Related articles: Folliculitis
Definition
Folliculitis is an infectious inflammation of hair follicles. Most folliculitis is caused by Staphylococcus aureus, however other microorganisms can also be responsible. Predisposing factors are: excessive sweating, shaving, friction due to too tight clothing and inflammatory skin diseases, such as dermatitis and acne.
Most common symptoms and signs *
- Erythema
- Pus formation
- Tingling in the head
- Nodule
- papules
- Oily skin
- itch
- Itching in the head
- Pustules
- trichodynia
Further indications
The symptoms of folliculitis include mild pain, itching and irritation around the outlet of a hair follicle, often with the formation of a yellowish pustule or an inflammatory nodule. The hairs fall out or are easily removed, but new erythematous papules tend to develop which, bursting, leave small crusts. The skin of the affected area may be red.
There are also folliculitis involving the deeper layers of the skin. These can degenerate into furunculosis (that is, a series of pimples develop on the skin) or swollen abscesses that can break, causing the pus present inside them to escape. Often, milder cases tend to resolve themselves and do not give rise to complications. At other times, the therapy involves the application of disinfectant compresses, followed by topical or oral antibiotics.
