Forty years and counting

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Originally posted by mlm

I am a 54 year old female and have been "putting up with" or should I say suffering with KP since I was 12 years old. When I was that age, I was at a friend's birthday party in the middle of July. A friend noticed the bumps on my thighs and said "How can you be cold...it's summertime!" I remember that embarrassing moment as though it was yesterday. For years I tried to scrub it away and moisturize it away, but to no avail. Several months ago, I finally asked a dermatologist about it. She never said what it was, but gave me some cream to apply twice a day. I used Lac-Hydrin 12% for several weeks, but could not see any improvement. I went back to the same dermatologist, but saw another doctor in the group. As soon as I showed her the back of my arm she said "Oh, that's Keratosis Pilaris". She showed me the back of her arm too, which wasn't nearly as bad as mine. She wrote the name down for me and gave me a few small samples of another cream, which she felt was better than the Lac-Hydrin. It is called Betamide Lotion and has urea in it. This is what she claimed is the key ingredient in helping the condition. She was quick with her diagnosis, where her colleague seemed to be uninformed. Perhaps it is because she, too, is suffering from this condition. I have been using this cream, and have noticed one improvement. The bumps are smoothed out considerably, but the red dots remain. I have KP on the back of my upper arms, above the elbows and on the front of my thighs. For years I felt alone, for I have never met anyone with this skin condition. But thanks to this wonderful site, I see that I'm not alone. I only wish we could find something that clears it up. I'm almost ready (and desperate enough) to try the Miracle Whip! As far as the condition getting better with age...well, you can't prove it by me.

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Originally posted by Robin

I am 43 years old and have had KP for many, many
years. In the past year it has become much more
severe and has spread all the way down my arms to
my wrists. Nothing that the doctors have given
me has worked. I am at a loss as to what to try.
I just discovered this website today, and plan
to try some of the items I discovered here today.
Good luck to you and everyone out there with KP.
I must agree with you that it does not get better
with age, mine has gotten worse.

[Archive]

Originally posted by me too

I'm 36 and my condition has gotten worse with age as well. I have tried many things. Lac-Hydrin didn't help me either. I did have microderm abrasion on my face when it started appearing on my checks and it did help to lessen the appearance of the old/incative areas but didn't do anything to remove or stop actively swollen bumps. I did have a skin care beauty shop lady tell me to cut out all food with acid in them, tomatoes, oranges/orange juice, grapefruits/grafefruit juice, coffee, spicy foods, chinees food. That did make sense to me becaue i took a medicaton once that dehydrated me considerably and that make my KP worse. If medication can do it I guessed foods could do it too. I did help some but my eating habbits did stay good for long...i will try harder to be more disciplined and let you know how long it takes to see results, etc. If any of you try it please let me know!! Thanks and It's wonderful to have this resource and soooo many people that understand what it's like to have KP.

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Originally posted by ploof

It seems to me that all these testimoials on this board seem to disprove some of the info that this out there about KP, and how derms try to treat it.

Namely:
1) KP gets better with age. Doesn't seem to be the case with most people posting here. I'm 30 and only started noticing mine when I turned 26 or so.
2) Lac-hydrin. This seems to be what most derms perscribe, and I haven' t read one post from anyone here that says it works.

[Archive]

Originally posted by eh

I'm 41 and have had it since I can remember. Be glad
you ONLY have it on your arms and legs. I have it on my
arms, legs, back, rear end, and stomach. All to
varying degrees of severity, some red dots, some just
bumpy. I've tried most everything. Right now trying
the Glytone regimen. Seems to help some, two weeks
going, too soon to tell yet. Interested in the urea/salicylic
acid combo. I've tried both urea and salicylic acid before,
but separately, not together in one cream. Lac Hydrin 12
used to help for me but doesn't seem to anymore.