Dry Skin & Scalp

dmy1001

I am hoping someone can help me with this before it drives me over the edge:eek:
My back and scalp and driven crazy with dry skin. i could deal with my back as noone sees it but my scalp is very bad and i just cannot seem to get anything to ease it. So far I have tried Head & shoulders, Nizorol, Tea Tree Shampoo, Neem oil and today i tried Mayonaisse!! but to no avail!
Everytime I talk to a phamacist i end up spending a fortune with no resolution. I am now taking baths only and using baby shampoo and baby oil in the bath (for my back).
I am at the point where I am afraid to leave the house with it.:o
Oh and I had allergy testing done but I am ok there too!
I am thinking a dermatologist is my next move but undoubtably that will be a big long wait and loadz more money!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated:)

kizzyr

dmy1001 wrote: »

I am hoping someone can help me with this before it drives me over the edge:eek:
My back and scalp and driven crazy with dry skin. i could deal with my back as noone sees it but my scalp is very bad and i just cannot seem to get anything to ease it. So far I have tried Head & shoulders, Nizorol, Tea Tree Shampoo, Neem oil and today i tried Mayonaisse!! but to no avail!
Everytime I talk to a phamacist i end up spending a fortune with no resolution. I am now taking baths only and using baby shampoo and baby oil in the bath (for my back).
I am at the point where I am afraid to leave the house with it.:o
Oh and I had allergy testing done but I am ok there too!
I am thinking a dermatologist is my next move but undoubtably that will be a big long wait and loadz more money!

Any suggestions greatly appreciated:)

Try Eucerin Shampoo. I have psoriasis intermittently but a few years ago was driven demented with it on my scalp and various areas of my body. I found the Head & Shoulders, Nizorol etc very harsh and the Eucerin much more gentle.
I've a good few other suggestions and tips that I picked up along the way so if you'd like to hear them feel free to PM me.

Oh The Humanity

Try some Jojoba oil for the skin (you could on the scalp too as a treatment but its difficult to remove the oil from your hair)

Also mashed avacado into the scalp will help too. Again its difficult enough to get it out so try to mash it into a fine paste. Its no fun trying to brush your hair with a fork!

Eviledna

As a sufferer of psoriasis for years, particularly scalp, here are my personal findings.

You have to attack it from a few sides. First, examine your diet. Are you getting sufficient vitamin E, Omega 3, selenium and zinc? All of these can contribute, and I have found taking a fish-oil suppliment really helps.

Second, do you find that bouts in the sun alleviate the symptoms? I really did, and though we live in ireland and therefore a doomed to no sun, some physiotherapy units around the country offer UV lightbox treatment for psoriasis.
Here is a useful website to find out more:
http://www.psorinfo.ie/

I have used T-gel, but being blonde I have found it turned my hair orange-y, and was only of short term benefit.
I find that all head and shoulders are useless, except the menthol green one. I use this every two days as my shampoo and it definitely helps, relieving itch and visible flakes.

But the one thing that really helped me was a doctor prescribed steroid mousse called Bettamousse, which was especially beneficial, without having to be used that often.

It differs for everyone, but many find stress to be a trigger for psoriasis, so examine the problem from all sides, and take a broad sweep rather than hitting your pharmacist every week. Go see your GP who can refer you to a dermatologist and you'll get a much more comprehensive answer than from strangers on j'internets

dmy1001

Guys thank you for your replies!

I forgot to add Eucerin to the list of tried & tested products;)- unfortunately it did not work for me.

I did get a perscription for Betnovate Scalp Application which actually calms the condition, it stops the itching/crawling part- this is a similar product i think to the Bettamoose. Perhaps i need to be a bit more dilligent in my application of it.
i was thinking about the oil supplements and actually just got cod liver oil tabs to take. i do eat a lot of fish too. i never really noticed about the sun helping to be honest as it just seems to be getting progressively worse.

i will possibly end up having to go to a dermatologist but i want to try all avenues first.
that link you gave Eviledna was very good- thanks. Actually although my doc said i do not have psoraisis the picture on the scalp page looks very like mine!

greendom

Another suggestion is to rub olive oil into your scalp before going to bed; you'll need to put a towel on your blanket but try it for a few days; it helped me. You will have to wash your hair the next morning though:)

Eviledna

dmy1001 wrote: »

I did get a perscription for Betnovate Scalp Application which actually calms the condition, it stops the itching/crawling part- this is a similar product i think to the Bettamoose. Perhaps i need to be a bit more dilligent in my application of it.

That's the thing, the mouse is more easily absorbed than the creams, makes it easier to apply to the scalp, especially if you are female with long hair (like me!) You really have to take it as a course over a period of time for it to work.

that link you gave Eviledna was very good- thanks. Actually although my doc said i do not have psoraisis the picture on the scalp page looks very like mine!

Having had this for years, you will find some docs will call it one thing and others another. Mine was most recently called seborrheic dermatitis but to be honest it barely matters, the trial-and-error part of treatment for either is just as much a pain! Stick with the different treatments and hollistic approach.
As they ^ said, oil is good too, but a bit messy. If you buy pharmaceutical grade coconut oil in a tub, melt it gently in the microwave and rub into the scalp overnight, helps the flaky itch and conditions your hair at once!

HTH:)

shawnee

I have suffered from this intermittently over the past few years. I can cope with the scalp aspect but when it goes to the back and chest it can be very irritating. I was in hospital recently for another complaint and had this looked at by a dermatologist. He was of the opinion that it was not psoraisis but something related to it but not as bad. His reccomendation was to wash the hair with Selsun shampoo and allow it to cover the back and shoulders for around 10 mins . He was confident that this should clear it up.

captainspeckle

try selsun shampoo, doesnt smell that great but it worked a treat for me after a week. you cant use as a long term shampoo, but it works as well for you as it did for me you wonr have to! i only use like once every two to three weeks now to keep dry scalp at bay.

also, i think mine was stress related, maybe that vould be the cause of your problem?

missmatty

I had terrible trouble with this type of thing for years, used Polytar and Polytar plus. Eventually mostly grew out of it but am still careful. One shampoo I use when I feel it coming back is Schwartzkopf Bonacure Dandruff Control, hth. I really feel for you, when you said about that crawling itching feeling it just came right back to me!

Thephantomsmask

Selsun has been the only thing that has worked for me after trying every over the counter for my scalp/behind my ears/back of my neck. Like others have said it's not the nicest smell but Elvive now have a selenium shampoo for daily use which smells fine. I've only started using it so I don't know how well it will work but even if I could use this daily and the selsun less frequently than I am at the minute it would be good. The only other thing that I found helped was a shampoo called big from lush, it's a thick gel which has sea salt in it and I found using it once or twice a week as an exfoliator helped with the itchiness.