What Is Folliculitis?
Folliculitis are infections of the hair follicles that can occur before, after, or at any time after a hair transplant. It occurs when hair follicles become inflamed. These look like small pimples and can be itchy. It can also spread to the whole head and may turn into scabs.
What Are The Types Of Hair Folliculitis:
Bacterial Folliculitis
Fungal Folliculitis
Sterile Folliculitis
Folliculitis does not always occur as a result of infection; there may be other causes.
Folliculitis can occur on both planted and existing hair, and it has the potential to occur on both donor and recipient areas.
When Can Folliculitis Occur?
-It can occur just after hair transplant or there is a chance that infection will occur accidentally during hair transplant, it is also called Nosocomial Infection.
-It can also happen when we break the crust because there are pores and some nude skin that can cause infection.
-It can also happen after 2-3 months of hair transplant when your new hair starts to grow
Overall Folliculitis can occur at any time after a hair transplant for a variety of reasons including hair type, scalp condition and physical condition.
Does Folliculitis Happen To Everyone Or Some People Only?
It depends on a variety of factors: if you take good care of it, it rarely occurs; if it does occur, it will be limited to a portion of your scalp and will heal quickly, so it is not a major concern.
Folliculitis Risk Factors:
Age: younger age groups are more prone to folliculitis due to their oily scalps, which are prone to acne and can occur on your scalp, face, or body, so these acnes can actually cause infection of folliculitis.
If you have seborrheic dermatitis.
If your scalp is unhealthy or you have recurring folliculitis, this is a type of condition in which folliculitis occurs repeatedly, and if one undergoes hair transplantation, folliculitis will certainly occur.
Pre-existing infection in any part of the body: If you have an infection in any part of your body, you are at risk of developing folliculitis.
Lower immunity, nutritional deficiency, or a diabetic condition can all be causes of folliculitis.
If you have a problem of delayed wound healing, this could be one of the cause of your folliculitis.
What Does Folliculitis Look Like?
Your doctor will be able to tell you whether the infection you have is folliculitis or not, whereas it feels like a specific follicle will be filled with pus and that area will become red, swollen, and itching may occur.
There can be multiple reasons for infection, and if these multiple reasons combine, the specific zone where infection is will become red, and if it increases, systemic problems such as:
fever \ lethargyness \headachepain in other areas besides the scalp: lymphadenopathyMost of the time, folliculitis is not seen; there are only about 5% of cases where folliculitis can be seen.
What Are The Complications Of Folliculitis?
It can damage hair follicles: if it is a minor condition, there aren't many problems because the follicles are only damaged, so there aren't many changes that happen. However, if the small and multiple reasons combine and target one part of the scalp and become severe, it's possible that your hair follicles do not grow properly and you get alopecia/scarring alopecia at that particular part.
What Are The Folliculitis Treatment Options?
To avoid folliculitis, adhere to the post-transplant care guidelines.
Wash your head as suggested by the doctor, Use antibiotics and topical antibiotics at donor area properly
Do not itch or rub continuously, as it will increase chances of Folliculitis
If you have a bacterial infection, your doctor will prescribe antibiotics that you can take for 5-7 days. If you have recurrent folliculitis, your doctor will conduct additional tests and prescribe low-dose antibiotics for an extended period of time. Meanwhile, you have to focus on your hair care guidelines.
If you already have issues such as diabetes, acne, seborrheic dermatitis, and so on, it is important to treat them first as they can also be the reason for Folliculitis.
Treatment is simple, so don't be concerned after having your hair transplanted. If anything goes wrong, contact your doctor immediately, and they will treat you or recommend some medications.