Conditions
Folliculitis
‘Barber’s itch’ sounds like something you might catch after an ill-advised sexual encounter with your hairstylist, but it’s actually another name for folliculitis. Also known as ‘hot tub folliculitis’, this condition manifests itself as small, white-headed pimples around one or more hair follicles, which, although itchy, cause little pain. However, deep or recurring folliculitis may need medical treatment. There are some simple treatments you can apply yourself, such as placing a warm, moist flannel over the affected area; trying an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream to help soothe itchy skin; and avoiding shaving the irritated skin altogether. A superficial case of folliculitis will usually clear by itself in a few days, but if there’s no improvement after two or three days, then you should go and see your GP.
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After reading peoples comments about Folliculitis which my GP said i have , i think i may have been wrongly diagnosed. I get spots mainly on my neck but also on my chest area , i'm 33 and only started getting this problem 2 years ago. Alot of the comments say this problem hurts or is painfull in some way , my spots do not hurt in anyway but the problem is really getting me down and after several trips to my GP they do not seem to know what to do. I have been perscribed alot of tablets but i seem to be allergic to all of them and hibiscrub didn't work. Any suggestions would be most helpfull.
hello, i am a 33 year old male thats been suffering with these very sore/painfull red spots all over my head for around 4/5 years now,i dont have any faith in my gp as i have been given so many pills creams and blood tests to find out what it is!! he did say it was folliculitis but i think he has pretty much given up on that idea because he is sending me for a test to see if i have a reaction to metals as i am a welder!!! thing is i got injured at work and have been off for 7 weeks now and i still get the flare ups,so i think it will be a waste of time!!i put tea tree oil on them,but they still last days sometimes weeks,i get around 10 or so at a time and they are so painfull and sometimes very large and angry,please help me as i am at my wits end. forgot to say i also get large groups of lumps under my armpits that hurt like hell,these seem to be linked to the spots/times i get them on my head! thanks for any advise,simon.
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Just thought i should say that i had been wrongly diagnosed with folliculitis for 18months when in fact its something much worse... HS or Hidradenitus suppurativa so i am now in more advance stage- with a worsened condition. if you are really worried keep persisting, it took me 3 different doctors surgerys, over 10 different doctors including a dermatologist and finally i have a proper diagnosis... not that it helps as there is no cure, i suppose there is some relief in knowing what it is but if it had been dealt with earlier it would not have progressed onto what it is now. my advice- dont give up, keep pushing, so many doctors will settle with a diagnosis these days when its not fair and not right.
I recently had my bikini line waxed (for the first time ever) and I now have a boil looking thing the size of a fifty pence peice. I tried to book an appointment with my doctors (we have 8 of the overpaid subjects) and again I have to wait 48 hours to see them and they can only fit me in during work hours! I am wondering if the girl that waxed me did it correct and whether I can hold them responsible?? she didn't give me any aftercare guide (I later found that she should have) and maybe the wax was dirty?? Now I am left with a dirty big boil which will probably scar!!
Hi Allison, I had the same problem the only time I ever went to a salon to get waxed, I had about 20 infected folliculs and couldnt walk for two days(I later studied Beauty and to do waxing as part of it so used to get free treaments in college). The reason it happened to me could be one of many reasons, they used a spatular that was already in the pot rather than a new one, they didn't use prewax treatment (which sterilises the area of any germs before treatment), or an after was soothing cream (usually tea tree water ) which cools and cleans the area. After a wax you should not shower/swim for 24 hours or use any tanning or moisturizing productys for 48 hrs. Tea Tree or witch Hazel are good to wipe over the area atferwards to sooth and clean the skin.
I have folliculitis on the back of my head which has now spread to the sides of my head. I have tried things prescribed by the doctor but it still doesnt go away :(
I have folliculitis on my mid back and shoulder blades; my chest and neck has 90% cleared up now. I have been dealing with this for about 6-8months. After trying different creams, antibiotics, and washes, i found something that actually is working. So far my folliculits is decreasing by 60% on my back and shoulders. I am currently in my 3rd week of treatment using: cetaphil cleanser 2x a day(best to wash in shower 2x day) followed by a spray foam called evoclin 2x a day. Evoclin is by prescription and Cetaphil is over the counter. Like i said, this is my 3rd week of doing this routine and my folliculitis has improved by 60% on back and shoulders and 90% on chest and neck; at this point. Dermatologist said that it is normal to take 3-6 months to completely cure it. I am going to start to use terrasil max on a small area and see if this speeds up the healing process.any suggestions would be appreciated!
I have been suffering with folliculitus around my anus, buttocks and groin for 2 years now, i've been on and off antbiotics from trimethoprin, ciprofloxacilin to long term (6weeks) flucloxacillian, and lymecycline for my acne and none of these seem to work, or if they do it's lasted for a week or 2, and then it come's back and gets very painfull due to the places they are situated, i've seen many different gp's and practice nurses, and now i feel like my gp is not intrested in it anymore i've asked for a dermatology referal but all i seem to get in response is lets see how these antibiotics work, and off i trot with another prescription for antibiotics i've had before, along with pessarys as i then also suffer with thrush due to the antibiotics, im 23 and now it's even ruining my sex life as it's too painfull for my partner to touch down below, along with thrush he had never had it before he met me, and now when im on antibiotics he doesnt come near me, Is their anything i can do? as i feel the next time it flares up im going to end up going to an a & e department and refusing to leave till somebody listens to my problem and helps to resolve it.
