Infected hair follicles/skin infection?

For the past few weeks my scalp has hurt when it moves or when I touch it, brush it, etc. This has happened in the past but I thought it was just from taming my hair a certain way or having it in a pony tail for too long. It would usually go away quickly and I would forget about it, but it's been like this for awhile now and it's gotten worse. It also gets greasier near the roots very quickly lately. I wash my hair every other day and I use Tresemme for color treated hair. I did some research and learned that it might be because the follicles are infected or inflamed. Automatically I thought of another health issue I've had recently that I've had some trouble finding what it really is; Last winter I suddenly broke out in a sort of a rash on my upper back of swollen and pussy open sores, there were probably about ten of them at the least and the largest being a little smaller than a dime. It was pretty bad. Also, I got a cold sore type thing on the corner of my mouth at the same time which I'm pretty sure is directly related to the spots. This was when I just moved into a friends house, I only lived there for two months, since then they have flared up every few months but they've been getting less severe with time. I went to my doctor about it but all she could tell me was that it's some skin infection and I need to see a dermatologist, she did prescribe some anti-biotics which got rid of them immediately, I got them a few times but I know my system will eventually become immune to them and I need to find out what's really going on and get rid of it, as best I can. I haven't seen a dermatologist yet because of money issues and frankly it's embarrassing, but I am starting to get very worried about my health. Could the possibly infected follicles on my scalp be related to the spots on my back? Since the spots have started I also noticed some follicles on my legs and arms have gotten red and inflamed; infected, but I looked at my scalp and it doesn't look red at all, it looks normal except that it hurts a lot.

Sorry for the wall of text! I felt it necessary to include all the details. I've done a lot of research about the spots on my back but still haven't found very many answers and it's worried me quite a bit, thinking it could be a bad condition/disease that could take a long time, if ever, to get rid of. But maybe it's just a fungal skin infection/hair follicle infection?

Has anyone had this same issue? I've been looking into natural anti-oxidants and I've been eating more berries and nuts, but I've also read that garlic is a very good natural anti-oxidant and I'm going to get a garlic supplement. Is this a good idea, does anyone have other suggestions?

Only read the first part but that sounds like gout(uric acid), theses two products should wipe it out(if it's gout)
http://www.iherb.com/Twinlab-Tri-Boron-3-mg-100-Capsules/2446?at=0
http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-Bromelain-500-mg-120-Vcaps/16546?at=0

Ascorbic acid helps as well.....

This is my problem too.

celery seed extract is also good apparently but i think its easier and cheaper to buy celery seeds in a big bag from your local health store and just add them to green/nettle tea.

ACV is also decent.

Thanks for the info pancake.
After googling bromelain-uric acid, ineterestantly I see it mentioned as quite useful for UTIs.

I picked up the most woeful UTI on my travels during the summer and hair/stomach have been awful since. I still get the odd twinge when I eat high purine/sugary(even fruit) foods.

Im in quite the pickle over diet, a diet of fruit/meat/dairy seems to be great for my stomach but nosedive my hair into mentioned pain (show high Uric Acid levels)

Yet starchy diet is equally bad for both. it seems i cant eat anything anymore....

Ill try the bromelain/boron and hit the celery seed/celery juice hard for the next few weeks and see if that helps.

Although this is a pretty comprehensive study showing that dairy actaully decreases gout.

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa035700

Explains why no problems with raw milk - tis mighty stuff.

lambyjay wrote:

Ill try the bromelain/boron and hit the celery seed/celery juice hard for the next few weeks and see if that helps.

You can take up to 18mg boron per day(devided with 3 meals).....but 9mg(one with each meal) should be enough. Also taking sodium ascorbate before bed can prevent a build up of uric acid.

I have the same problem as you guys, both with the inflamed scalp and the inability to eat anything without further irritating my scalp. I often get "the "twinge" or "the itch" right after eating something. It is dreadful.

Basically, it's been like this for years and I've never been able to get rid of it. Even more odd, it's only half of my scalp. The right half is sore, red and inflamed, while the left half is fine. Unsurprisingly, there is more pronounced hair loss on the right half.

Additionally, my stomach problems have gotten worse and worse and I can't seem to eat anything anymore. I was on the master cleanse for a while, and the stomach problems went away, but they're back now. I'm gonna go back on it except with some hemp protein powder so I don't starve and see how things go.

Never heard about this uric acid theory, which sounds interesting.

Please keep me updated guys, we gotta find a way to beat this!

Few interesting points.

Iron seems to be a big problem for a number of people here.
Iron activates the enzyme Xanthane Oxidase (XO) that converts purines to uric acid. (Perhaps reason why spirulina did not suit me at all)

Vitamin C seems to be a double edged sword.
It reduces serum uric acid:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18464304

But it also activates XO apparently - so avoid Vit C if taking in purines. Plus it also increases absorption of iron I believe.

Copper seems to be the business as it is a potent XO inhibitor. I might get some of that tomorrow.
I wonder if high uric acid levels are the problem for me currently that there should be little fear of the copper oxidizing given that uric acid is a potent anti oxidant.
It has been found those with an impaired glucose intolerance also have high levels of uric acid.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18464304

Quercetin also seems to be an XO inhibitor.

I have also have a very bad taste in my mouth in the morning when uric acid levels are high.
Also have had increased loss after aerobic exercise (usually the opposite) which of course increase uric acid as well as others to deal with oxidative stress.

Today i tried a diet of mainly white rice and dairy products (no fruit/meat)and i didnt itch all day. interesting.


i shall get some copper/bromelain/celerly seed tomorrow and continue to investigate this further.
it is at most a piece in the puzzle of course.