Several fungal and bacterial infections can cause temporary hair loss. Ringworm, a fungal infection that is highly contagious, most often affects children but it can also impact adults -- particularly diabetics and others with compromised immune systems.

It can infect the scalp or other parts of the body including the groin and the feet. The first symptoms of this infection are small patches of scaling skin with a sharply defined, red edge or "ring" around them. These patches can spread, blister, and ooze, and hair in these areas is soon lost. This infection is easily treated with topical or oral antifungal medications.

Cutaneous candidiasis, another fungal infection, most often affects individuals who are obese or have compromised immune systems. Candida can infect skin anywhere on the body, but it most often occurs in warm, moist areas such as the armpits. Symptoms include intense itching and a skin lesion or rash and infected pimple-like hair follicles (folliculitis). Candida is generally treated with topical antifungal medication, but a more systemic approach may be required for folliculitis.

Folliculitis of the scalp or skin is most often due to bacterial infection by staphylococcus germs. While such an infection can be very serious, it can be treated with both oral and topical antibiotics. Folliculitis can be recurring and become chronic (may induce chronic hair loss).

Information on this page, provided as a service by Peggy Knight Solutions, draws upon information from the following sources: the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association, and the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.