My 13 year-old daughter has just been diagnosed with KP. I actually noticed a few dry patches 2 years ago and took her to a dermatologist. She was diagnosed with Lichen Spinulosis (sp?) and was given a salycylic cream to use. Well, nothing changed, and her condition got worse . . . all over her arms, legs, back, and a few on her face. I finally went to another dermatologist who actually took a biopsy and diagnosed it as KP. I feel horrible that I did not seek out a second opinion 2 years ago. Maybe if I had waited so long, she would not be covered with it. And, my husband has it too (although he never knew what it was). His, however, looks like small pimples and is not very noticeable. My daughter's however, are round and spiny, and now the skin on her arms are discolored (light patches) .. we're African American. Her doctor has her on four topical medications which seem to be working wonderfully. After 3 weeks, her skin is soft although the light patches are still there. She has to stand in a UV Ray chamber for 5 minutes every three weeks to see if the coloration in her skin will come back to normal. I found this site tonight after researching the condition on the internet. I must say that I'm a bit disappointed because I thought that my daughter would grow out of it. However, it looks like she will have to live with this condition. We can probably handle that, but my question to you is . . . how is the condition managed? Will she have to continually use the topical medicines forever? Does it ever go away?

I think a lot of us have tried the Rx route and given up on it. It's good that its working for her. Lots of people are trying lots of different regimens, with varied results. The best seem to be Bath and Body Works Eucalyptus Spearmint, Neostrata, Noxzema Smoothing (may be unavailable, now), Alpha Hydroxy Acids, and Arbonne RE9. If she can get on a regimen that works for her, she may be able to go off all the Rx's, but it's a trial & error process. Unfortunately, there is no "cure" for KP, yet. There's a petition (there's a post about it) to sign to get Universities and Rx companies to start trying to develop one, so sign it, and hope the cure comes. Oh, and try Vitamin C to restore skin's color! It worked for my father's scars (we're dark-skinned caucasian, probably a mix from waaaaay back) Good luck!