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Infected hair follicle (folliculitis)
A condition in which one or more hair follicles are swollen, usually when the follicles are damaged by friction from clothing, shaving, or blockage.
Dr. Geoffrey Rutledge reviewed this
39 year experience in Internal Medicine
Is a type of:
How long it usually lasts:
How common it is:
Baby 0-2 | Common | ||||
Preteen 6-13 | Very common | ||||
Teenager 14-18 | Very common | ||||
Young adult 19-40 | Very common | ||||
Middle-aged adult 41-60 | Very common |
How it can usually be treated?
How is it usually diagnosed?
Body locations
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Related questions
A 23-year old female asked:
If I have an infected hair follicle (folliculitis) on my leg, can I spread it to someone else merely by shared bedding that the follicle touched?
1 doctor answer • 4 doctors weighed in
A 23-year old female asked:
I have an infected hair follicle on my leg which I've read is folliculitis and is contagious. If my 6 month old gets it, can it be dangerous to him?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 26-year old female asked:
It looks like folliculitis there's only a couple bumps and its by hair follicles and appeared after shaving? What can i do to heal it fast?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 37-year old male asked:
I have lots of redness in pubic hair area. Seems to be near or on hair follicles. Im wandering if its folliculitis or Warts?
1 doctor answer • 4 doctors weighed in
A 37-year old male asked:
Forgot to ask. Ive been told Ive folliculitis and believed it was Genital Warts myself. My question is theyre red and hair follicles are involved but nope or anything pimple head at all. Could these actually be warts even with hair involved?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 19-year old female asked:
Hello i have bacterial folliculitis and i wanna ask how does it spread on the same body. does the bacteria infect the follicle only if theres a cut or wound? can u transmit the bacteria from slightly touching the area and then another body part?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 40-year old asked:
Hair follicle infection: I have this bump in my underarms, i think it's follicitis?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 30-year old asked:
What is a good cure for an infected hair follicle?
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
A 24-year old asked:
How does an infected hair follicle look?
2 doctor answers • 6 doctors weighed in
A 31-year old asked:
How can I clear infected hair follicles from shaving?
2 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in
A 47-year old asked:
Aside from lipoma, what can be caused by an infected hair follicle?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 45-year old asked:
What skin diseases can cause a change of color in the hair follicle in the infected area of the skin?
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
A 50-year old female asked:
I have what seems to be an infected hair follicle on my chin. It's affecting the left side of my face.
2 doctor answers • 2 doctors weighed in
A 22-year old female asked:
Why do I regularly get infected hair follicles on my "private area"? (Sorry, I couldn't think of better words).
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
A female asked:
How can I treat a painful infected hair follicle in the entrance of my nose?
1 doctor answer • 3 doctors weighed in
A 33-year old asked:
Infected hair follicle above lip that tingles, what should I do?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 43-year old asked:
Yeast infection and infected hair follicle, is there any connection?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 66-year old female asked:
Can you squeeze open an infected hair follicle and nothing come out? Even if it's a boil or carbuncle?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 32-year old female asked about a 32-year old female:
Sores covering right calf start off small bug like bums an enchanter dug into that end up like huge infected bug bites or hair follicles. Red?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 62-year old female asked:
Can lump from sweat gland or hair follicle be painless and infected?
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
A 26-year old female asked about a 38-year old male:
My BF pulled out a few nose hairs & he says now it feels like an ingrown follicle & very painful. Feels swollen & infected. What should we do?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 25-year old male asked:
How does psoriasis normally start as and progress? I had very tiny bumps on my elbows that were like goosebumps or infected hair follicles and have gone down, but I now see a flat dry area of skin. Doesn't really itch much. Have eczema already?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 27-year old female asked:
Is it normal for a boil/infected follicle/ingrown hair to be really painful after trying to pop/scratch it (during the next day while wearing pants) Or is more a characteristic of a herpes blister? Didn't notice it before trying to pop it?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 20-year old female asked:
On the exterior part of my anus, there is a small bump that looks like a pimple. Touching it hurts, yet it's soft and feels like it's full with blood/pus. Could this be an infected hair follicle? Should I add Neosporin, pop it, or leave it alone?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 28-year old female asked:
Can I use coal tar shampoo on my pubic hair? For some reason all of my pubic hair follicles are inflamed and hurt to the bottom but not infected?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 66-year old female asked:
Had lump & Dr said infected hair follicle. I had tried to extract hair, open sore. Taking Keflex, done 5 days. Swelling down, sore healed but the ring of red around the lump that was there initially is now a ring that is almost white why what is it?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 52-year old male asked:
Went to urgent care for small inflamed pimple. They looked at it, infected hair follicle prescribed cleocin (clindamycin phosphate) t. Preferred this over mupirocin. .. Ok?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 23-year old male asked:
On another post on here you talked about an infected hair folicle. How does one fix that or make it better?
1 doctor answer • 2 doctors weighed in
A 32-year old asked:
Is folliculitis or herpes more likely on haired area?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
A 29-year old male asked:
How to treat hair folliculitis on scalp.sufferin from thisnproblem last 8 yrs?
2 doctor answers • 3 doctors weighed in
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