You should demand your doctor to refer you to the dermatologist, it is your right as a patient of the NHS. A similar thing happened to me, after being on antidepressant pills (for a nueralgia problem) for 6 months, untl I finally told the doctor I was not moving from my seat until they referred me, she referred me straight away....stand your ground and be heard. hope it all works out for you..x
its funny how doctors always push you out the door i have folliclitus on my legs for about 6 years now after all the antbiotics and realising im alergic to them all and using all the creams under the sun i finaly got put to dermatology been going now for about 6 months and got uvb (light treatment ) has got a good sucuss rate but didnt work for me now i beeen told just to live with it there is nothing they can do
Hi, i have exactly the same problem, it is painful and very itchy. I have been to doctors and she told me it was follicits but said it was common and not alot they can do. Ok for her to say she not got it. If you do have any luck getting a cure would you please let me know.
Thank you for visiting our web site and for discussing your problem so openly. If you would like the opportunity to be seen by one of the Embarrassing Bodies Doctors and have your problems assessed and treated by a specialist, then why not apply for the chance to take part in the programme. Please visit the following link and click ‘Apply to be on the show’ where you can fill in an application form: http://www.channel4embarrassingillnesses.com/features/be-on-embarrassing-bodies/
Hello. For about 2 years now I have suffered with VERY bad ingrown hairs on my legs - there is now dark marks (i assume scarring) and also red marks all over the lower half of my legs. I moisturise every day, and nothings improved.. if anything it's still getting progressively worse. It is AWFUL and really getting to me! Is there anything to get rid of these marks at all that anyone knows of? I've tried laser treatment (i had 5 sessions) and i STILL have the problem.
hello, i have the same problem iv got bad ingrown hairs and scars on my lower half of my legs. But about a year and a half ago i used the epilator that pulls hair out of your legs and i had to stop using it because it just butcherd my legs and now i have really bad ingrown hairs because of it, and like an idiot i picked them out wich caused scars!!! the doctor has put me on 4months of antibiotics thats not working!! i was thinking of getting laser treatment but you said it didnt work on you, so i dont know what to do now. was it expensive?? please help me and right back. thanks
Hey Katie. It was an epilator which started off my problem! AND I was an idiot too - picking at them :( I think the laser worked out as £150 per treatment and i had 5 in total. My hair was really thick and dark, and it did help with the actual amount of hair I have because now i have patches on my legs with no hairs. However, i still had the red/brown marks. Just to let you know - I went to a dermatologist today, he said the dark marks are pigmentation from irritating my hair follicles (or something like that)so he gave me a cream for it, and also a different cream to use before and after shaving. So maybe book an appointment? Hope i've helped a bit, I know how frustrating it can be! x
Hi, I've has this problem too, for about 15 years now. The only advice I've ever had from my GP was to stop irritating the hair roots ie stop removing hair! I'm very dark, the hair on my legs, underarm and bikini line is too thick and dark to not remove it. I have lumps and scars on both underarms, and years of scarring on my legs and bikini line. Beauticians have offered me creams that are meant to reduce ingrowing hairs, which I did try and used religiously, but it didn't work. I always remove ingrowing hairs when I see them, as they tend to get infected if I leave them, which causes more scarring. I exfoliate daily, and use a good moisturiser daily, but it doesn't help. I dont shave anymore as it irritates my skin far too much, I've epilated and waxed at home for the last 5 years, hair growth has slowed and is patchy, but as each hair weakens it grows in as it cant break through the skin, so back to square one!! I would dearly love to have clear skin, but I dont think there is a solution, I have to continue to cover up, even in hot weather.
It's really nice to hear i'm not the only one in this situation. For years I have had these small pimples on the backs of my arms, back and legs and chest area. I hate that I can't wear what I want to, like sleeveles tops as I'm so embarrassed. My family tell me it's not so bad and it just looks like I have freckles.. but not to me. Doctors haven't been too helpful, I have tried antibiotics and hydrocortisone cream. I wasn't happy when I was prescribed the cream as I heard it can cause thinning of the skin if used for a prolonged time... so I stopped after a month. It's getting worse now, I exfoliate everyday... but now some form into full on pimples and scar. The scarring takes quite a while to heal now.
hey emma thanks for your reply, iv booked in to get laser treatment on my legs hopefuly it will get rid of the horrable dark thick hairs and my ingrown hairs. was it worth it though do you still have alot of hair and ingrown hairs left? did it hurt? what cream was it that they gave you? sorry about all these questions its just i really want my legs to get better im sure you know how i feel. hope yours are getting better! :) thank you very much for your help x x
I want to have laser treatment on my bakini line, I have this condition on my bakini line, arm pits, bottom and top of my arms however I do not shave, wax or pluck hairs, the hairs which are ingrowing are new hairs which tend to be on my bakini line or in my arm pits and they become red, infected and sore, often breaking out into puss filled lesions and become scabbed and take months to heal even with antibiotics and creams. I use Hibi Scrub on my bottom in the shower and have started to use it elsewhere as well which seems to reduce the rash but not the lesions on my bakini line. I have had this condition for nearly 10 years and seen a dermotologist who just took one look and diognosed it and said nothing they can do apart from creams and antibiotics and live with it. I have got to the point where I always have lesions on my bakini line and these are scaring more and more and not healing properly causing more to appear. I need to have some other form of treatment to prevent it happening in this region before I become serverly scared and the condition gets worse. Can anyone recommend a NHS or private clinic that will perform laser treatment on hair folicals on the bakini line please? I have no idea where to look and my doctor is useless. I really need help.
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