What is the best treatment for fungal acne - would isotretinoin, tetracycline and benzoyl peroxide work?

Doctor's Answers 2

Fungal acne is also known as pityrosporum folliculitis (PF). They present with inflamed red bumps on the chest and back and can often mimic truncal acne. They often appear suddenly in crops and can spread quite rapidly.

Pityrosporum folliculitis is due to infection by the yeast, Malassezia furfur. It tends to occur in teenagers and young adults. Warm and humid conditions and increased perspiration are predisposing factors for developing PF.

The mainstay of treatment of PF is anti-fungal treatment. Oral antifungal agents are the most effective treatment for PF. Topical anti-fungal medications can also be used.

Isotretinoin, tetracycline and benzoyl peroxide are mainly acne treatment and do not treat PF. In fact, the use of oral antibiotics like tetracycline may cause the PF to worsen.

Fungal acne is also known as pityrosporum folliculitis (PF). They present with inflamed red bumps on the chest and back and can often mimic truncal acne. They often appear suddenly in crops and can spread quite rapidly.

Pityrosporum folliculitis is due to infection by the yeast, Malassezia furfur. It tends to occur in teenagers and young adults. Warm and humid conditions and increased perspiration are predisposing factors for developing PF.

The mainstay of treatment of PF is anti-fungal treatment. Oral antifungal agents are the most effective treatment for PF. Topical anti-fungal medications can also be used.

Isotretinoin, tetracycline and benzoyl peroxide are mainly acne treatment and do not treat PF. In fact, the use of oral antibiotics like tetracycline may cause the PF to worsen.

Similar Questions

How is fungal acne diagnosed, and what tests are performed for fungal acne?

Hi Natalie! ''Fungal acne'', also known as pityrosporum folliculitis or malassezia folliculitis is the infection of hair follicles and sebaceous glands by fungi, characterised multiple tiny acne bumps around the typically sweaty areas like the hairline, chest, and upper back. It can be clinically diagnosed with a good history and physical examination, but a definitive test would be a fungal scraping (whereby some dead skin cells are scraped off the affected area and looked under the microscope) showing fungal spores or hyphae.

Photo of Dr Harvey  Ho

Answered By

Dr Harvey Ho

Aesthetic

What should I consider before stopping benzoyl peroxide after my acne is cleared?

Hi, Benzoyl peroxide helps to treat the painful inflamed lesions of acne by killing the bacteria that causes them. If there are no more active inflamed acne, you can consider stopping its use. However, the non-inflamed comedonal acne i. e the whiteheads and blackheads which are the precursors of inflamed acne continue to form even after the inflammation has subsided, so these have to be controlled to prevent acne from relapsing. The best control for these non-inflamed acne comedones is the regular use of topical tretinoin or adapalene at night over acne-prone areas.

Photo of Dr Chin Yee Choong

Answered By

Dr Chin Yee Choong

Aesthetic

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