What are these Conditions?

Folliculitis is a bacterial infection of the hair follicle that causes formation of a pustule - a collection of pus beneath the outer skin layer. The infection can be superficial or deep.

Folliculitis may also lead to the development of furuncles (furunculosis), commonly known as boils, or carbuncles (carbunculosis). The prognosis depends on the severity of the infection and on the person’s physical condition and ability to resist infection.

What Causes them?

The most common cause of folliculitis, boils, or carbunculosis is a bacterium called Staphylococcus aureus. Factors that increase a person’s risk of developing these conditions include an infected wound, poor hygiene, debilitation, diabetes, cosmetics that clog pores, tight clothes, friction, exposure to chemicals, and treatment of skin lesions with tar or with occlusive therapy, using steroids. Boils often follow folliculitis that’s exacerbated by irritation, pressure, friction, or perspiration. Persistent infection and boils may lead to carbunculosis.

What are their Symptoms?

Pustules of folliculitis usually appear on the scalp, arms, and legs in children; on the face of bearded men; and on the eyelids. Deep folliculitis may be painful.

Folliculitis may progress to hard, painful boils, which commonly develop on the neck, face, underarms, and buttocks. These boils enlarge for several days and then rupture, discharging pus and necrotic material. After they rupture, pain subsides, but redness and swelling may persist for days or weeks.

Carbunculosis is marked by extremely painful, deep abscesses that drain through many openings onto the skin surface, usually around several hair follicles. Fever and malaise may accompany these lesions.

How are they Diagnosed?

The presence of characteristic skin lesions confirms folliculitis, boils, or carbunculosis. A wound culture performed in a lab reveals the infecting organism. In carbunculosis, the person’s history reveals preexistent boils. A complete blood count may show an elevated number of white blood cells.

How are they Treated?

Treatment of folliculitis consists of cleaning the infected area thoroughly with soap and water; applying warm, wet compresses to promote drainage from the lesions; topical antibiotics, such as Bactroban ointment; and in extensive infection, systemic antibiotics (E-Mycin or Dynapen). Boils may also require incision and drainage of ripe lesions after application of warm, wet compresses, and topical antibiotics after drainage. Carbunculosis is treated with systemic antibiotics.

This is one of three types of skin cancer. The other two are basal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma . In squamous cell carcinoma, underlying skin cells are damaged, and this leads to the development of a malignant, or life-threatening, tumor (lump). As with the other types of skin cancer, years of exposure to strong sunlight seem to be the main cause.

What are the Symptoms?

A firm, fleshy, hard-surfaced lump develops, and grows steadily. In some cases, it looks like a wart. In others it looks like an ulcer, but the ulceration never heals completely. A squamous cell tumor usually appears on a place that is constantly exposed to sunlight. The lower lip, the ears, and the hands are common sites.

What are the Risks?

You are most at risk of having skin cancer if you have lived in a sunny area or worked outdoors for many years, have light skin, and are middle-aged or elderly. The disorder is very rare in people with dark skin.

If the cancer is allowed to reach an advanced stage, it may metastasize, or spread to other parts of the body. If this happens, the outlook is poor. Usually, if the problem is detected early, the treatment is effective.

What should be Done?

Go to your physician without delay if you develop a lump that does not heal in two weeks. Your physician may want you to have a biopsy, in which a small sample of the suspected tumor is removed for analysis.

Most squamous cell tumors are removed by cutting them away. When the tumor is large, a skin graft may be needed to cover the scar. Alternative treatments are cryosurgery (freezing), chemosurgery and radiation therapy. Most patients are completely cured, and regular checkups are advised over the next five years.

Acne vulgaris, often called simply acne, is a condition in which spots of various types appear on the skin. As many adolescents know, it nearly always develops during puberty. For this reason it is discussed under Special problems of adolescents .Acne rosacea is a condition in which the tiny blood vessels under the skin of the cheeks, nose, and forehead enlarge over a period of weeks or months. Why this happens is not known. The blood vessels can be seen as red streaks on the face. In some cases, the skin becomes completely reddened. Eating hot spicy food, or drinking alcohol or strong tea or coffee, makes you flush brightly. In some cases, pus-filled spots appear. About half of people with acne rosacea also get sore eyes, due to a type of conjunctivitis that develops

Acne rosacea is harmless. It affects adults and tends to persist for years, usually coming and going of its own accord in that time.

What Should be Done?

See your physician, who may prescribe an antibiotic drug. This is likely to improve the condition within a few weeks. However, after the antibiotic is discontinued, the condition may well recur and require antibiotic treatment again.

Cellulitis Treatment for Curing it Fast and Effectively

Cellulitis is a skin infection caused by Streptococcus bacteria that enter the skin tissue through a small cut or sore. The bacteria produce special chemicals called enzymes that break down the skin cells. Any part of the body can be infected but, for reasons that are not known, it is usually a cut or sore on your face or lower leg that becomes infected. A red, tender swelling develops and spreads gradually for a day or two. Red lines may appear on your skin, running from the infected area along lymph vessels to nearby lymph glands such as those in your groin. Your lymph glands may swell, your tempera­ture rises, and you become feverish and ill.

What are the risks?

If the infection is not treated, the bacteria may get into the bloodstream and cause blood poisoning . So consult your physician as soon as you become aware of the infection. The physician will probably prescribe an antibiotic, which should clear up the disorder.