HAIR SAMPLE FOR FUNGAL DETECTION

• A Wood’s light, if available, may be helpful in selecting specimens.

• Pluck broken or lustreless hairs from periphery of lesion. Scrape scalp from edge of hair loss area.

• Do not cut hair.

• If hair are broken off (endothrix), it often may be necessary to scrape the coiled hair stubble from the scalp with a sterile blade or slide edge, rather than plucking with tweezers.

• Submit specimen to laboratory in sterile petri dish.

See also:

• Skin scrarping
• Nail clipping
• Sputum and tracheal aspirate
• Eye swab and scraping