What Causes Itchy Bumps And Scalp Sores?
Itchy bumps and scalp sores may have many different causes. These eruptions can be due to an underlying disease process that can be serious or simple clogged pores filled with sebum which became infected. The area gets red and painful to the touch with pressure builds-up inside the closed pimple. This pimple will open up by itself or during washing your hair. Once opened, the pressure is relieved and it begins to heal. That is the simplest cause of bumps on the scalp.
There are other causes that need medical attention in order to get better. For instance, with folliculitis, the patient has many bumps all over his scalp or anywhere on his body where hair grows. Many of the hair follicles may be infected, usually with staphylococcus aureus. Another cause can be psoriasis which can affect the scalp as easily as any other part of the body. Tinea capitis and eczema can produce bumps and sores as well.
Who Gets Bumps And Scalp Sores?
Bumps and scalp sores are not confined to any particular age or gender, with the exception perhaps of tinea capitis which most often affects children. Folliculitis can occur with anyone but diabetics are more often afflicted with it than healthy people.
Acne vulgaris is the simplest form of acne, the blackhead or whitehead. Anyone is susceptible to these, with teenagers making up the majority. Psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder that generally happens to adults of any age. It is manifested by an accelerated turn-over of cells. These epidermal cells mature more quickly than normal and form bumps, before they’re replaced by new cells. These are just a few examples of what causes bumps and scalp sores.
Why Do Some People Get Lesions On Their Scalp?
Tinea capitis is a fungal dermatitis most often found in children because they share baseball caps or knit caps, combs and hair brushes. Children are much more apt to romp with dogs and cats as well. The animals are often carriers of this fungus and will infect the child with it. Diabetics have a somewhat decreased immune system which makes them more vulnerable to infections of any kind; folliculitis is no exception. What causes bumps and scalp sores in psoriasis, is the person’s own immune system. It decided to fight itself, causing much discomfort. Acne vulgaris happens mostly because of hormone imbalances.
What Happens Without Treatment?
As simple as some of these causes for scalp lesions seem to be, the outcome without treatment can be dire. The first line of treatment is often prescribed as a shampoo for itchy scalp - generally medicated with Zinc. Zinc controls the amount of oil secreted by the scalp that many times is the root cause of itching, sores and bumps. Even the common acne vulgaris lesions can become infected, especially by staph and progress into furuncles and carbuncles, both painful and embarrassing. Tinea capitis begins as a very small circumscribed lesion, often on the crown of the head.Without medical attention, hair loss will increase in an annular pattern until tinea capitis is advanced to tinea totalis, or total baldness of the scalp. A zinc shampoo can prove very beneficial to not only reduce sebaceous gland activity, zinc helps stop conversion of testosterone to DHT - that can cause hair loss. Psoriasis is a little different than the rest of these skin conditions in that it often goes into remission.
Remission can happen with or without specific treatment, but will definitely be quicker with medication. If psoriasis does not go into remission on its own and no treatment is provided, the result will be some kind of bacterial or fungal infection from the open sores and the irrepressible urge to scratch.
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