severe skin disease

[weiguang]

My mother is over 70 years old and two years ago she started with itchiness on her back of head and she applied some antibiotics and traditional herb medicine. Sometimes it became better and now it is getting worse and worse. It is itchy and painful. I have attached a picture here from yesterday.I really hope that somebody there can help me and give any advice how to make her better. She is suffering a lot.

Thank you very much.

[Dr_Aparna]

Hi,
There could be any number of cafor an itchy scalp.It could be due to psoriasis or seborrhoic dermatitis.
Psoriasis is a disease which affects the skin and joints. It commonly causes red scaly patches to appear on the skin. The scaly patches caused by psoriasis, called psoriatic plaques, are areas of inflammation and excessive skin production. Skin rapidly accumulates at these sites and takes a silvery-white appearance.
Ointment and creams containing coal tar, dithranol (anthralin), corticosteroids like desoximetasone (Topicort), vitamin D3 analogues (for example, calcipotriol), and retinoids are routinely used. Argan oil has also been used with some promising results.
Seborrhoeic eczema (also Seborrheic dermatitis , seborrhea) is a skin disorder affecting the scalp, face, and trunk causing scaly, flaky, itchy, red skin.
Among dermatologist recommended treatments are shampoos containing coal tar, ciclopiroxolamine ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, or zinc pyrithione.
ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seborrheic_dermatitis
It is best that you take her to a dermatologist who can see the scalp and make the correct dignosis.