Do You Have Folliculitis?

Some conditions that affect skin look very similar to acne. That creates complications in acne treatment. Folliculitis is one such condition. It looks like acne and can be confused for it. Folliculitis is easily treatable with antibiotics or anti fungal medication. Let us find out more about acne treatment and folliculitis.

What is folliculitis?

The word 'folliculitis' is derived from the word follicle of the hair. When the hair follicle develops infection, the condition is called folliculitis. This infection can develop due to many reasons. Folliculitis can be superficial or deep. Superficial folliculitis is not a serious condition but deep folliculitis may cause wide spread infection in the body if left untreated. Lets find out more about folliculitis and how it is cured.

In folliculitis, small and itching pimple-like red pustules form around the hair follicle. They can develop wherever there is hair on the body. The zit may be full of pus. If infection becomes deeper this may develop into gram-negative folliculitis. That is difficult to treat.

The main cause of folliculitis is bacteria. It also develops because of a yeast and sometimes it is caused by a fungus. Folliculitis is generally caused if you shave wrongly, if your hair follicles get hurt continuously because of tight clothes, if you take hot water bath in a tub with unclean water, and if you handle tar-like chemicals that damage hair follicles. Use of heavy make-up, cocoa butter handling, etc. can also cause folliculitis. Prolonged use of antibiotics or steroids on skin can also cause folliculitis. If you are immuno-suppressed because of some medications or diseases such as AIDS, diabetes, etc., your immunity becomes compromised and the infection can develop faster.

Your risk of getting folliculitis increases, if you

- Have acne or any other dermatitis,
- Are taking antibiotics for a long time,
- Apply topical steroids,
- Are overweight,
- Wear tight clothes,
- Have diseases that reduce your immunity such as diabetes, HIV, etc.

If folliculitis is wrongly diagnosed as acne, you will try standard OTC medication of acne but they may not respond. That may make you try higher strength acne medications. But that also will not work. The right approach is diagnosis. If the diagnosis is correct, half the battle is won. Whenever you see acne on your body, diagnose it properly. It may be folliculitis, keratosis pilaris, rosacea or perioral dermatitis.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.

The author CD Mohatta writes on acne for acnedoctor.us which guides about skin care, acne treatments, causes, medicines, myths, acne scars, etc.

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