Vitamin A deficiency seems to be linked to KP. I was on a website and under deficiency it said:

SKIN - Prolonged deficiency leads to thickened dry skin which is prone to infections. Small hardened bumps of a protein known as keratin may develop around the hair follicles.

Sounds like KP to me? Is anyone here on any vitamin A supplements and has your skin improved?

couple of post on this and other sites say that carrot juice has helped in clearing KP, but once they stoped it came back. Carrot juice provides a large amount of vitamin A. I have just started taking carrot juice 3 times a week, will post the results after 4 weeks

Actually, this was the first thing that my dermatologist told me. He said that I have a vitamin A deficiency which causes my skin to do this. We can take a higher dose of vitamin A, though it is better to take it in the form of beta kerotine(sp?). But, for some reason our bodies tend to flush it out. That's why we can take a higher dose. You still have to be careful because it can be harmul. Too much and you may start to lose your hair and stuff like that. Best thing is to tell a pharmacist that you have a vitamin A deficiency and ask them how much is safe for you to take. You can supplement it with your regular daily multivitamin since most multivitamins don't have the amount that we need. But, honestly it won't make the bumps go away. You still need to find something topical to make the bumps go and then the vitamin A can probably help keep your system stable.

I'm telling you its crazy. My mom's side of the family is screaming vitamin A deficiency. Ezcema, KP...I have an uncle who has an uncontrollable eye twitch which is found in people who have a vitamin A deficiency. He keeps it in control with a shot of botox. Poor eye sight...and certain cancers. Most everyone on this side of the family has gotten some form of cancer. My younger cousin who had KP died from Non Hodgkins a couple of years ago.

I've heard of the Vitamin A deficiency theory from some on here and other sites, but this is the 1st I've heard of someone saying their dermatologist stated that it played a role in it and how it was playing that role.

Retinoids are a topical form of vitamin A and do help KP a great deal.

Yep, I looked it up after he told me that and I was pretty surprised.

Patchouli: your uncle has a magnesium deficiency, calcium contracts the muscle where magnesium will relax the muscle. Twitching is a classic sign of magnesium deficiency...just thought i would let you know so you can pass on the information so he doesn't have 2 spend so much money on botox...

Eyes can have twitching problems if you have an eye sight problem and aren't wearing the right prescription glasses. I used to get twitchy eyes before I knew I had bad eyes and now I wear contacts (no twitchiness). I don't know whether I have a vitamin a deficiency or not but i'm sure I do! Also on my side of the family (auntie actually got given a vitamin a supplement from her derm when she was younger and it cleared up her acne). I'd be scared to take vitamin a without a doctors advice. For now i'll just drink carrot juice.

Hi, I just responded to the other thread that talked about vitamin A deficiency. I am juicing now, too, and my skin is slightly more smooth. I juice 1-2 carrots, 1-2 celery stalks, a small apple, cranberries and grapes. It tastes really good and gets in lots of nutrients. I'd rather get my A this way than synthetically. I also take wheat grass juice whenever I can. Juice bars usually have it. It's weird at first but you get used to it and it's actually not that bad.

The vitamin A thing makes a lot of sense to me because when I was growing up I never liked vegatables. I usually ate a carrot and maybe an apple but that wasn't really enough. My brother didn't have it because he ate his greens. My mom had KP when she was younger but when she became an adult (and ate veggies) she didn't have it anymore. I know many of you are thinking "but I eat lots of veggies" - well, then maybe it's an absorption issue. I eat veggies now, too, and I still have this skin.

He's tried it. He's tried everything. Pretty much like KP, taking the vitamin or mineral you are deficient in doesn't exactly make it go away. Its not very expensive for him to get his one shot for the eye. The doctor calls him once he opens a vial. I have to say that is one good reason for putting Botox by your eye. He can see. He gets pretty depressed when it starts wearing off. He loves to paint and it makes it hard for him to see.

That is my next area of focus, to make certain I am getting plenty of Vitamin A in my diet by way of foods, not supplements.

You know, I've been wondering. Once you have the vitamin deficiency, is that it? I mean can you ever get it back to normal even if you DO take V-A?

I think you are born with it if I'm not mistaken. But, I also think some of the group members have a better idea to get the beta carotene and A through food then supplements. At least it will have to be broken down and stay in our system a little longer than a vitamin. I did for a long period of time take vitamin A at the highest dose a pharmacist recommended for it. Sure some things improved, like my night vision. Don't know about the rest of y'all, but I can barely see in the dark. While I was taking it after a few months I noticed that driving at night was much more better. Just walking around in the dark was a lot better. Now its been a while since I have taken the high doses of vitamin A and all I can say is don't park behind me at night. Especially if you have a dark car.

Wow, if I were you I might be tempted to keep taking the Vit A just so I could see better in the dark/at night.

Hello everyone.

I have tested the carrot juice. I drank it on a daily basis for two weeks and surprisingly my skin smoothened out like never before. It was shocking almost that I was kind of skeptical. So I stopped drinking it for a period of two weeks and my skin returned to its normal bad state of roughness. I again started drinking it for about a week and my skin started recouperating and feeling smooth again.

So it is carrot juice on a daily basis for me... It's like my body depends on it for a regular dosis of VIT A