Folliculitis (hair follicle inflammation)

Fol­li­cu­li­tis is an inflamm­a­ti­on of the hair fol­lic­les and is one of the most com­mon skin dise­a­ses. It can occur any­whe­re on the body whe­re hair grows, but often affects the face, scalp, arm­pits, gro­in and thighs. The most com­mon cau­se is a bac­te­ri­al infec­tion with Sta­phy­lo­coc­cus aureus, a bac­te­ri­um that nor­mal­ly lives on the skin but can inva­de the hair fol­lic­les in the event of inju­ry or irri­ta­ti­on. Other bac­te­ria, fun­gi or viru­s­es can also cau­se fol­li­cu­li­tis. Favorable fac­tors are shaving, which cau­ses micro-lesi­ons in the skin, exces­si­ve swea­ting, tight clot­hing that irri­ta­tes the skin, lack of or exces­si­ve hygie­ne, con­ta­mi­na­ted whirl­pools or swim­ming pools and a wea­k­en­ed immu­ne sys­tem. Fol­li­cu­li­tis is cha­rac­te­ri­zed by small, red, infla­med nodu­les or pus­tu­les that form around the roots of the hair. Each pus­tu­le con­ta­ins a hair in the cen­ter and is often sur­roun­ded by a red halo. The affec­ted are­as may itch, burn or be pain­ful. In mild forms, only a few hair fol­lic­les are affec­ted; in more seve­re cases, lar­ger are­as of skin may be infla­med. If the inflamm­a­ti­on pene­tra­tes deeper into the skin, pain­ful lumps can deve­lop. The dia­gno­sis is usual­ly made cli­ni­cal­ly. In the case of recur­rent or the­ra­py-resistant fol­li­cu­li­tis, a swab can be taken to iden­ti­fy the patho­gen. Mild cases often heal on their own if the trig­ge­ring fac­tors are avo­ided. Gent­le skin cle­an­sing with anti­sep­tic washing solu­ti­ons is hel­pful. In the case of bac­te­ri­al infec­tions, anti­bio­tic oint­ments or creams are appli­ed local­ly. Sys­te­mic anti­bio­tics in tablet form are neces­sa­ry for exten­si­ve infe­sta­ti­ons. Warm, moist com­pres­ses can help to heal the pus­tu­les. As a pre­ven­ta­ti­ve mea­su­re, care should be taken to main­tain good per­so­nal hygie­ne wit­hout over-irri­ta­ting the skin. When shaving, use clean, sharp blades and shave in the direc­tion of hair growth. After sport, swea­ty clot­hing should be chan­ged quickly.