I'm really not that bothered by the look of my keratosis pilaris, it's the itchiness. It drives me mad, I just want to scratch those kerotin plugs out of my skin. Then when I do itch the bumps, they burn. It's terrible. All the creams help with redness and things, but none of them make the itching go away. It really ****es me off when people say keratosis pilaris is just a cosmetic condition! I wish it was just cosmetic.

I've started shaving my arms, which helps a bit, but my hair grows back quickly. I looked into laser hair removal and electrolysis, but my hair apparently isn't suitable.

Is anyone else bothered by itchy keratosis? Have you found anything that helps?

my daughter has it bad too she uses dermol 500 to wash in and fucillin cream (doctor perscription) to get rid of the itchy it doe help but she scratches them now. i use a sponge with looks like a scour pad on one side and the soft sponge on the other and it takes the heads off the put loads of cream on and my skin is softer when ive used the sponge. its worth a try if you havent used it already.

also i know its not the perfect anser but the doctor perscribed a anti histamine for the itchyness but just at bedtime not for throughout the day.

Hi halcyon - I am one of the itchy KPers around. I will take antihistamines at night if I'm horribly itchy in a lot of places and I also sometimes take it for my sinuses and may be missing feeling some itchiness because of that. A shower and an application of tea tree oil or just straight tea tree oil usually helps my itchy patches.

I did also try using azelaic acid - usu. prescribed for rosacea - on an itchy butt patch a while ago. I think I forgot to put that in my journal. the azelaic acid took away the itching quickly too and seems to have a longer lasting effect. that may be because it is supposed to supress keratin production. Azelaic acid can be naturally derived and the ointment that mine comes in is MCT (medium chain triglyceride) based so is probably a coconut oil base. I wouldn't try using it all over though just cause of the expense. But if you are allergic to tea tree oil - a small percentage of people are I believe - you could try to get it. Also, you could try sea buckthorn oil straight on itchy patches. I have found it works pretty well though the TTO and azelaic are fastest.

If I eat strawberries or EVOO and maybe some other things I haven't figured out, I will get itchy patches. They're not full blown hives and after being inflamed they WILL (or always did) turn into KP bumps. Not sure why the association but I know it happens on me and is not uncommon in family lines with eczema to react to foods. So I avoid those. I have had some itchy places over the last several weeks however with no bumps. I'm not sure if it's a healing process perhaps? Or if it's the same old thing but my tendency toward KP may be lessening (I hope so). My latest thing that I have done is dietary - I added coconut oil back in as a food. I couldn't take it about a year ago, too many breakouts of deep welt boil thingies and sinus congestion. Now I can eat it and as long as I'm getting my omega 3 supplement taken, my sinuses don't inflame the way the used to. I have learned to pay some attention to the inflammatory/non-inflammatory ratings of foods. I also cut back on white sugar and flour. so, my current itchy patches have not turned into KP patches overall and I can actually put lotion (burt's bees carrot cream lately) on them and not get acne either.

So, the TTO or azelaic would be my first recommends. Maybe monitor foods too to see if you are mildly allergic to some (or sensitive to them as some peoples say).

Here's more info on atopic dermatitis (eczema) if you are uncertain about whether you may have that tendency:

Atopic dermatitis (eczema) - MayoClinic.com

I do a few of the things they recommend for my skin in general. I avoid soaps for the most part everywhere except my face, other oily areas and the necessary de-stinkifying. If I really need to use soap, there are only a few I dare use. One is Burt's Bees Carrot Soap, another is a cocoa castille soap and also liquid castile soap like Dr. Bonner's. I also don't take showers or baths everyday during the dry winter here. If the weather is warm and humid though I'll take up to 2 a day.

Best of luck! - bd