Infected Hair Follicle

Many of us can flaunt our lovely hair, all thanks to our hair follicles. The hair follicle is basically a part of the skin, that leads to the growth of hair by bundling and packing old cells together. Then, attached to this follicle is the sebaceous gland, which produces or rather secretes an oily or waxy matter called sebum. Now the equation is like, the thicker the density of your hair, the more you would find these glands. So, you would be wondering what makes our hair jut out like the way it does. That is caused by a specific muscle fiber existent with the hair follicle, which makes the hair follicle protrude above the skin around it. Any irritation or disruption of hair follicles can lead to hair loss. One of such conditions is infection of the hair follicle or simply put infected hair follicle. It points out to the swelling of the hair follicle, which can happen anywhere on the skin. Following is an overview of what is this infection, its causes, symptoms and treatment. Read more on folliculitis treatment.

Causes of Hair Follicle Infection
The most prominent cause of hair follicle infection is staphylococcus (staph) aureus, a kind of bacteria. Thus, it could be safely said that it is the staph infection of the hair follicle. The other common causes are

• Friction created from tight clothes or from shaving
• Too much of sweating
• Inflammatory tendencies and condition of the skin like acne or dermatitis or both
• Skin abrasions or surgical wounds
• Trapping of your skin for prolonged period in adhesive tape or plastic dressing

This can happen on any area of the skin except for spots where there are mucus membranes, palms and soles.

Symptoms of Hair Follicle Infection
The signs of an infected hair follicle depend on whether it is superficial or deep.

Superficial Folliculitis

• Hair follicle infection caused by staphylococcus leads to itchy, white pus-filled bumps.
• Hot Tub hair follicle infection symptoms are red, round and itchy bumps.
• Tinea barbae could happen to men in their beard area. Its symptoms are itchy, white bumps.
• Pseudo Folliculitis symptoms are swelling and in some cases raised, dark scars on the neck and face.
• The sign of herpetic hair follicle infection is a small blister filled with fluid
• Pityrosprum hair follicle infection can be distinguished by red, itching pustules, especially on the back and chest and sometimes on neck, shoulder, face and upper arms.

Deep Folliculitis

• Pain
• Blisters full of pus which break open and crust over
• A swollen bump
• Remnants of the cleared infection exist in the form of scars.

Treatment for Hair Follicle Infection
Here again, the treatment is determined by the causes so here is infected hair follicle treatment corresponding to the cause and the type of the infection.

Staph Hair Follicle Infection: An antibiotic to fight the infection is the first course of treatment any doctor will prescribe for a staphylococcus infected hair follicle. The antibiotic can be either applied to your skin or it could be a tablet. Another thing a doctor would suggest is to avoid shaving the affected area. In case you cannot do so, use an electric shaver or a thoroughly clean razor blade.

Herpetic Folliculitis: Well, in case of a healthy adult, this hair follicle infection can clear on its own, sans any treatment. But, if an individual has Aids or is HIV positive or has tendency of developing cold sores, oral antiviral medication is prescribed. Acyclovir, famciclovir are a few of such medicines. Although these clear the infection, they might not prevent its recurrence.

Boils and Carbuncles: The treatment for this involves draining the boil or carbuncle if its a large one preceded by a small incision. Relief from pain, faster recovery and prevention of scarring is facilitated by this procedure. Antibiotics are also prescribed to heal recurrent and severe infections.

Pseudo Folliculitis Barbae: Typically, following a few shaving tips could deal well with this type of folliculitis. Using electric razor, in the first place is advisable. If you have to use a blade, massage your beard with moist and warm cloth or a facial sponge for lifting the hair for providing ease of shaving. Another thing to remember is to use a shaving gel rather than a cream, while shaving in the direction of the hair growth. Finally, after you are done, rinse properly with warm water and apply a moisturizing aftershave.

Eosinophilic Folliculitis: The most common remedy for this is topical corticosteroids. If there is a severe infection, short course of these steroids is prescribed by the doctor. In the case of HIV positive and Aids patients having mild infection of this type, topical steroids in tandem with oral antihistamines may be prescribed.

Other Treatments: Isotretinoin and certain antibiotics help deal with Gram Negative folliculitis, caused by prolonged antibiotic therapy for acne. Tinea Barbae is best treated by oral antifungal medications. While for pityrosporum foliculitis, oral anti fungal or topical medications are believed to be most effective.

Finally, taking care while shaving, not wearing too tight clothes (you can compromise slightly on being a show stealer, right?) and cleaning your bath tub thoroughly can do wonders to avoid occurrences of an infected hair follicle.

So I wind this up saying that hopefully now you would get no more scary hairy tales to describe! Take Care!