Folliculitis is the inflammation of one or more hair follicles. The condition may occur anywhere on the skin.
Causes of Folliculitis
Most carbuncles and furuncles and other cases of folliculitis develop from Staphylococcus aureus.
Folliculitis starts when hair follicles are damaged by friction from clothing, blockage of the follicle, shaving or too tight braids too close to the scalp [traction folliculitis]. In most cases of folliculitis, the damaged follicles are then infected with the bacteria Staphylococcus (staph).
Iron deficiency anemia is sometimes associated with chronic cases
- Sycosis barbae or Barber’s itch is a staphylococcus infection of the hair follicles in the bearded area of the face, usually the upper lip. Shaving aggravates the condition.
- Tinea barbae is similar to barber’s itch, but the infection is caused by the fungus T. rubrum.
- Pseudofolliculitis barbae is a disorder occurring primarily in men of African descent. If curly beard hairs are cut too short, they may curve back into the skin and cause inflammation.
- Hot tub folliculitis is caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa often found in new hot tubs. The folliculitis usually occurs after sitting in a hot tub that was not properly cleaned before use. Symptoms are found around the body parts that sit in the hot tub — typically the legs, hips, and buttocks and surrounding areas. Symptoms are typically amplified around regions that were covered by wet clothing, such as bathing suits.
Symptoms of Folliculitis
- rash (reddened skin area)
- pimples or pustules located around a hair follicle
- may crust over
- typically occur on neck, axilla, or groin area
- may be present as genital lesions
- itching skin
- spreading from leg to arm to body through improper treatment of antibiotics
Treatment of Folliculitis
- Topical antiseptic treatment is adequate for most cases
- Topical antibiotics such as mupirocin or neomycin containing ointment
- Some patients may benefit from systemic narrow-spectrum penicillinase-resistant penicillins (such as dicloxacillin in US, or flucloxacillin in UK)
Homeopathy Treatment for Folliculitis
Keywords: homeopathy, homeopathic, treatment, cure, remedy, remedies, medicine
Homeopathy treats the person as a whole. It means that homeopathic treatment focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition. The homeopathic medicines are selected after a full individualizing examination and case-analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution, family history, presenting symptoms, underlying pathology, possible causative factors etc. A miasmatic tendency (predisposition/susceptibility) is also often taken into account for the treatment of chronic conditions. A homeopathy doctor tries to treat more than just the presenting symptoms. The focus is usually on what caused the disease condition? Why ‘this patient’ is sick ‘this way’. The disease diagnosis is important but in homeopathy, the cause of disease is not just probed to the level of bacteria and viruses. Other factors like mental, emotional and physical stress that could predispose a person to illness are also looked for. No a days, even modern medicine also considers a large number of diseases as psychosomatic. The correct homeopathy remedy tries to correct this disease predisposition. The focus is not on curing the disease but to cure the person who is sick, to restore the health. If a disease pathology is not very advanced, homeopathy remedies do give a hope for cure but even in incurable cases, the quality of life can be greatly improved with homeopathic medicines.
The homeopathic remedies (medicines) given below indicate the therapeutic affinity but this is not a complete and definite guide to the homeopathy treatment of this condition. The symptoms listed against each homeopathic remedy may not be directly related to this disease because in homeopathy general symptoms and constitutional indications are also taken into account for selecting a remedy. To study any of the following remedies in more detail, please visit the Materia Medica section at Hpathy.
None of these medicines should be taken without professional advice and guidance.
Homeopathy Remedies for Folliculitis :
Agar., calc., kali-i., lach., lith., lyc., merc., nat-m., nit-ac., ph-ac., rhus-t., sil.
- ^ Medline Plus (NIH) article on Hot tub folliculitis