The key difference between kerion and favus is that kerion is caused by fungi such as Trichophyton verrucosum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Microsporum canis, while favus is caused by fungi such as Trichophyton schoenleinii and Trichophyton mentagrophytes.
Kerion and favus are two medical conditions caused by fungal ringworm infection of the hair follicles of the scalp. Both these conditions can lead to severe scarring and permanent hair loss in the scalp. Since both these conditions are fungal infections, we can get rid of them through the use of appropriate antifungal agents.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Kerion
3. What is Favus
4. Similarities – Kerion and Favus
5. Kerion vs Favus in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Kerion vs Favus
What is Kerion?
Kerion is a condition that causes fungal ringworm infection of the hair follicles of the scalp and beard. It leads to severe scarring and permanent hair loss. Kerion is due to infections by fungi such as Trichophyton verrucosum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum canis. This condition can also be accompanied by secondary bacterial infections.
Kerion is a painful condition that can affect anyone, but it is more common in children. The typical symptoms of this condition may include large, thick, pus-filled abscesses, raised, spongy lesions, pus oozing from hair follicles, swelling, inflammation, itching, broken hairs, hair loss, fever, and swollen lymph nodes in the neck. The most affected part of the body is the scalp, but kerion can also affect the face, neck, shoulders, and upper arms. Moreover, kerion is contagious and spreads through skin-to-skin contact with an infected person or animal.
Figure 01: Kerion
Kerion is diagnosed through physical examination (wood’s lamp test), KOH stain, culturing, and skin biopsy. Furthermore, kerion is treated through prescribed oral antifungal medications fluconazole, griseofulvin, itraconazole, terbinafine, oral corticosteroid for inflammation, and ketoconazole or selenium sulfide shampoo.
What is Favus?
Favus is a condition that causes fungal ringworm infection of the hair follicles of the scalp. It can lead to severe scarring and permanent hair loss on the scalp. Favus can be caused by fungi such as Trichophyton schoenleinii and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. The symptoms of favus include yellow cup-shaped crusts called scutula that group together in patches like a piece of honeycomb, crusts that encircle the hair follicles, hair follicles on the scalp becoming red and inflamed, extensive hair loss, atrophy, scarring, dense plaque formation due to secondary bacterial infections, and mousy odour from plaques.
Figure 02: Favus
The diagnosis of favus can be made by microscopy and culture of skin scrapings. Furthermore, favus requires treatment with an oral antifungal agent such as griseofulvin, terbinafine, itraconazole, or fluconazole and prescribed topical agents such as 2% ketoconazole and 2.5% selenium sulphide shampoos.
What are the Similarities Between Kerion and Favus?
- Kerion and favus are two medical conditions causing fungal ringworm infection of the hair follicles of the scalp.
- The causative agents of both diseases are fungal
- Both these conditions are inflammatory conditions.
- They can lead to severe scarring and permanent hair loss in the scalp.
- Both these conditions can be diagnosed through physical examination.
- Appropriate antifungal agents can help to get rid of these conditions.
What is the Difference Between Kerion and Favus?
Kerion is a condition that causes severe scarring and permanent hair loss due to fungi such as Trichophyton verrucosum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Microsporum canis, while favus is a condition that causes severe scarring and permanent hair loss due to fungi such as Trichophyton schoenleinii and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. Thus, this is the key difference between kerion and favus. Furthermore, kerion mainly affects children, while favus affects both adults and children.
The below infographic presents the differences between kerion and favus in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Kerion vs Favus
Fungal ringworm infection usually develops on the skin and inside the hair follicles on the scalp. It is caused by dermatophytes. Kerion and favus are two medical conditions of fungal ringworm infection of the hair follicles of the scalp. Kerion is due to infection by fungi such as Trichophyton verrucosum, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Microsporum canis, while favus is due to infection by fungi such as Trichophyton schoenleinii and Trichophyton mentagrophytes. So, this summarizes the difference between kerion and favus.
Reference:
1. “Kerion: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment.” Cleveland Clinic.
2. Robert A Schwartz, MD. “Favus.” E-Medicine, Pathophysiology, Etiology.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Kérion 02” By Grook Da Oger – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Favus new image to help in diagnosis.” By Mohammad2018 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia