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Diagnosed With Bacterial Folliculities. Prescribed Mupirocin Cream. Folliculities Back. Cure?

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Posted on Tue, 4 Jun 2013
Question: I was diagnosed with bacterial folliculities of the scalp around March. My dermatologist prescribed 1 week course of Mupirocin cream, 3 times a day. After a week the folliculities still did not reduce and I was on a 5 day course of SPORIDEX(cefalexin). This did not reduce the folliculities either. Around this time(April first week) I was also diagnosed with cefpodoxime proxetil and potassium clavulanate tablets which cleared both the respiratory tract infection and the bacterial folliculities. However its been slightly over a month now and the folliculities is back! Can you please advice on what medication to take? Will this ever be cured completely?
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Answered by Dr. Geetika Paul (1 hour later)
Hi XXXXXX,

Thanks for your query.

I understand that you are suffering from recurrent folliculitis of the scalp. Now this condition can many times be difficult to treat because of it's tendency to recur after complete recovery.

Now first you did not respond to the course of cephalaxein and later responded to the course of cefpodoxime . I think you should opt for amoxycillin and clavulinic acid now but remember to take complete dose and the course taken for atleast 7 days. If case you have taken this antibiotic earlier also for the same condition, then there are other alternatives like Cefixime, Novacloxacillin, linezolid and in very resistant cases, a reserved drug like rifampicin is also used.

Before you start with any type of therapy, i would like you to practice certain precautions like:

Avoid the use of hair oil altogether
Regular washing of hair ( atleast thrice weekly)
Use a betadine based shampoo to wash hair, this also decreases the chances of recurrent bacterial colonization
Also get your blood glucose levels checked to rule out diabetes
Also if you have dandruff also , then you need to treat it also along by using an antidandruff shampoo.
Next time that you develop the follicles, before initiating any kind of drug treatment, get a pus culture and sensitivity done from a standardized laboratory, so that we can be sure of the infecting organism and it's sensitivity and treat the condition accordingly.

I can assure you that recurrent folliculitis of the scalp,though is an irritating condition but it can be managed and cured completely.

Hope it helps.
If you have any other query, please let me know. I will be happy to help.

Dr Geetika Paul
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
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Answered by
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Dr. Geetika Paul

Dermatologist

Practicing since :2008

Answered : 2606 Questions

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Diagnosed With Bacterial Folliculities. Prescribed Mupirocin Cream. Folliculities Back. Cure?

Hi XXXXXX,

Thanks for your query.

I understand that you are suffering from recurrent folliculitis of the scalp. Now this condition can many times be difficult to treat because of it's tendency to recur after complete recovery.

Now first you did not respond to the course of cephalaxein and later responded to the course of cefpodoxime . I think you should opt for amoxycillin and clavulinic acid now but remember to take complete dose and the course taken for atleast 7 days. If case you have taken this antibiotic earlier also for the same condition, then there are other alternatives like Cefixime, Novacloxacillin, linezolid and in very resistant cases, a reserved drug like rifampicin is also used.

Before you start with any type of therapy, i would like you to practice certain precautions like:

Avoid the use of hair oil altogether
Regular washing of hair ( atleast thrice weekly)
Use a betadine based shampoo to wash hair, this also decreases the chances of recurrent bacterial colonization
Also get your blood glucose levels checked to rule out diabetes
Also if you have dandruff also , then you need to treat it also along by using an antidandruff shampoo.
Next time that you develop the follicles, before initiating any kind of drug treatment, get a pus culture and sensitivity done from a standardized laboratory, so that we can be sure of the infecting organism and it's sensitivity and treat the condition accordingly.

I can assure you that recurrent folliculitis of the scalp,though is an irritating condition but it can be managed and cured completely.

Hope it helps.
If you have any other query, please let me know. I will be happy to help.

Dr Geetika Paul