Reviewed By:
Unnati Patel, MD, MSc (Family Medicine)
Dr.Patel serves as Center Medical Director and a Primary Care Physician at Oak Street Health in Arizona. She graduated from the Zhejiang University School of Medicine prior to working in clinical research focused on preventive medicine at the University of Illinois and the University of Nevada. Dr. Patel earned her MSc in Global Health from Georgetown University, during which she worked with the WHO in Sierra Leone and Save the Children in Washington, D.C. She went on to complete her Family Medicine residency in Chicago at Norwegian American Hospital before completing a fellowship in Leadership in Value-based Care in conjunction with the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, where she earned her MBA. Dr. Patel’s interests include health tech and teaching medical students and she currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Arizona School of Medicine.
Yukiko Ueda, MD (Dermatology)
Dr. Ueda graduated from the Niigata University School of Medicine and trained at the University of Tokyo Medical School. She is currently a clinical assistant professor at the Department of Dermatology, Jichi Medical University, and holds several posts in the dermatology departments at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Komagome Hospital, University of Tokyo, and the Medical Center of Japan Red Cross Society.
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Loss of hair
Thinning hair
Losing hair
Bald spots
Spot baldness
Hair is coming out
Hair has come out
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This is a rare condition where bald patches and small raised areas appear on the skin around hair follicles. It often affects the skin of the face, neck, or scalp, but can occur anywhere. Mucin, a family of proteins, is deposited in one of the skin layers, but the exact cause of this condition is unknown. Variants can occur in children, young adults, and older adults.
Your doctor may ask these questions to check for this disease:
There are no specific treatments, and the condition usually improves on its own within 2 years. Medications like corticosteroids and antibiotics have been used with mixed success, as well as radiation or phototherapy.
Content updated on Mar 31, 2024
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Khalil J, Kurban M, Abbas O. Follicular mucinosis: a review. Int J Dermatol. 2021 Feb;60(2):159-165. doi: 10.1111/ijd.15165. Epub 2020 Sep 2. PMID: 32880923.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijd.15165Valdivielso-Ramos M, Alonso S, Sanchez B, Carrascosa R, Galiano S, Silvente C, de la Cueva P. Primary follicular mucinosis in childhood. Int J Dermatol. 2021 May;60(5):e197-e199. doi: 10.1111/ijd.15309. Epub 2020 Nov 9. PMID: 33166091.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijd.15309Geller S, Gomez CJ, Myskowski PL, Pulitzer M. Follicular mucinosis in patients with hematologic malignancies other than mycosis fungoides: A clinicopathologic study. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2019 Jun;80(6):1704-1711. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2019.01.062. Epub 2019 Feb 1. PMID: 30716405; PMCID: PMC6526060.
https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(19)30173-2/fulltextReviewed By:
Unnati Patel, MD, MSc (Family Medicine)
Dr.Patel serves as Center Medical Director and a Primary Care Physician at Oak Street Health in Arizona. She graduated from the Zhejiang University School of Medicine prior to working in clinical research focused on preventive medicine at the University of Illinois and the University of Nevada. Dr. Patel earned her MSc in Global Health from Georgetown University, during which she worked with the WHO in Sierra Leone and Save the Children in Washington, D.C. She went on to complete her Family Medicine residency in Chicago at Norwegian American Hospital before completing a fellowship in Leadership in Value-based Care in conjunction with the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, where she earned her MBA. Dr. Patel’s interests include health tech and teaching medical students and she currently serves as Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Arizona School of Medicine.
Yukiko Ueda, MD (Dermatology)
Dr. Ueda graduated from the Niigata University School of Medicine and trained at the University of Tokyo Medical School. She is currently a clinical assistant professor at the Department of Dermatology, Jichi Medical University, and holds several posts in the dermatology departments at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Komagome Hospital, University of Tokyo, and the Medical Center of Japan Red Cross Society.
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