Seborrheic Dermatitis

Abstract Seborrheic dermatitis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by erythema and greasy scales affecting areas rich in sebaceous glands. Seborrheic dermatitis has two incidence peaks, the first in the first three months of life and the second beginning at puberty, reaching its apex at 30 to 40 years of age. Infants with seborrheic dermatitis often present with focal or diffuse scaling and crusting of the scalp. Erythematous or salmon-colored sharply demarcated patches with yellow-white scales may involve the face, postauricular areas, trunk, and intertriginous and flexural areas of the body. In the diaper area, infantile seborrheic dermatitis presents as a sharply demarcated, erythematous, scaly eruption with a tendency to coalesce, resulting in the formation of a large confluent lesion. Pruritus is characteristically absent. In adolescence and beyond, seborrheic dermatitis usually presents as greasy scaling of the scalp. It may also present as ill-defined erythematous patches with yellow-white, greasy scales affecting the nasolabial folds, eyelids, eyebrows, glabella, postauricular area, anterior chest, and less commonly the upper back. Mild periodic pruritus is common in adolescent seborrheic dermatitis. Scalp lesions in infantile seborrheic dermatitis usually respond to simple daily shampooing alone or in combination with non-prescription mild shampoos specific for seborrheic dermatitis. For infantile scalp seborrheic dermatitis that does not respond to the above measures, for seborrheic dermatitis lesions elsewhere, and for adolescent or adult seborrheic dermatitis, the use of topical antifungals, calcineurin inhibitors, and low to mid potency corticosteroids should be considered. A compounded mixture of these ingredients is also often employed