my 3 yo has kp

[tinkerjess]

well i brought my 3 yo daughter to the dr. because she just starting getting these little tiny bumps that look like like raised goose bumps. they dont itch or hurt her. i just hate that she doesnt have smooth arms. they are just on her upper arms. well the dr. said it was keratosis pilaris i have never heard of it. i asked her what to do about it and she says there is nothing we can do. she said just put lotion on her arms all the time. i was wondering if anybody elese has this? if so what products are you using to treat this? any help would be wonderful!!!

 

[3mickeymom]

My son has this also. We apply baby oil immediately after bathing to wet skin and then pat dry . There use to be a baby oil spray that worked great, as it was easy to apply. I can't seem to find it any more. We have used other body oil sprays and they helped too. Baby oil is the least expensive. I think the damp skin is the key to success.

 

[LadyShea]

It affects about 50% of the population, so she is not alone. I have had it my whole life. DS has it, and not from me genetically since we adopted him It can be unsightly, but in its milder forms is hardly noticeable.

I find it gets better in the summer, but it is never truly gone. Use a good lotion without perfumes or dyes, that helps.

 

[pha1226]

Both my girls have it. They loofah gently in the shower and we put lotion on but it never really goes away. I'll try the baby oil spray and see how that works.

 

[delmar411]

my kids have this as does DH. It's really bad on the baby so I asked the ped about it. We have been using lots of lotion on him and letting his upper body get as much air as possible (topless for most of the day) and that seems to help a lot.

 

[tinkerjess]

im glad shes not alone. what kind of lotions are yall using? it seems like the dr. could prescribe some kind of lotion

 

[jagar100]

I've never heard of KP before, but my DD2 has had severe eczema since birth. We are just praying she will grow out of it one day because she's VERY miserable and we pay $$$$$$$$$ in our attempt to relieve her as best as we can....
I'm glad the KP isn't causing your child to itch, because believe me, it could be worse.

 

[mickeymousemom]

I've had this my whole life. I always use baby oil on my arms before I get out of the shower(on wet skin). I then gently blot dry. It works better in the summer than in the winter, but usually several days of doing this gets my arms fairly smooth. I know at least a couple of over the counter lotions are now advertising that it helps kp. Eucerin is one of them. Here's a link....

http://beaut.ie/blog/?p=4540


Your DD is not alone...kp is very common!

 

[kldmom2000]

My DD has "chicken skin" too.... she has mild eczema but the bumps on the upper arms wax and wane, but never go away. I use Eucerin on her as recommended by our dermatologist. I have to avoid the spray on sunscreens as the alcohol in them makes the bumps AND her eczema flare up. We have had luck with Neutrogena and Banana Boat sunscreens I've switched to laundry detergent w/ no dyes/perfumes/etc... and it seems to help. I also try to use just Dove soap with her and avoid products with fragrance.

 

[turtlegirl1]

My DS has this too, I use aquaphor on his arms immediately after a bath. It doesn't bother him at all, it's more me wanting/expecting perfect baby smooth skin. He's never had any other skin issues, so if this is all we get then I guess we are lucky! GL!

 

[juliana_sd]

Do you give her multivitamins? I have it too. One theory is that this can be caused by vitamin A deficiency.

 

[_queenie_]

My DS17 has it, he has one of the worst cases his doctor apparently has ever seen! Nothing really works for him so he just lives with, though it's to a point where it's pretty gross. His skin just just hasn't been the same since he got Erythema Multiforme when he was two.

For a lotion I would reccomend Cera Ve, I like that it has substance without making your skin greasy.

 

[jennb529]

I've never heard of KP before, but my DD2 has had severe eczema since birth. We are just praying she will grow out of it one day because she's VERY miserable and we pay $$$$$$$$$ in our attempt to relieve her as best as we can....
I'm glad the KP isn't causing your child to itch, because believe me, it could be worse.

