What is sycosis barbae?

Q: My problem started with a small pustule on the left side of my upper lip. I broke the pustule and now, despite 4 years of treatment with allopathic medicines, it has spread to half my lip. Now even hair fall has started. I got a complete blood checkup which showed 16% eosnophils. I even got the hair and the scrapings from that part tested but the results were - no fungal elements seen. Kindly advise.

A:You may be suffering from sycosis barbae, a chronic pustular eruption of the beard which heals with scarring. Treatment with steroid-antibiotic combination like Flutibact or Fucibet may give you control. Natural course of the disease is prolonged, with remission or relapses. Since eosnophil count is high, a skin biopsy to rule out eosnophilic folliculitis needs to be done. Even then, correct diagnosis requires a clinical examination by a dermatologist.