seborrheic dermatitis healed?

Factual Questions
1

Since the age of 16, I have been suffering from s. dermatitis that manifested itself through dandruff on the scalp (very heavy there), eyebrows, the upper cheeks and around the nose. Oh, and it itched like mofo.

Now, at the age of 28, I finally went to a dermatologist. He told me to apply fungoral (a medical shampoo) 3x a week. I did so, and after applying it only once, the condition changed dramatically.
My face is now totally free from dandruff, and instead of being dry and brittle, it is now rather greasy, like as if did smear oil around my nose and eyes. I applied that shampoo four weeks ago, and the dandruff hasn’t (or is that haven’t? is dandruff a singular or a plural (like police)?) returned since then. I don’t have to rub the flakes off my face 2-3 times a day any more!

My questions:

  1. Is it possible that I am healed? Or will the dry skin and flakes return eventually, after the effect of Fungoral wears off?
    I have read that S.D. is unhealable from some sources, while others claim the contrary.

  2. Is it normal for facial skin to feel oily and sometimes even glisten? I’m not fat at all, quite the contrary, and I don’t eat much fats, except for my daily dose of my beloved olive oil. Am I perhaps getting rid of the excess fat through my skin? But why are the other parts of my body not oily then?

  3. I always read “we do not know how S.D. develops and why certain people become afflicted blah blah”. How is it possible that such a common condition is so poorly understood? My doc too said “It’s just something you have”, and showed obvious reluctance to answer any of my questions.*
    Are there any theories on the possible causes of S.D.?

*(It went something like this:
me: “is it an allergy?”
doc: “no, it’s not an allergy.”
me: “is it a fungus?”
doc: “no, it’s not a fungus”
me: “is it caused by bacteria then?”
doc: “no it is not caused by bacteria. in an annoyed voice look, it’s just a reaction of your body”
me: “reaction to what?”
doc: “reaction to nothing”
OK, scary doc, but since the stuff he gave me seemed to work, I can’t really complain. :D)

2

I have SD also, and from what I’ve read, causes are still not well known. It is known to be genetic and can come and go throughout ones life. Mine hasn’t been bad in a while, but does tend to get worse in the Winter.

I found Eladil, a fairly new prescription cream works great on my face, and is non-steroidal, so it doesn’t contribute to thinning of the skin. Good luck.

3

Oh, I forgot to specifically mention that I applied that shampoo only ONCE (and 4 weeks have passed since then) ,instead of 3x a week as the doctor said!

And thank you, x-ray vision :slight_smile: