Use of Selenium Sulfide Shampoo in Seborrheic Dermatitis

Seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp is one of the commonest dermatoses and has long been considered a chronic condition that even when cleared requires further preventive therapy to avoid recurrence of the scaliness. For several centuries sulfur had been the drug of choice in treating diseases of the sebaceous glands. No one has a scientific pharmacological answer as to why sulfur is helpful for sebaceous disorders, except that it definitely helps the lesions of seborrheic dermatitis to disappear. Until three years ago sulfur ointments with resorcin or salicylic acid were the accepted forms of local treatment of seborrheic dermatitis of the scalp. Most patients, particularly women, strenuously objected to the use of greasy ointments in their hair and scalp. Although sulfur ointments caused improvement in seborrhea, they were often discarded before their full benefit had been obtained. Preventive therapy with sulfur ointments was rarely mentioned by most persons, and the