Epsom salt baths

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Originally posted by longwindedKPsufferer

I had no idea hoq many people I shared this obnoxious disorder with, and I am astounded and troubled by the number of people who are so seriously challenged by it emotionally. As a child I was horribly shy about this condition (on my upper thighs & backs of arms) to the point where I wore turtlenecks and long pants year-round. As I got older I just started to ignore it. THEN I got pregnant. It went almost completely away while pregnant (YEA!) but afterwards, LOOK OUT! Horrid, horrid red bumps all over my arms & thighs and even crept up onto my, uh, posterior. It never fully subsided between my two kids (2.5 years apart), though it did clear up again during my second pregnancy and then come back again with a vengance. I am now about 4 mos. post partum and it's in full assault mode on my legs. My husband still loves me, so I am not overly troubled by it, but I can't say I don't feel a bit bashful and uncomfortable when other people see my legs (my arms don't bug me that much, maybe because I can't see them and I don't really think anyone spends that much time staring at the back of your arms... the same theory I use for neglecting to style my hair in back...). Enough babble. Two things I have found helpful:
1)Regular exercise. Can't argue with it. Reduces stress, good for the heart, mind, body; intake of oxygen is good for the skin. I agree with some other posts on this site that weight fluctuations (in my case) seem to exacerbate the problem. Until pregnancy weight was never an issue with me, nor was really severe KP (though I've had it to some degree my whole life).

2)I have found epsom salt baths before bed, followed by a heavy dose of oil free AHA moisturizer, to at least reduce some of the redness. Epsom salt is cheap and easily available in quantity (and I really dump a lot of it into the bath), it also has the benefit of being very soothing to sore or tired muscles. The more consistent I am the better it works... unfortunatley with two kids the opportunity to luxuriate in a hot tub doesn't present itself often enough. This is definitely not a cure, but anything and everything is worth a try.

Keep the faith, y'all. At least this condition is not life threatening. We can all be grateful for that!

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Originally posted by MIA

I just took an epsom salt bath last night. I scrubbed the KP gently with a little bit of it, and soaked in about 2 cup fulls. I haven't been able to tell any difference yet, and I don't really expect to. Do you do this every night? I was thinking of maybe doing it once or twice a week.