Tinea Barbae Treatment & Management

  • Author: Jacek C Szepietowski, MD, PhD; Chief Editor: Dirk M Elston, MD   more...
 
Updated: Jan 23, 2012
 

Medical Care

Since hairs are infected in tinea barbae, the therapeutic procedure is similar to that of tinea capitis. Shaving or hair depilation is recommended with warm compresses to remove crusts and debris. Topical formulations with antifungal compounds (eg, shampoo, lotion, cream) can be applied, but tinea barbae requires oral antifungal therapy. Details of therapeutic modalities for tinea barbae are found in Medication.

Griseofulvin remains in wide use. Newer antifungals, especially terbinafine,[16] also can be used. At the author's institution, experience with terbinafine in tinea barbae has been excellent, with all cures achieved within 4 weeks of initiating therapy. Itraconazole can be recommended as one-pulse therapy at a dosage of 400 mg/d divided into 2 doses for 1 week. Some prefer to use a second pulse after 3 weeks. Itraconazole also may be used continuously for 4 weeks at a dose of 200 mg/d. Fluconazole treatment is not well documented, but data from tinea capitis studies indicate that a dose of 150 mg once per week for up to 6 weeks also may be effective. All of these new antifungal drugs generally are well tolerated.

Proceed to Medication
 
 
Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Jacek C Szepietowski, MD, PhD  Professor, Vice-Head, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Wroclaw Medical University; Director of the Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland

Disclosure: Stiefel GSK Company Salary Employment; Orfagen Consulting fee Consulting; Maruho Consulting fee Consulting; Astellas Consulting fee Consulting; Abbott Consulting fee Consulting; Leo Pharma Consulting fee Consulting

Coauthor(s)

Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH  Professor and Head, Dermatology, Professor of Pathology, Pediatrics, Medicine, and Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School

Robert A Schwartz, MD, MPH is a member of the following medical societies: Alpha Omega Alpha, American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Physicians, and Sigma Xi

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Franklin Flowers, MD  Chief, Division of Dermatology, Professor, Department of Medicine and Otolaryngology, Affiliate Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Pathology, University of Florida College of Medicine

Franklin Flowers, MD, is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Richard P Vinson, MD  Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Dermatology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Paul L Foster School of Medicine; Consulting Staff, Mountain View Dermatology, PA

Richard P Vinson, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, Association of Military Dermatologists, Texas Dermatological Society, and Texas Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Paul Krusinski, MD  Director of Dermatology, Fletcher Allen Health Care; Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine

Paul Krusinski, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology, American College of Physicians, and Society for Investigative Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Joel M Gelfand, MD, MSCE  Medical Director, Clinical Studies Unit, Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology, Associate Scholar, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania

Joel M Gelfand, MD, MSCE is a member of the following medical societies: Society for Investigative Dermatology

Disclosure: AMGEN Consulting fee Consulting; AMGEN Grant/research funds Investigator; Genentech Grant/research funds investigator; Centocor Consulting fee Consulting; Abbott Grant/research funds investigator; Abbott Consulting fee Consulting; Novartis investigator; Pfizer Grant/research funds investigator; Celgene Consulting fee DMC Chair; NIAMS and NHLBI Grant/research funds investigator

Chief Editor

Dirk M Elston, MD  Director, Ackerman Academy of Dermatopathology, New York

Dirk M Elston, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Dermatology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Additional Contributors

The authors and editors of eMedicine gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous Chief Editor, William D. James, MD, to the development and writing of this article.

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Inflammatory tinea barbae resulting from Trichophyton mentagrophytesvar granulosuminfection.
Wax model of kerionlike tinea barbae. Courtesy of the Museum of the Department of Dermatology, University of Medicine, Wroclaw, Poland.
 
 
 
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