Scalp condition resists antibiotics

Q. My son has bumps on his head. They itch and break open. He has had them for three years, and once a year he sees a skin doctor who told him he had folliculitis. He has been put on ampicillin daily. It helps, but if he stops, they come back.

My son is now 24 years old, and I am worried that he will have long-term effects from taking ampicillin for so long. We have tried lots of herbs, tea tree oil and liquid silver, but nothing seems to work. I have noticed that you say Vicks is good for fungus, but you recommend it only for nail fungus. Is there anything else that can be done for him?

A. Folliculitis is an inflammation of one or more the hair follicles. It can occur anywhere on the body and is usually the result of shaving, friction from clothing or blockage of the follicle. Most cases are caused when staph bacteria enter the skin, but some cases are caused by a fungus.

Your son doesn't appear to have a fungal infection if he is responding well to antibiotic therapy. He seems to have a rather severe case in that it returns immediately after stopping medication.

I recommend your son return to the dermatologist and request that samples be taken of his lesions for further testing.

As for long-term effects from the ampicillin, I don't believe it will harm your son, but it will not help him, either. The longer he continues to take the antibiotic, the more resistant the folliculitis will become. Overuse and misuse of antibiotics cause resistant bacteria, leading to more harmful strains.

This is not to say that your son is either overusing or misusing the medication, but I believe that over time, it will eventually stop being effective, and he will be left with a severe condition.

Your son may benefit from a second opinion by another dermatologist, who can provide a fresh view of the situation. Perhaps your son doesn't have folliculitis or has an unusual variation. This second opinion can likely shed new light and provide new options.

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