I am glad that I found this group, because my 2 year old son's KP is getting worse, and I want to find a way to treat it. I have rosacea pretty bad and have all my life (although now I'm wondering if it's KP), and I hate it.

I've noticed many parents who have posted on here are very "devastated" about their child's kp. I don't mean any disrespect, but my 2 year old has quadraplegic cerebral palsy, microcephaly, cortical vision impairment, and now, KP. He can't roll over, sit up, walk, talk, etc etc etc and no one knows if he ever will. So while I understand being upset about the fact that your child has KP, I hope that you can put it into a little perspective! I would give my right arm for my child to have KP and be able to walk, talk, feed himself, be in a normal class at school. He's going to be dependent on me and my husband for the rest of his life...probably never marry, may die at a young age...OK, now I have to stop because it's just too much to think about!!

Anyway, I wish that someone would come up with a treatment for KP because it's detracting from my adorable son's cuteness! Hope I didn't **** anybody off!
Linda

Hi Linda - welcome to the group

Well you haven't upset me.! I know what you are saying - it is certainly good to keep things in perspective.

I have been off and on this board a bid over the last few years and I note the following product has often been recommended by some moms - it is called:
'Arbonne's ABC hair and body wash'

personally I have never used it and don't even know if you can buy it in NZ but it sounds very gentle.

My son began getting KP bumps on his eyebrow (ulerythema ophryogenes) and some hair was lost in the eyebrow area. I found that applying some 'extra virgin coconut oil' (evco) helped calm the redness in the bumps. Again coconut oil is something that has been spoken about by a few members as helping. Also the coconut oil is very soothing and natural and won't irritate your child's skin.

Wishing you and your son all the best with finding an effective treatment for his KP

Anne

Hi Anne,

It was about 3 in the morning when I wrote that post, not sure if I would have written it otherwise!

Thanks for the advice...I'm going to look into it. Coconut oil? That's interesting, I never would have thought of that. When I have used oily products on his skin before, his skin got worse. Maybe coconut oil is not oily?

His dermatologist prescribed a 6% salicylic acid cream, but I am nervous about using it because it said that Reye's syndrome was a risk.

Thanks
Linda

Good perspective!!!
Isn't salicylic acid for acne? I would think that would have a drying effect oh your ds's skin and I've noticed when my dd's skin is dry the kp seems to look even more "bumpy". Never heard of using coconut oil...at least our kids would smell good then huh? lol

You know what seems to be working for my son? Vusion cream. The dermatologist gave me some samples to use. It's actually for diaper rash and an anti-fungal, but it seems to be clearing his KP up quite a bit. We'll see if it lasts!

Two2luv, that's what I thought about the salicylic acid cream...I know that when I've used salicylic acid products on myself, my skin gets extra irritated and itchy. I don't think that would be good for my son! I haven't used any of the cream on him yet because I'm afraid to, and it was $30 for the bottle. I can't return it because it's a prescription. Oh well, such is life!
Linda

Hi Again - 'Annuu' recently posted info on extra virgin coconut oil - I will post it again here in case you didn't see it. Annuu is a NZ chemist so he knows what he is talking about - that is why it is in 'chemist type' language!

'Regarding the active ingredient in Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (EVCO) and how it might work...


I am not sure if it is an extremely potent component found at a low concentration, or if it is the Extra Virgin Coconut Oil in totality that makes it work.


It does have a nice coconutty fragrance, so that shows that there are aromatic ingredients present (unlike many other oils which have almost no smell). It might be this that is causing the antiinflammatory effect, hence why topical Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is effective for the redness of kp and UO.

The other big difference between Extra Virgin Coconut Oil and other plant oils is the extremely high level of low and medium chain saturated triglycerides, specifically lauric acid triglycerides. Almost half (44%) of coconut oil fatty acids are lauric acid. Lauric acid has 12 carbons in the hydrocarbon chain. This is the reason why Extra Virgin Coconut Oil is often solid at room temperatures. It also accounts for its resistance to oxidation (i.e. it is very difficult to make it rancid) unlike polyunsaturated oils like sunflower/safflower etc that go rancid easily and often need to be protected with antioxidants.


You can apply extra virgin coconut oil as often as you need to, although the general rule seems to be 1 - 2 times daily. It works best if applied after washing, while the skin is still moist. This way the moisture is locked into the skin, and helps with the hydration of the keratin 'plugs' of kp.



Cheers!


Annuu
www.koru.co.nz"

Thanks Anne for the info on the coconut oil! I told the dermatologist that I was worried about using the salicylic acid cream, and so she told me to get something called, well of course now I can't remember the name of it. But it has lactic acid in it. I wonder which would be better? The coconut oil or the lactic acid?

I think your dermatologist might have recommended LacHydrin or AmLActin. Both contain lactic acid as the salt called 'ammonium lactate'.

Some folks here have reported that ammonium lactate works, others have found no joy from this treatment.

Same goes with Extra Virgin Coconut Oil...some have received benefit whereas others not.

Sorry to say that no one product works for everybody's kp. I know it sounds disappointing, but it's true!

You should probably try out each option, giving it at least 2 months to see if you have good results before trying out the other.

Cheers

Annuu

A dermatologist that has KP suggested that we try Laticare on my son. WalMart ordered it for me. It seems to help. Hope it works for your little one.