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I'm seeing this infection on my temporal region of face I is persistent since 4-5 days while it is increasing and no itching and pain is felt Tell me what it could be

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erythematous papule temporal face fungal tinea faciei

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painless red patch enlarging temple face days differential diagnosis

Based on what you've described and what's visible in the photo, here's my read:
What I see: A solitary, fairly well-demarcated, pink-to-red patch/slightly raised plaque near the temporal hairline, roughly 1-1.5 cm across. No visible pustule, vesicle, crust, or excoriation - the surface looks fairly smooth/homogeneous rather than pustular or ulcerated.
Given your history (4-5 days, slowly enlarging, no itch, no pain), the most likely possibilities, in rough order of probability:
  1. Tinea faciei (fungal ringworm of the face) - This is a strong fit. It classically presents as a slowly enlarging, minimally symptomatic (little to no itch or pain) erythematous patch, sometimes with a subtly raised advancing edge and fine scale, near the hairline/temple. It's often misdiagnosed early because it lacks the classic itch people expect from "ringworm" (Andrews' Diseases of the Skin, p. 15; Dermatology, 2-Volume Set, 5e). If it has ever been treated with a steroid cream, it can look even less scaly and less itchy ("tinea incognito") while still spreading.
  2. Early folliculitis or a developing furuncle/boil - localized bacterial infection around a hair follicle. Usually becomes tender as it progresses, but very early lesions can be painless.
  3. Insect bite reaction / localized contact dermatitis - can present as an enlarging painless red patch, though these usually plateau or fade within days rather than steadily growing for 5 days.
  4. Less likely but worth ruling out if it keeps growing over weeks: discoid lupus, granuloma faciale, or (if truly indolent over a longer time frame) an early basal cell carcinoma - these are typically chronic (weeks-months), so less likely with only 4-5 days of history, but worth keeping in mind if it doesn't resolve.
What I'd recommend:
  • See a dermatologist for a direct look and, ideally, a KOH skin scraping - this is the quick, cheap test that confirms or excludes a fungal cause and takes minutes.
  • Do not apply a steroid cream on your own in the meantime - if this is fungal, steroids will suppress the inflammation temporarily but let the infection spread wider (tinea incognito), making it worse and harder to diagnose later.
  • If it turns out fungal, treatment is usually a topical antifungal (e.g., terbinafine or clotrimazole cream) for a few weeks; widespread or hair-involving cases sometimes need a short course of oral antifungal.
  • Red flags that mean go sooner rather than later: it becomes painful, warm, swollen, starts oozing pus, develops a central punctum/head, or you develop fever - these would point more toward a bacterial process (folliculitis progressing to an abscess or cellulitis) which needs antibiotics rather than antifungal treatment.
I can't give you a definitive diagnosis from a photo alone since tinea, folliculitis, and a few other entities can look similar in early stages - the KOH scrape is really what separates them. If you want, I can also walk you through what a KOH-positive fungal result looks like or the typical antifungal regimen once it's confirmed.
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