Hello. Thanks for writing to us at healthcaremagic.
In dandruff Or Seborrheic
Dermatitis, there is an overgrowth of yeast,
Malassezia furfur. This yeast has been implicated in dandruff.
Dandruff is a common cause of increased hair shedding. Controlling dandruff effectively would control excessive hair fall too.
Various antifungal agents (e.g
ketoconazole,
sertaconazole, ciclopirox olamine, piroctone olamine) are available either as shampoo or as overnight leave-on lotions, for dandruff.
You may try using an OTC antifungal shampoo e.g Nizoral shampoo (contains ketoconazole), every alternate days.
However, in some cases shampoo alone may not be totally effective. In such cases, along with the antidandruff shampoo, I usually ask my patients to use a
topical steroid lotion (Mometasone furoate Or
Clobetasol propionate lotion) once daily at night for a short period of 2 weeks Or i might switch them to an overnight leave-on antidandruff preparation.
Seborrheic dermatitis is a steroid responsive condition, therefore, topical steroids are usually effective in this condition. Topical steroid lotions are prescription products.
A two weeks course of topical steroids brings about remarkable improvement, which can then be maintained with just an anti-dandruff shampoo, every alternate days.
However, if your dandruff does not respond as desired by OTC shampoo, you may visit a
dermatologist in your region. Your dermatologist might choose to prescribe a topical steroid lotion for a short duration of 2-4 weeks.
Your dermatologist may also want to switch to a different antifungal shampoo Or choose to prescribe an overnight leave-on antidandruff lotion.
Regards