Bacterial Skin Infections: Folliculitis
Published by R on Thursday, September 08, 2005 at Thursday, September 08, 2005.
There are only a few species of bacteria that infect healthy skin. Hair follicles are most vulnerable to such bacterial infection, and folliculitis is one such infection.
Symptoms
Folliculitis develops at a hair follicle as a small red bump or pimple. One of the treatments is to pull the hair from the skin, accompanied by some pus, and the infection goes away without further complication.
Sometimes, however, the infection spreads to underneath tissue causing swelling, redness, pain, severe tenderness and the lesion becomes a boil or furuncle; pus may begin to drain from the infected site. If the skin is thick, such as the back of the neck of part of the leg, a carbuncle may develop. Fever may accompany serious infection.
Causative Agent
Most carbuncles and furuncles and other cases of folliculitis develop from Staphylococcus aureus, this is a bit different from the regular staphylococcus found on the skin - mostly within the nostrils. This S. aureus is a "big name" among all the serious medical conditions, as most of the important skin infections are caused by it.
How the infection begins
Infection starts when staphylococci attach to the cells of a hair follicle. Infection spreads to the oil-secreting sebaceous glands lying underneath the hair follicle. Symptoms such as redness, pain and swelling begin to appear as blood cells like polymorphonuclear leukocytes accumulate at the site of infection. As time advances, the follicle swells with inflammatory cells and necrotic tissue, and pus develops. I believe, this would be the right time to seek treatment.
If left untreated, the infection spreads to nearby hair follicles and a carbuncle develops. If causative organisms enter the blood stream, the infection may spread to other parts of the body such as the heart, brain and the bones.
Prevention and Cure
The prevention of S. aureus infection is not easy. A few steps taken are applying antibiotic cream (antistaphylococcal cream in particular) to the nostrils and using antibacterial soaps to bathe the skin. Another treatment would be to surgically remove pus from the infected site. And eat healthy!
Symptoms
Folliculitis develops at a hair follicle as a small red bump or pimple. One of the treatments is to pull the hair from the skin, accompanied by some pus, and the infection goes away without further complication.
Sometimes, however, the infection spreads to underneath tissue causing swelling, redness, pain, severe tenderness and the lesion becomes a boil or furuncle; pus may begin to drain from the infected site. If the skin is thick, such as the back of the neck of part of the leg, a carbuncle may develop. Fever may accompany serious infection.
Causative Agent
Most carbuncles and furuncles and other cases of folliculitis develop from Staphylococcus aureus, this is a bit different from the regular staphylococcus found on the skin - mostly within the nostrils. This S. aureus is a "big name" among all the serious medical conditions, as most of the important skin infections are caused by it.
How the infection begins
Infection starts when staphylococci attach to the cells of a hair follicle. Infection spreads to the oil-secreting sebaceous glands lying underneath the hair follicle. Symptoms such as redness, pain and swelling begin to appear as blood cells like polymorphonuclear leukocytes accumulate at the site of infection. As time advances, the follicle swells with inflammatory cells and necrotic tissue, and pus develops. I believe, this would be the right time to seek treatment.
If left untreated, the infection spreads to nearby hair follicles and a carbuncle develops. If causative organisms enter the blood stream, the infection may spread to other parts of the body such as the heart, brain and the bones.
Prevention and Cure
The prevention of S. aureus infection is not easy. A few steps taken are applying antibiotic cream (antistaphylococcal cream in particular) to the nostrils and using antibacterial soaps to bathe the skin. Another treatment would be to surgically remove pus from the infected site. And eat healthy!
