and stick to the scalp causing hampering in proper growth of the skin in the scalp. It remains in the hair in the form of white flakes. Also weather has been attributed to it too, since change in climatic conditions directly affect the skin on the scalp.
Diagnosis:
This can be diagnosed at home itself with the growing flakes on the scalp fallen on shoulders or collar area.

Treatment

While starting the treatment, the dermatologist shall consider the age and the severity of the condition of the patient. The recommended shampoos and scalp treatment kits are available in market also, which could cure mild level of condition. Antifungal shampoos can be used to cure any infections on the scalp. The doctor may also recommend some treatments as per the severity of the issue. In case of infants, it will get treated automatically. Between the age of 6-8 months, it should clear out completely. If that does not happen so, a visit to doctor is recommended.

Complications

Dandruff doesn’t result in any kind of complications but in case, it worsens, it can affect the person’s eyesight too. Sometimes; anti-dandruff shampoo which a person is using as a treatment; may cause irritation in the scalp. In these cases, it is recommended to stop the use of the shampoo and either consult the doctor again or take an alternate treatment.

Prevention

Dandruff can keep coming back several times in the lifetime and there are few things to be done to keep it at bay. One could use light anti-dandruff shampoo once a week and also keep their hair in good health. Brush the hair regularly, and wash them at least thrice a week. After washing your hair; make sure that the shampoo is rinsed out completely with water. If possible try to avoid chemicals used for colouring of the hair. Try to use good hair colour. Also the nutritional intakes of the body, affect these conditions to large extent.