Thank you for your apology. So you know I am bound by the decisions of senior Moderators and the site owner. I have little control over this. They made the rules and what I am instructed to do.

That being said I have told them many times how to convey to you this has nothing to do with acne, or scars. This is folliculitus. All the side effects point to this condition. The condition can be further harmful as it can be caused by things such as Staph bacteria which is very hard to get rid of. I asked them to let you know, you should see a dermatologist who has expertise identifying the kind of folliculitus it is (many cannot do this, it takes a specialist with some infectious disease background). There are many types. One of the big signs is the cysts or pimples in your hair.

There is much better place for your ongoing condition with more people (members) and better advice on this condition. Both Skincareaddiction on Reddit and Staphance are great resources. Also try Curezone as they have a bunch of alternative cures. Acne.org's sub for scars as you know are due to acne, this is ongoing and you have tried many things, I do not believe it's acne at this point or related to acne scars. Yes you ave cysts or pimples, but this can be from other conditions and bacteria which are infectious. I think it's very important you get this under control, the treatment will not be the same as acne or acne scars. You can get it from various things, including stress, sinus issues, cuts, dirty barber clippers, sharing clothing / hats, scratching, picking, spreading. Low sleep and smoking can make it worse. There is a shampoo called Nizoral in most stores, it's used as a anti-fungal and works for some people, even as a shampoo and hair wash. Leave on 15 mins. Ketoconazol works for some people as a cream, you need a script.

Laser hair removal works for some people as well, on places like the face. Beards hold bacteria, sweat, dirt, etc against the skin.

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thank you for your reply . not sure if you read everything i pur so il readress some stuff for my next questions :

during this time ive bexome a lot more knowledgeable on all skin condititions and their treatments . i was on minocycline last year for minor acne i was on it for 5 months THEN this all started while i was on it . what are the chances it could be gram negative folliculitis from the minocycline ? because i get it under my lips and on my scalp ( all over scalp ) 24:7. ive tried it all. i tried 3 different antibiotics an antifungal oral and i even ordered cyclosporine online as im all out of options . the doctors i have seen have told me - acne folliculitis , folliculitis , acne keloidalis nuchae , and atopic dermatitis . each with a different answer

It is really unfortunate the poor care you have received from Drs. It's very common and I have had it happen many times in my life. I cannot give you a quick solution or answer for what your going through. I need you to educate yourself on various alternatives and for you to be the expert of your health.I don't have the bandwidth to heal everyone. I know your desperate for help. But there is no one at acne.org with the answers you need. [Redacted]

I am not a doctor, so please take my advice as purely educational. It's up to you to do your own research and try your own cures, I cannot take responsibility for this.

The doctors have misinformed you. Folliculitus while it shares similar symptoms to acne (cysts), is a infectious disease. When you touch a area and touch another area you are susceptible to this bacteria. When you don't change your pillowcase nightly same thing. It thrives in the hairy areas, even the scalp. Some for their face do laser hair removal. No antibiotic will just knock this out. It like other bacteria's has adapted. Every time you throw a antibiotic at it, it' can gain some resistance. Acne.org is not equipped to help those with Folliculits because well it's not acne (acne is non infectious), and it's very hard to get rid of. This is why I suggested the links above, they are more equipped to handle this condition, as they have many more people, some doctors, some survivors, and some who need alternative cures. One cannot try all the cure out there, that would take years.

I am sure the Drs on real self even gave you various answers, because this is complicated. It's not cosmetic.

You've tried some pharmaceuticals. Do you know supper bugs like MRSA - typical pharmaceuticals don't work to cure. They have to try combos of different drugs, sometimes making it gain resistance and get worse. Antibiotics by their very nature can kill good bacteria and beneficial things that make our health and body worse, they can mask the issue. They ruin the gut flora, and make your health out of balance.

Minocycline, while I cannot say if your folliculitus started there, I can say it most likely made it worse or opened the door for it. May I ask if you have stopped smoking, there was a study that said you are more likely for conditions like this when you smoke, stress as well, and eating carbs, sugar, processed foods.These long term antibiotic treatments for acne have really hurt some people and their health. Drs love their prescriptions, they are paid to promote pharma.

Antibiotics have a secondary effect for some people. They open the door for bacteria like staph, and the most common Yeast Infections aka Candida. Now that is a hard one to shake. It can adapt and feeds off of carbs, sugar, processed foods, stress makes it worse, it's a constant battle with anti fungals and cleaning things. Many get candida or a yeast infection while on antibiotics. This could be a cause for your folliculitus as the fungal bacteria overgrew in your body / hair. I know people who have gone years trying to get rid of this. Anti Fungals, antibiotics, special candida cleanse diets, cutting things out of their diet and lives, naturalpathic out f pocket doctors. It definitely does not have a quick cure.

Have you had a full allergy panel by a allergist doctor? This may be a severe allergy.

Have they done full blood tests on you, testosterone, pituitary, thyroid, lymph nodes, liver, kidneys, etc...

Some people live with folliculitus for life and find ways to keep it under control.

Yes there is a gram negative folliulitus but there are like 15 more with different causes and cures. You would have to find a doctor that specializes (not general derm) in this. Your derms have no clue, this is why they have different answers, they are guessing. Hell i'm guessing at this point.

