Is folliculitis contagious between family members?

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We have mystery little whiteheads with occasional bigger bumps.I notice when I squeeze one, more appear. I am very careful about using 2 qtips to roll out the whitehead....they pop super easy and on the surface. My daughter has a few of the same bumps on her face, and my son too. My husband gets bumps on his head...I wonder if he is the carrier monkey for all of this. We're clean people! Lol! This all started about 3 years ago and I can't figure out the source. We adopted a cat, can that be a source. Doctors are clueless and give me conflicting info and tons of meds.I've tried doxy, and that cleared it up, but it came back within a few weeks. I'm not a fan of antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, they mess me up!

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  • Posted

    I just looked it up, it's not molliscum contagiosum. The bumps often appear around the nose and mouth as inflamed skin with a whitehead. My daughter had a large one (pencil eraser) near her nose that lasted a month. The nose is highly populated with strep and strep folliculitis can be contagious, which explains why we keep bouncing this around. It does eventually go away on it's own, but comes back. Figuring out the mystery source continues...

    Marc-2961:

    Folliculitis is an infection. Bacteria are usually responsible for this condition, but viruses and fungal infections can also cause it. Folliculitis can be contagious, and people may pass the infection to others through close skin contact.

    Thank you!!!!

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