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Seborrheic Dermatitis Tests and Diagnosis

895 views · Published 29 July 2018 · 2:56 · Indexed 27 September 2026

Channel: CanXida · 2018 · Education

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Hi there. Eric Bakker, Naturopath, coming back to you again. We're talking about seb derm. Seborrheic dermatitis. So how is it diagnosed? How do you know you have this condition? Are there any specific tests you can do for it? Can the doctor take a skin biopsy or a skin sample, and find out? Well, remember, we talked about this yeast called malassezia. So this is a naturally occurring skin fungus. 

So there's no point really taking or scraping off the skin and checking that. It's rarely done. Biopsies are not usually done of the skin, unless they think you have cancer or something like that, but a skin scraping, even that, is not generally a good idea because you're going to find naturally occurring bacteria and yeast that are on the skin anyway, so it's not really going to serve a good purpose. 

So, generally the doctor, or dermatologist, will diagnose the seb derm by the appearance of the condition. Usually by their clinical experience, but I can tell you guys, I've seen so many cases of people that were misdiagnosed with skin conditions. It's not funny. 

Almost to the point where I'm wondering if some skin doctors know the difference between an apple and an orange. Seriously, that bad. I've seen shocking psoriasis cases that were determined to be eczema. I've seen shocking eczema cases that were determined to be seb derm. I've seen people with skin fungal rashes that were told they had all kinds of bacterial skin infections. So sometimes people get it wrong.

Is it the doctor's fault? No. It's not the doctor's fault. Don't blame people. It's very easy in a busy clinic to get a diagnosis mixed up, and also can happen through lack of clinical skill or experience. Doctors try and do their level best with you, so it's not a good idea to blame people regarding a misdiagnosis.  

But if you're unsure, go to Google, and go to the Image Search, and have a really good look on multiple different skin websites, and you're sure to be able to actually diagnose this condition yourself. You don't need a skin specialist to do this. 

Most of my patients I've seen with seb derm, correctly diagnosed it through Google Image Search. So there you have it, you could possibly be your own skin doctor. Not a good idea though if you think you might have a skin cancer. 

You definitely want to go to a doctor, or a dermatologist, if you have any kind of suspect looking markings on the skin, you know, itch or color or something strange. The color's not right, or you get these feelings it's not right, or people have told you there's something wrong with your skin. You should get it checked out by a professional.

You don't diagnose those sorts of things, but when it comes to flakey skin, oily skin, itchy skin, you know, have a good look on Google Image Search first, because you may be able to pick out what it is. 

But that's how they generally will diagnose it. We'll root through the physical appearance of it. Don't think that the skin scraping is really going to give you the answer you're looking for. 

Thanks for tuning in.

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