A Simple Guide to Fungal Acne, (Pityrosporum folliculitis) Diagnosis, Treatment and Related Conditions

By Kenneth Kee

This book describes Fungal Acne, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases

Fungal acne (termed medically as Pityrosporum folliculitis or Malassezia folliculitis) appears similar to hormonal acne or bacterial acne but is actually quite different.

In fact, it is not even really acne at all.

It is one of many types of folliculitis, a skin disorder that produces an infection in the hair follicle.

The fungus (Malassezia) nourishes on moisture on the skin either from the sweat glands on the skin or any other moisture applied to the skin.

These fungi produce an infection of the hair follicles (folliculitis) with pustules that bears a resemblance to traditional acne with acne-like red bumps and occasional whiteheads.

Contrary to the appearance of real acne in which the patient may see many forms of different acne lesions together (blackheads, some papules, some cysts), in fungal acne, there is a uniform appearance to the bumps and they are often itchy.

Cause

Malassezia furfur is a unicellular organism (fungus) with a diameter of 2.0-6.5 micrometers that produces Pityrosporum folliculitis or fungal acne.

Since fungi thrive in warm, humid places, fungal acne is more frequent in these types of climates and seasons and can be caused by sweating.

Fungi (Yeast) like warm, humid environments such as the gym and tight clothes so a person working out at a gym wearing tight clothes is more prone to fungal acne.

Prolonged usage of topical antibiotics such as clindamycin or oral antibiotics such as doxycycline and minocycline can worsen the symptoms of fungal acne.

By destroying off bacteria (both harmful and good), the antibiotics permit the fungi on the skin to proliferate.

Oral or tropical corticosteroid is another possible cause of fungal acne by suppressing immunity.

Symptoms

Fungal acne often appears on the arms, chest, and back while bacterial acne is most frequent on the face.

Fungal acne often produces itchiness while bacterial acne rarely does.

Fungal acne often emerges in clusters of small whiteheads while bacterial acne is less clustered and more scattered.

Pus-filled bumps produced by fungal acne are likely to be nearly all the same size while bacterial acne can produce pimples of differing sizes

Diagnosis

Fungal acne is resistant to anti-acne treatment such as antibiotics.

A simple painless skin scraping or a skin biopsy can be obtained and examined under a microscope to search for any fungus likely to cause fungal acne.

Treatment

Fungal acne can be stubborn and difficult to treat if the patient does not use the right fungal acne products.

Both topical and oral antifungals are successful agents in the treatment of Pityrosporum folliculitis.

Oral antifungals are every effective in dramatic, instant resolution of the rashes and are the most successful treatment.

The best fungal acne treatment shampoos contain ketoconazole 2% (the anti-dandruff shampoo, Nizoral).

To remove fungal acne quickly, there is also a need to unclog the skin pores of the hair follicle and fight both fungi and any harmful skin bacteria.

To attack the fungal acne (and any other acne) the doctor may consider adding a nighttime acne treatment cream with salicylic acid (BHA) or benzoyl peroxide.

Other ways the patient can do to get rid of fungal acne are:
Keeping the skin clean and dry
Showering straight after exercising
Wearing loose-fitting, breathable clothes
Using cotton surgical masks during Covid19

TABLE OF CONTENT
Introduction
Chapter 1 Fungal Acne
Chapter 2 Causes
Chapter 3 Symptoms
Chapter 4 Diagnosis
Chapter 5 Treatment
Chapter 6 Prognosis
Chapter 7 Acne Vulgaris
Chapter 8 Folliculitis
Epilogue

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kenneth Kee
• Release date: Apr 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215731918

