Very rarely does dandruff entail any diagnosing since its symptoms are quite obvious and universally known. These are symptoms of white dry flakes in your hair and scalp.
Seborrheic Dermatitis
You may need to consult with your doctor if suspect you might be suffering from seborrheic dermatitis. The doctor can easily diagnose this skin problem by observing the red rash on your skin. For seborrheic dermatitis diagnosis, tests are not often needed.
Exclusion of Other Skin Conditions
After the doctor has carefully assessed the color and redness on your scalp, he may then be able to ascertain a diagnosis of seborrheic dermatitis.
This will help your doctor exclude or rule out a particular skin condition termed psoriasis. Psoriasis causes silvery scales and crusty, flaky red patches of skin and possesses many similar symptoms as that of seborrheic dermatitis.
If your doctor suspects that your dandruff may be due to a fungal infection in your scalp (like ringworm, for example), he may take a skin sample from you and send it to a lab for testing.
Scott Paglia is a licensed and board certified acupuncturist in Bellingham, WA and provides master level pulse diagnosis, Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture in Whatcom County, WA.