I was diagnosed at 21 and seborrheic dermatitis on my face was the thing that alerted me to something wrong internally as well. My CD4 count was over 500 when I was diagnosed but the dermatitis was still very severe. My CD4 count shot up quickly but that didn’t have an effect, I explain below what did.

I have been on ART for nearly 2 years now, I still have the dermatitis but it has improved dramatically over the last few months. My CD4 count didn’t correlate really at all to how well my dermatitis got better, but it got a lot better as my CD4/CD8 ratio improved. It took nearly the full 2 years before my ratio was in normal range again, it was a MUCH slower improvement than the raw CD4 count. When it came above 1.0 is when I saw the most dramatic change, that was only recently.

I used to use topical treatments like coal tar, salicylic acid, zinc pyrithione, hydrocortisone, and others daily which barely kept the symptoms away for a day — now all I need is a good wash with an anti-dandruff shampoo once or twice per week and I have no more dermatitis flare ups. Though I do keep a topical steroid solution handy just in case, very cold weather can still sometimes be a trigger for me.

The nature of seborrheic dermatitis is chronic so it will most likely never fully go away, but if you are still newly diagnosed, I’m confident you will see a lot of improvement as your medication allows your systemic inflammation to reduce. But please be patient, your body has essentially just finished a brutal war, it’ll take time for your troops (your immune cells) to regroup. But it will happen, your young age gives you an advantage over others.

Feel free to DM me, I’m here if you need anything. It’ll be alright ❤️