What topicals have you tried?

http://www.med-health.net/Ketoconazole-Shampoo.html
Ketoconazole shampoo and topical cream helps many. You need a prescription for the ketoconazole tubes.

wow thabk you for the detailed reply . ive had this for 8 months now and done so much research my brain hurts . everything you mentioned i pretty much already know. i did post on realself but no dr replied . i did post on curezone but i forgot my login info so i dont know if my question even got approved and posted . i always have multiple bumps on my head and almost always they dont come to a head . to me , this is much worse than acne as its much more uncommon and there is no close cure like accutane . plus i dont even know exactly what it is . a few months back i thought i had a yeast infection so i begged my dr to put me on fluconazole 2 weeks he did and he said if its yeast then the 2 week treatment would get rid of it . he said if the 2 week treatment didnt work then its not yeast . it didnt work . i had ctures and biopsy done came back with nothing .i havent had an allergy panel or blood tests done though. ive already expressed my frustration with my doctors because they dont know anything and after 8 months they havent made any improvement in me . some days it hurts to shower or sleep on the pillow no matter how long my hair is

I got exact same on my head,always seems to be at the edges of the scalp/hair,like above dide burns and along the sudes of the rear and st the top where the balls of the skull are?

i had now for a good year+,never gone away and yes it hurts,i got shampoo from my dr yonks ago and i been thinking about it today after reading your replys.

i had some realy bad sweat breakouts and thats what triggered it off i think.

gonna have to get to my dr and get something done.

dont think i get it on my face though (or i hope not)

@Scarface / @Quadboy

If you figure out any further treatments I would be greatly appreciative if you share here. I know there are others who suffer from this as well as yourselves and this would be very helpful to give back to the community.

The only true cure I know is to have laser hair removal especially on the face this is easier, to get rid of the hair follicle, on the head this really isn't a option.

I have heard experimental treatments with PDL Photo Dynamic Therapy and led lights to kill the bacteria, again I can't imagine how this would work with hair and a cream, when it's used on the skin it makes your skin have results like a peel (peeling) and closes pores.

When you say they swabbed the wound for culture, did they expel the pus and do this, or just the outside. Do they have pimple like whiteheads or are they deep cysts, It might in that case be nuchae and need predisone a very strong steroid to prevent your body from reacting and also lower the immunity. I know people with major keloids take this.

I have also read that - some forums of this, is might be allergy related (allergy testing needed) and manifesting by a product, shampoo, or allergen.

There is also a type that is from Demodex, a over abundance of mites that live in the hair follicle, when the immunity is low, they can take over, some have success with demodex tea tree based products.

Does Tanning work for you scarface, ... could a tanning bead potentially kill this, you'd have to test it out.

Finally Ketoconazole pills are not the same as the shampoo and cream topically, they work differently. That's why I suggested giving it a try, it's cheap and at Walmart. Nizoral Shampoo. Leave on for 15 minutes all over your body including your face.

Finally I hear good things about oil of oregano soap you can order online (kills bacteria).

Am gonna pop up my drs before end of week and i will report back to this thread whenni have more info.

what dr said what was prescribed.

i was given a shampoo but that was a year+ ago and it has not gone.sometimes its hardly there and other times its a pain and always in same place like a scratch might irritate it but its a persistent bugger!

will let you know.

when they cultured they just pricked some off from a blemish on my chin. they didnt get the pus i dont believe. basically i get really deep ones daily on my scalp ( anywhere on the scalp ) meaning the frontal hairline all the way to the very back ocasionaly they will be small but even the small ones are painful. most of them dont even come to a head especially the bigger ones . also daily i get small pimple looking blemishes all over under my lip and the chin area . even the beard area sometimes i get very deep ones that turn black ish and flake off after a few days. thing is i even get tiny pimples on my cheeks temples and forehead too. but these actually resemble acne whereas the others not so much. my eyebrows get bad too. ive been self medicating with accutane for 2 weeks hoping this somehow helps and it has with my minor acne but not my folliculitis yet. the thing is i had acne for 10 yrs and took accutane twice both times ive been on it my skin was very p
oily prior to going on accutane however since this has started my skins never even been oily its actually been rather dry i remember a few months back i was on nothing and my nose was literally peeling off flakes . there are times my body gets really itchy and blisters when i scratch and one of the reasons i thought i had a funga infectio is because my toe nails are black and filled with fungus the toes are brown

whata life huh deal with acne and scars and now i got a whole nother issue

If they didn't get the pus, how would they know.

It sounds like it could be folliculitus due to staph, they would have to culture your nose as well and the pus.

If it is keloidalis nuchae this is a autoimmune disorder and they put you on steroids and antibiotics.

Well see what your accutane does.

If your toenails are black the does sound like a fungal infection, Related to folliculitus. It could be multiple things.

Have you tried all the over the counter anti fungal creams?

Dr.s guess and were guessing at this point.

yeah their basically guessing . they might have gotten the pus i dont exactly remember i just know it came back with nothing . ive already expressed my frustration with them as nothing theyve given me has working and i have tried all over the counter my situation is recurring ( daily ) and very painful so its not a surprise over the counter isnt working . ive tried shampoos clobetasol retin a mupirocin in the nose etc nothing helps . so far on accutane i have dry lips nose and nosebleeds , my girlfriend pointed out my scalp is dry as hell with white flakes all over. maybe this is a good sign?

thanks for your help regardless ba

Read this towards the bottom of the post, maybe you can help each other out (of course you do not have Keloids but Accutane made his issue worse):

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/366160-think-you-have-bad-skin-advice-or-help-would-be-appreciated/