Scalp Folliculitis: Is That The Cause of Itchy Scalp?

The inflammation of hair follicles in its simplest form appears as a small bump on part of skin which has hair follicles. The treatment of which is based on simple management, with readily available home remedies. As the condition of folliculitis has no predilection for age, sex or region, it is one of most common skin ailments. It can appear in any part of body, except in palm of the hand, sole of feet and mucous membrane.The anatomical location may be wide spread at one particular instance, as autogenous extension of folliculitis is very common when personal hygiene is not maintained to good standards. But even in that case the morphology of causative or infective organism may differ widely in different locations. The common areas observed to be affected by folliculitis, in the order of higher frequency to lowest are, the facial area specifically the area where one shaves, under arms or armpits, the scalp, thighs, buttocks and legs.Scalp folliculitis though not the most frequent area where folliculitis occurs is very common none the less. This is due to it being the hairiest part of the body and thus more prone to all kinds of skin infection as it sweats more and being oily, can provide a breeding ground for micro-organism who flourish in such favorable surroundings. Follicles also get exposed after deep combing allowing invasion of bacteria and subsequently triggering the development of folliculitis. Like folliculitis in any other location of the skin, scalp inflammation too starts as redness of surrounding skin with appearance of a small bump. Two different causes provoke scalp folliculitis. These are infectious folliculitis and non-infectious folliculitis.The difference in etiology will determine the protocol of treatment. Infectious variant, as the name suggests, is caused by either one or more of the microbes present on skin of the scalp or get into the scalp from unclean surroundings. It can be caused by bacteria, fungi, parasites or viruses. Non-infectious folliculitis is seen mostly in case involving oily scalp.The most common and annoying part of scalp folliculitis is severe itching which further can aggravate already existing inflammation by damaging more hair follicles.Treatment of non-infectious scalp folliculitis is based on keeping scalp area dry as much as possible and not letting it get greasy. Luke warm or cold showers are advisable instead of hot showers. This is because the taking showers with hot water will enhance the oily secretion from sebum secreting glands. However, salicylic acid or zinc containing shampoos can solve the problem of oily scalp. It is preferable to use these preparations until the scalp folliculitis subsides completely. Local steroidal creams will help to minimize the annoying symptom of itching.Infectious scalp folliculitis is commonly caused by Staphylococcus aureus. This condition requires regular treatment with anti-septic soap or lotion, anti-pruritic steroidal creams, and warm swabs on affected area to clear debris of dead skin in and around the affected skin.The choice of antibiotics to be given orally are either, Cephalexin or Dicloxacillin or Flucloxacillin, dose ranges from 250 mg -500 mg four times daily for 10 days.In case of superadded fungal infection local anti-fungal shampoo baths may suffice. Ketoconazole or Econazole are very effective in this regard.Last, but not least important, is alopecia areata which may occur if complication sets in. Oral or local injectable steroids can result in regrowth of lost hairs.As shown scalp folliculitis can be quite annoying but there is are treatments for this type of folliculitis that can more than help someone suffering from this skin condition.