seborrheic capitis

Hi

I'm an Australian expat living in Korea. I was experiencing some scalp discomfort and went t o a dermatologist. He told me I have seborrheic capitis. However he has limited English and we struggled to communicate. I tried to look this subject up on the internet but couldn't find anything.

What is seborrheic capitis?
What causes it?
How do you treat it?
How do you stop it reoccuring?
Should I be washing pillow cases and hats every day etc...?
Is there any good websites about this topic you can direct me to?

I hope you can help me
Thanks in advance

[Dr_Aparna]

Hi,
Dandruff (also called scurf and historically termed Pityriasis capitis) is due to the excessive shedding of dead skin cells from the scalp. As it is normal for skin cells to die and flake off, a small amount of flaking is normal and in fact quite common. Some people, however, either chronically or as a result of certain triggers, experience an unusually large amount of flaking, which can also be accompanied by redness and irritation.
An oily scalp,  Malassezia yeasts whish are normally found on the skin and individual susceptibility play a role in its development.
Among dermatologist recommended treatments are shampoos containing coal tar, ciclopiroxolamine ketoconazole, selenium sulfide, or zinc pyrithione. For severe disease, keratolytics such as salicylic acid or coal tar preparations may be used to remove dense scale.
ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandruff
ref:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dandruff

Most cases of dandruff can be easily treated with specialized shampoos.