Kenneth Kee

Medical doctor since 1972.Started Kee Clinic in 1974 at 15 Holland Dr #03-102, relocated to 36 Holland Dr #01-10 in 2009.Did my M.Sc (Health Management ) in 1991 and Ph.D (Healthcare Administration) in 1993.Dr Kenneth Kee is still working as a family doctor at the age of 74However he has reduced his consultation hours to 3 hours in the morning and 2 hours inthe afternoon.He first started writing free blogs on medical disorders seen in the clinic in 2007 on http://kennethkee.blogspot.com.His purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of his patients which is also his dissertation for his Ph.D (Healthcare Administration). He then wrote an autobiography account of his journey as a medical student to family doctor on his other blog http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.comThis autobiography account “A Family Doctor’s Tale” was combined with his early “A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders” into a new Wordpress Blog “A Family Doctor’s Tale” on http://ken-med.com.From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 1000 eBooks.He apologized for typos and spelling mistakes in his earlier books.He will endeavor to improve the writing in futures.Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.The later books go into more details of medical disorders.He has published 1000 eBooks on various subjects on health, 1 autobiography of his medical journey, another on the autobiography of a Cancer survivor, 2 children stories and one how to study for his nephew and grand-daughter.The purpose of these simple guides is to educate patient on health disorders and not meant as textbooks.He does not do any night duty since 2000 ever since Dr Tan had his second stroke.His clinic is now relocated to the Buona Vista Community Centre.The 2 units of his original clinic are being demolished to make way for a new Shopping Mall.He is now doing some blogging and internet surfing (bulletin boards since the 1980's) startingwith the Apple computer and going to PC.The entire PC is upgraded by himself from XT to the present Pentium duo core.The present Intel i7 CPU is out of reach at the moment because the CPU is still expensive.He is also into DIY changing his own toilet cistern and other electric appliance.His hunger for knowledge has not abated and he is a lifelong learner.The children have all grown up and there are 2 grandchildren who are even more technically advanced than the grandfather where mobile phones are concerned.This book is taken from some of the many articles in his blog (now with 740 posts) A Family Doctor’s Tale.Dr Kee is the author of:"A Family Doctor's Tale""Life Lessons Learned From The Study And Practice Of Medicine""Case Notes From A Family Doctor"

Book preview

A

Simple

Guide

To

Fungal Acne,

(Pityrosporum folliculitis)

Diagnosis,

Treatment

And

Related Conditions

By

Dr Kenneth Kee

M.B.,B.S. (Singapore)

Ph.D (Healthcare Administration)

Copyright Kenneth Kee 2023 Smashwords Edition

Published by Kenneth Kee at Smashwords.com

Dedication

This book is dedicated

To my wife Dorothy

And my children

Carolyn, Grace

And Kelvin

This book describes Fungal Acne, Diagnosis and Treatment and Related Diseases which is seen in some of my patients in my Family Clinic.

(What You Need to Treat Fungal Acne)

This e-Book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader.

If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Introduction

I have been writing medical articles for my blog: http://kennethkee.blogspot.com (A Simple Guide to Medical Disorder) for the benefit of my patients since 2007.

My purpose in writing these simple guides was for the health education of my patients.

Health Education was also my dissertation for my Ph.D (Healthcare Administration).

I then wrote an autobiography account of my journey as a medical student to family doctor on my other blog: http://afamilydoctorstale.blogspot.com.

This autobiography account A Family Doctor’s Tale was combined with my early A Simple Guide to Medical Disorders into a new Wordpress Blog A Family Doctor’s Tale on http://kenkee481.wordpress.com.

From which many free articles from the blog was taken and put together into 800 eBooks.

Some people have complained that the simple guides are too simple.

For their information they are made simple in order to educate the patients.

The later books go into more details of medical disorders.

The first chapter is always from my earlier blogs which unfortunately tends to have typos and spelling mistakes.

Since 2013, I have tried to improve my spelling and writing.

As I tried to bring the patient the latest information about a disorder or illness by reading the latest journals both online and offline, I find that I am learning more and improving on my own medical knowledge in diagnosis and treatment for my patients.

My diagnosis and treatment capability has improved tremendously from my continued education.

Just by writing all these simple guides I find that I have learned a lot from your reviews (good or bad), criticism and advice.

I am sorry for the repetitions in these simple guides as the second chapters onwards have new information as compared to my first chapter taken from my blog.

I also find repetition definitely help me and maybe some readers to remember the facts in the books more easily.

I apologize if these repetitions are irritating to some readers.

Chapter 1

Fungal acne (Pityrosporum folliculitis)

What is Fungal acne?

Fungal acne (termed medically as Pityrosporum folliculitis or Malassezia folliculitis) appears similar to hormonal acne or bacterial acne but is actually quite different.

In fact, it is not even really acne at all.

It is one of many types of folliculitis, a skin disorder that produces an infection in the hair follicle.

While bacteria cause regular acne of the skin, fungal acne is produced by an overgrowth of another abnormal skin flora (Malassezia fungus) in the hair follicle.

The fungus nourishes on moisture on the skin either from the sweat glands on the skin or any other moisture applied to the skin.

A fungal infection can lead to a skin disorder called Tinea versicolor (white spots) or Tinea corporis (skin fungal disease of the body).

In others, the fungi produce an infection of the hair follicles (folliculitis) with pustules that bears a resemblance to traditional acne with acne-like red bumps and occasional whiteheads.

Contrary to the appearance of real acne