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.
It is important to get a proper diagnosis before starting treatment because antibiotics (for acne vulgaris) could actually worsen "fungal acne".
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Dr Harvey Ho
