From: jrfox@no.spam.fastlane.net.no.spam (Jonathan R. Fox)
Newsgroups: alt.health,misc.consumers,sci.med
Subject: Re: motels
Date: Tue, 04 May 1999 15:45:13 GMT

On Tue, 04 May 1999 00:36:51 GMT, taurusryc@worldnet.att.net wrote:

>On Mon, 03 May 1999 21:05:42 GMT, jrfox@no.spam.fastlane.net.no.spam
>(Jonathan R. Fox) wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 02 May 1999 18:51:10 GMT, taurusryc@worldnet.att.net wrote:
>>
>>>The doctor mentioned hair follicle infection (underarms and eye) but did
>>>not look very closely.
>>
>>If he meant folliculitis, then this is not a contagious infection that
>>you would get at a motel.
>
>Matter of opinion???
>
>http://www.indiana.edu/~health/skin.html
>
>Skin Problems
>
>Folliculitis
>
>A hair follicle is a tiny pit in the skin from which a hair grows.
>Folliculitis is an inflammation of one or more hair follicles as a result
>of infection with staphylococcus bacteria. Folliculitis may occur almost
>anywhere on the skin. It commonly is found on the neck, thighs, buttocks,
>or armpits; single lesions may enlarge and cause a boil. It may affect the
>bearded area of the face, which leads to the development of multiple or
>small pustules.
>
>Treatment is with antibiotics in topical or pill form. The infection often
>spreads from an infected person to the rest of the family or living group.
>To prevent this, (or to control an outbreak) infected persons should wash
>hands and shower frequently using their own washcloth and towel. Clothes
>worn next to the skin should be washed in very hot water.
>
>Shaving often spreads the infection. A few hints to reduce the chances of
>spreading the infection when shaving:
>
>  1. Use your own razor and change the blade frequently.
>  2. Use a good shaving gel or cream-rather than bar soap.
>  3. Shave with the growth of hair.
>  4. Rinse well and apply a small amount of topical antiseptic like Sea
>     Breeze.
>--------------
>Sounds to me like it is very contagious.

Thank you for posting more information on folliculitis.  As you can
see, folliculitis is usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus, which
tends to live on your skin anyway.  The reference to "outbreaks" is
seen in families who are in close contact with each other and have the
opportunity to spread the offending pathogen around.  Infrequent
contact or contact through fomites (as in sleeping in a motel bed) is
not efficient.  The reference to good hygiene is appropriate, but
whether a bed sheet will act as a good fomite is indeed a matter of
opinion, and I think most would agree with me that folliculitis from
bedsheets in a motel would be highly unusual.

However, I will take back what I said -- that the original poster did
not necessarily get this from a motel.  If the patient has never had
folliculitis before and rarely frequents motels, one could make a case
that his disease is related to the motel (although the presumption
that a temporal relationship implies a causal one is a common fallacy
in medicine.)

There is another entity known as "hot tub folliculitis" which is
caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and is spread by sharing hot tubs,
bathtubs, sponges, and the like.  While I still believe that dropping
bedsheets on the floor will not cause folliculitis, perhaps their
cleaning habits and techniques in the bathroom are to blame.

--
Jonathan R. Fox, M.D.

From: sbharris@ix.netcom.com(Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: alt.health,misc.consumers,sci.med
Subject: Re: motels
Date: 5 May 1999 04:29:51 GMT

In
<C783F0B221E9C6D3.16C770F3A24ADF89.13A4A5C6662BEBF1@library-proxy.airne
s.net> jrfox@no.spam.fastlane.net.no.spam (Jonathan R. Fox) writes:

>Thank you for posting more information on folliculitis.  As you can
>see, folliculitis is usually caused by Staphylococcus aureus, which
>tends to live on your skin anyway.  The reference to "outbreaks" is
>seen in families who are in close contact with each other and have the
>opportunity to spread the offending pathogen around.  Infrequent
>contact or contact through fomites (as in sleeping in a motel bed) is
>not efficient.  The reference to good hygiene is appropriate, but
>whether a bed sheet will act as a good fomite is indeed a matter of
>opinion, and I think most would agree with me that folliculitis from
>bedsheets in a motel would be highly unusual.


    I've always thought a bedsheet was a poor substitute for a foamite,
myself.  But if you'd just keep from patronizing the foamites at
hotels, you might not have this staff problem in the first place.

                                        Reverend B. Dobbs