 USING FOODS INSTEAD OF DRUGS FOR HEALTH |
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Dandruff--What It Is, How It Is Being Treated Almost all commercially available hair shampoos publicize that they contain some form of antifungal agent (s.) However, few studies have been published in which antifungal activity of commercially available hair shampoos have been contrasted experimentally. In this study six commercially available shampoos...were assessed for antifungal activity...(a) Head & Shoulders, (b) Gard Violet; Nizoral 1%, Nizoral 2% 'both by Janssen;] (e) Pantene Blue; and (f) Selsun Blue. "The results demonstrated that all six of the ...hair shampoos have some antifungal effect on the test'ed] yeast. However, there was considerable variation in potency of antifungal activity. Nizoral 1% and Nizoral 2%* shampoo preparations were the most effective. "The 1% Nizoral shampoo was consistently 10X better at killing yeast cells than the next closest rival shampoo. The 2% Nizoral shampoo was 10X better than the Nizoral 1% product and 100 times better than any of the the other products assayed. *Nizoral is the trade name. The drug's name is ketoconazole. DETAILS: Please note that these drugs and that in the following report are topical, that is, to be applied externally only. Do not ingest any of them. Further, being a drug, if the patient chooses not to see a physician at first, he or she should see one if the problem persists. 'see footnote 1.] WE HAVE NO CONNECTION WHATSOEVER WITH ANY OF THESE PRODUCTS. "Dandruff appears to be related to 'a] yeast 'infection}... Tea Tree oil has antifungal properties with activity against P. ovale 'the apparent culprit] and may be useful in the treatment of dandruff." The dermatologists conducted a study of 126 male and female patients, and were either given a 5% Tea Tree oil shampoo or a placebo (Non-active shampoo.) "RESULTS: The 5% tea tree oil shampoo group showed a 41% improvement...compared with 11% in the placebo group... "CONCLUSION: Five percent tea tree oil appears to be effective and well tolerated in the treatment of dandruff. 'footnote 2.] 1. By Bulmer A.C. & Bulmer G.S., J. F. Cotton Hosp., Dermatology Sec., Manila, Phila., in Mycopathologia, vol. 147, 1999. 2. By Satchell, Saurajen % Barnetson, Dept. of Derma., Royal Prince Alfred Hosp., Camperdown, NSW, Australia, in Journal of Amer. Acad. Dermatology, vol. 42, 2002. SEARCH BY SUBJECT - TABLE OF CONTENTS THIS MONTH'S HEALTH BULLETIN NEWS
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