Folliculitis Treatment

Folliculitis occurs when hair follicles are damaged. Once damage occurs, it is easy for germs to enter the follicles and cause a skin infection.

The causes of hair follicle damage are:

• touching or rubbing the skin frequently
• wearing tight clothing
• rubbing of skin against skin
• shaving and other hair removal procedures
• hot and damp skin (e.g. after exercise)

These are just some of the causes of hair follicle damage. However, the causes of folliculitis are:

• bathing in a poorly maintained hot tub
• waxing, shaving, or plucking hairs
• tight clothing or equipment
• topical medication, such as coal tar
• weight gain

With hot tubs, most people see breakouts about 12 to 48 hours after using one.

Dermatology & Skin Health offers comprehensive folliculitis treatment that will resolve your swollen glands and avoid having your skin condition progress into chronic folliculitis and other complications.

Folliculitis has many types that vary according to severity. These types are mild or superficial folliculitis or deep folliculitis.

Mild or superficial folliculitis involves partial damage to the hair follicle. The types of mild folliculitis are:

• Bacterial folliculitis: the most common type of mild folliculitis, bacterial folliculitis looks like white bumps because of the pus. This happens when you receive skin injuries, and bacteria enter.
• Hot tub folliculitis: as the term implies, this type of mild folliculitis is usually caught in heated pools and hot tubs due to Pseudomonas bacteria. These look like itchy red pimples.
• Pityrosporum folliculitis: patients with Pityrosporum folliculitis have red pustules caused by yeast infection.
• Razor bumps or pseudofolliculitis barbae: this is caused by ingrown hair or hair growth inside the hair follicles.
• Mild folliculitis can usually resolve on its own, but you might still want to consult a dermatology provider to avoid further fungal infection and other complications.

Deep folliculitis involves damage to the entire hair follicle. The types of deep folliculitis are:

• Sycosis barbae: this usually affects patients who had just shaved — they may experience red bumps filled with pus that can result in scarring.
• Gram-negative folliculitis: this happens when the patient has been using antibiotics for their acne treatment. The acne becomes worse because the antibiotics no longer work on the bacteria.
• Boils and carbuncles: a boil is a tender and painful red bump that grows out of a seriously infected hair follicle.
• Eosinophilic folliculitis: this type of deep folliculitis is common among patients with underlying medical conditions that weaken their immune system. Common among babies and sick people, eosinophilic folliculitis causes itchy bumps filled with pus that usually appear on the forehead, neck, shoulders, and upper arms.

Visit a dermatology provider immediately to avoid mild and deep folliculitis to progress into a chronic skin condition and leave scars and bumps. Schedule an appointment at Dermatology & Skin Health for your folliculitis treatment.

Dermatology & Skin Health is equipped with the latest technology in dermatology. Our high-quality treatments will greatly benefit you in your folliculitis treatment. More than this, our board-certified dermatologists are committed to providing you with the most suitable treatment plan.

Diagnosis

Our healthcare provider is highly-trained in clinical dermatology. They can assess your skin for folliculitis and interview you for your medical history. We may conduct a dermoscopy or collect a swab sample of your skin infection for laboratory testing.

Medications

Our dermatology provider may recommend medicine to relieve your affected skin from folliculitis:

• antibiotics to control a bacterial infection
• topical medicine to resolve a fungal infection
• medicine to reduce inflammation

Procedure

Your healthcare provider may also recommend treatments to speed up mild to chronic folliculitis:

• Laser hair removal: laser treatment will help with long-term hair removal to clear up the infection.
• Minor surgery: your dermatology provider may need to create a small incision to drain the pus.