Folliculitis: How to Care for Your Child

Folliculitis is infection or irritation of one or more hair follicles (tiny spaces under the skin where hair grows). The follicle forms small pink or brown pimples, some with white dots in the middle. They may itch or feel sore. Sometimes the skin around the pimples gets red or swollen. You can do things at home to help folliculitis (fuh-lik-yeh-LYE-tiss) heal. 

• Wash your child's skin like the health care provider told you.

• Your health care provider may have prescribed an antibiotic that is:

  • topical (goes on the skin) 

  • oral (taken by mouth) 

• Use all of the antibiotic doses prescribed to help keep folliculitis from coming back.

• Wash your child's clothes, towels, and other items as your health care team suggested.

• Make sure your child does not pick at the pimples.

• Tell your teens not to shave pimpled skin.

• If pimples itch or are tender, try these for 20 minutes three or four times a day:

  • Soak the area in plain warm water.

  • Cover the pimples with a warm wet washcloth or a heating pad.

• Some types of folliculitis are contagious (can spread from person to person). If your health care provider told you that your child's folliculitis is contagious:

  • Your child's towels and washcloths should be washed after each use.

  • Have your child stay out of swimming pools and hot tubs until the pimples clear.

  • You and your child should wash your hands after touching the pimples.

• The pimples spread.

• Your child is taking antibiotics and the pimples do not get better.

• The pimples go away and then come back.

• Any of the pimples are painful to touch.

• You notice pus (white or yellow fluid) oozing from any of the pimples.

• Your child has a fever or seems sick.

What causes folliculitis? Usually, folliculitis is a sign of a skin infection. Germs (bacteria, viruses, or fungi) can infect the skin. As the body fights the infection, the skin may get red, itchy, or tender.

Folliculitis is not always a sign of infection. Shaving, waxing, and doing other things that pull on the hair root can cause irritation and lead to folliculitis. Some kids get folliculitis when they take certain medicines. Sometimes the reason for the folliculitis is not known. 

Can folliculitis come back? Yes, a person can get folliculitis more than once. To lower your child's risk of folliculitis, try these tips:

• Teach teens to shave in the direction of hair growth. 

• Take precautions with things that touch the skin: 

  • Clean sports gear and razors after each use.

  • Wash swimsuits, washcloths, and bath sponges as soon as possible.

  • Wash bed sheets often.

• Make sure your child doesn't go in swimming pools and hot tubs that are not clean. Kids should shower after using hot tubs or swimming to wash off any germs that were in the water.

• Suggest hair styles that won't pull on the hair. Avoid very tight braids and ponytails.