90 Year Old Woman Has Severely Itchy Scalp, Hair Loss

My mother-in-law is 90. She has been having a severe itch problem, dry scalp, and loss of hair. She has been to Her family Dr. and to a Dermatologist and they just say it is dry shin. She has a Rx cream to apply. I’m mainly concerned about her scalp. It is so very dry. I have given her a treatment for conditioning the hair. Also had her use Selsun Blue shampoo several times. It doesn’t seem to be getting better and the hair loss seems to be getting worse. She scratches her head so much that she gets sores. Is this just part of getting older or some other problem? Dr. here haven’t helped much. Do you have an answer? We would appreciate any help you can give.

Thank you so very much!

In dermatology, there is a humorous anecdote when referring to skin problems. It goes something like this — “If it is dry, wet it; if it is wet, dry it.” I would focus on shampoos and conditioners that are made for dry skin. Sometimes, I recommend a good quality hand lotion be gently rubbed into the scalp. Then with a shampoo an hour later, wash off the scalp with a shampoo for dry skin, following by a conditioner for dry skin. See if this works.