How Can You Treat Fungal Acne?

Understanding Fungal Acne

While bacterial acne occurs wherever oil glands are found, fungal acne occurs typically around the hair follicles. Whenever, the pores of your oil glands clog up along with yeast infestation, it leads to the development of fungal acne. 

Fungal acne is way different from other common types of acne. If you follow the same treatment of common acne in case of fungal acne, then the condition may worsen. That is why, before commencing treatment, it is very important to carefully identify the type of acne. 

How Do They Form? 

Unlike bacterial acne, in this case, the microbe does not come from outside. Like your gut, many microbes are present on the surface of the skin. The fungi causing the fungal acne are present on the skin always, but in a balanced state. When this balance is disturbed due to one or more of the following reasons, then it overgrows around the hair follicle on the skin leading to itchy, red lumpy and painful bumps. Let us check out the causes of fungal acne: 

1. AUTO IMMUNITY

People with immune system disorders are more likely to get fungal acne. This is due to random inflammatory pathways.

1. IMPROPER SKIN CARE

Allowing sweat to marinate on the skin and lack of proper washing regimen increases fungi growth on the skin 

1. CERTAIN MEDICATIONS

As a side effect of certain antibiotics, fungi growth can be aggravated. 

1. CLIMATIC CONDITIONS

Humidity and extreme heat increases fungi growth in the skin.

1. DIET

If your diet is rich in antioxidants you are likely to be protected from fungal acne. Or else, lack of nutrition may lead to aggravated growth of fungi.

How to Identify Fungal Acne? 

Since it may be very similar to the usual acne, identifying fungal acne might be challenging. However, there are a few unique points about the appearance of fungal acne, here we go. 

• It occurs as clusters and is surrounded by blackheads and whiteheads compared to other types of acne 
• It is pus filled and causes odour unlike other bacterial acne 
• It is very itchy unlike other acne
• It is more common in the body than on face because fungi developed rapidly where friction on the skin is more due to tight clothes 

Your healthcare provider may want to do a simple microscopic examination or a skin biopsy to identify the fungi. Duration of the breakout can also give a clue. Fungal acne lasts longer than bacterial acne. 

And assuming you have started acne treatment and it got counter productive, you may suspect fungal acne. Yes, that's true., regular acne treatments become unresponsive in case of fungal acne. 

So, what other treatments can work on fungal acne? Let us see those . 

Treatments for Fungal Acne 

The formula to treat fungal acne is not to destroy the fungi unlike the bacterial acne. Here we need to restore the state of balance from which the fungi survived on the skin. 

Balancing restoration in any part of the body is better done by Ayurvedic treatments than any other form of medicine about which we will see in further sections. 

You can acieve this by treating the causes as follows: 

• Improve Face Wash and Scalp Wash Routines- Cleansing regularly with anti inflammatory mild washes can help. 
• Wear Skin Friendly Clothes- wearing tight clothes lead to more problems than just skin problems as they arrest the local circulation. 
• Antifungal Medications- Your healthcare provider may suggest antifungal pills and topicals which  may be more effective. 

Since there is no typical one-liner for treating fungal acne, we may need to wait for results to see if it works. Having mentioned Ayurveda in this section, many powerful herbs can help subside the fungal growth on the skin. Let us take a look at them. 

Herbs and Natural Remedies for Fungal Acne

When it comes to fungal acne, natural herbs are more efficient than any other treatments. Natural Ayurvedic herbs can bestow better balance on the skin compared to other treatments. 

Tea tree oil

It is an excellent blend of antifungal and antibacterial properties. Adding a few drops of tea tree oil to shampoo or using tea tree-based shampoo and face wash can help mitigate fungal acne. 

Neem

This age-old Ayurvedic herb works like magic on fungal acne. The best way to use it is a skin pack or hair pack of fresh paste of neem leaves. This nourishes the scalp and the skin. 

Aloe vera

Fresh aloe vera gel is the simplest yet powerful remedy for fungal acne. Apply it on the scalp and retain for sometime and wash off. Mixing pinch of turmeric along with aloe vera gel can be applied as a pack on the outbursts and washed off during nights. 

Turmeric

It is yet another wonder herb that additionally helps to reduce inflammation apart from being antibacterial and antifungal. 

Ginger

Ginger can rapidly reduce inflammation and restore balance of the fungi. Ginger juice mixed with apple cider vinegar can be applied on the fungal outburst. 

There are many other herbs that can help to reduce fungal acne. But, identifying what best suits one is important. 

Conclusion 

A complete skin analysis is very important to identify what has caused the imbalance of the fungi. Along with that, understanding one’s own body type as per Ayurveda is vital to connect how and what has affected the fungal imbalance on the skin. Take a complete consultation with our Nirva health experts to identify the specific Ayurvedic concepts that can combat fungal acne.