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Folliculitis is a bacterial infection of hair follicles.
Folliculitis is usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus but occasionally Pseudomonas aeruginosa (hot tub folliculitis) or other organisms. Hot tub folliculitis occurs because of inadequate treatment of water with chlorine or bromine.
Symptoms of folliculitis are mild pain, pruritus, or irritation. Signs of folliculitis are a superficial pustule or inflammatory nodule surrounding a hair follicle. Infected hairs easily fall out or are removed, but new papules tend to develop. Growth of stiff hairs into the skin may cause chronic low-grade irritation or inflammation that may mimic infectious folliculitis (pseudofolliculitis barbae—see Hair Disorders: Pseudofolliculitis Barbae).
Treatment
Because most folliculitis is caused by S. aureus, clindamycin 1% lotion or gel may be applied topically bid for 7 to 10 days. Alternatively, benzoyl peroxide 5% wash may be used when showering for 5 to 7 days. Extensive cutaneous involvement may warrant systemic therapy (eg, cephalexin 250 to 500 mg po tid to qid for 10 days). If these measures do not result in a cure, or folliculitis recurs, pustules are Gram stained and cultured to rule out gram-negative or methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) etiology, and nares are cultured to rule out nasal staphylococcal carriage. Potassium hydroxide wet mount should be done on a plucked hair to rule out fungal folliculitis.
Treatment for MRSA usually requires 2 oral antibiotics, and the choice of therapeutic drugs should be based on culture and sensitivity reports.
Hot tub folliculitis usually resolves without treatment. However, adequate chlorination of the hot tub is necessary to prevent recurrences and to protect others from infection.
Last full review/revision October 2007 by A. Damian Dhar, MD, JD
Content last modified October 2007
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