Just wanted to offer some advice to this poster. My son also has very severe eczema. Our dermatologist recommended a cream called Cutivate. It is prescription only, but it has worked like a miracle. Don't know if you have tried that, but if not you might ask your doc about it.

 

[SunKat]

My 11 year old daughter has this and it just started last year. We've been using Eucerin every morning and evening. The bumps aren't going away, but they don't seem to get any worse. I asked a friend of mine who is a pediatrician what to do for this condition. I wanted to see if she had any hints that my dd's ped didn't. Her response? "I'm not the one to ask, look at these (her arms), I've had it all my life!" Just like everyone else has mentioned here, just keep applying moisturizer!

It just seems like such a simple thing and it's frustrating that there isn't an Rx for this condition.

 

[tessiemez]

Long time KP person here!

You might want to check out keratosispilaris.org . I used to be a regular over there, as I've had KP all my life--it's a good support community (though I've learned to accept it, as it's just skin after all). Some of the methods people try there aren't my cup of tea, and some seem downright bizarre, but there are a lot of good suggestions about moisturizing, and different kinds of oils to use (coconut is highly recommended).

As for me, I use baby oil quite a bit. Also, maybe once or twice a month, I cover affected areas with baby or coconut oil and take a nice soak in the tub (at least 20 minutes). Then I exfoliate with a , very fine, smooth pumice stone, just barely grazing the skin--it works wonders for me, really smooths the bumps out. Just as long as you don't actually press the pumice into the skin, which I imagine could hurt, it's especially effective. I've heard other people just use loofahs, cloths, or even those Veet fake razors. I prefer the pumice.

Actually, my KP keeps my cheeks very rosy. I don't have the bumps on my face, but it's very sensitive and hard to exfoliate. People compliment my rosy cheeks constantly, so I s'pose it's not all bad.

 

[PADISFAM]

We use Eucerin (in the jar) for DS, most of the Rx creams that 'help' this have steroids in them & they didn't work any better than the Eucerin (actually- I like the Eucerin better) one of the only Rx w/o steriods in it is Eildel & again- I don't think that worked as well either.

 

[TBGOES2DISNEY]

I was very interested to read this. I am wondering if I have kp. I've had what I thought was just a pimply rash on my forearms that never goes away, for years (as long as I can remember). It looks like pimples all over or a mild pimply rash, sometimes with little hair pimple things. Does that sound like the kp thing?

 

[tinkerjess]

it kinda sounds like you do!! it looks like very tiny white zits or like someone elese said chicken skin thank you for all the great info. i was wondering were you get coconut oil? we dont have any whole food storesthat are close. the nearest one is 2hrs away i rubbed her down with baby oil after her bath tonight and she seemed to like it!!!

 

[JenEeyore]

Ok, who knew?? Apparently I'm part of the club too, never knew it had a name. Never gone to a dermatologist for it, it is "just me". Apparently not "just me". Who knew DIS could be so educational for more than my Disney fix?!

 

[nrod]

My mother and I both have this (she always called it "gooseflesh" because it resembles red goosebumps on us). We have very red skin by nature. Now my oldest son is getting it too. Mom had it on her thighs and DS and I have it on the back of our arms. I haven't done much for his, as I think of it as a mostly cosmetic issue. However, for me I find that exfoliating with a gentle body scrub (I use one from The Body Shop) and moisturizing lotion helps. Nothing seems to get rid of it completely.

I went to the dermatoligist to see if I could get it in shape before my wedding (had to have sleeves in August, which is hard to find these days!). She prescribed a moisturizer called Lact-hydrin (I think that's the name). It made it a bit less red, but no more than any other moisturizer. So I agree with the other posters - use an OTC one (Eucerin and Aquaphor seem highly recommended). I have never tried the Baby Oil - but am going to start with my next shower!

Just as a side note, my mother's went away around age 40. She always credits chemotheraphy with ridding it for her. She jokes that all of my ailments could be helped with chemo - I tell her I'll stick with the ailments thank you very much!

Good luck.