I have always had KP as well as my sisters. We never wore shorts as kids we always thought somebody might see it. I do think salt water helps it. I spent a summer at the beach when i was 19 and for the first time i was able to wear shorts and even a swim suit. The KP was gone for that summer at least. I'm 33 now and both my kids have it. My daughter has it on her cheeks and my son has it really bad on his arms, legs and even his stomach. His doctor wants to send him to a specialist because it is so bad and on his stomach as well. Has anybody ever heard of it being on your stomach?

Hi countrygurl - Some KPers posting here remark on it being on their stomachs but it seems less common. I have a little on my stomach in the years after childbirth - I _never_ had it there before pregnancy though I've had KP on my arms and legs off and on for 30+ years. It's a bit hard for me to say that childbirth was the only trigger for the return and expansion of my KP since I'm also pre-menopausal, moved to a dry climate, my diet's been worse but the availability of good food is getting better here, and I get less sleep cause I'm often up in the middle of the night, you know how that goes possibly.

Do you think the climate and/or the sunshine helped your KP in that summer you were clear? A lot of KPers use tanning beds or sunning to clear up KP. (might be the vitamin D production?) I'm terribly fair so I avoid them but a more humid or coastal climate improves my KP.

I recommend you read around here, there's a LOT of info as to what things improve KP for a variety of people. - bunnyday

Hey Bunnyday, I do think the sun and climate helped that summer. I'm more convinced that it was the salt water. I guess maybe a combination of it all. That is the one time in my life i have ever had clear skin and i wish i lived near a beach now. I still have it but not as bad as my son. I have checked into buying sea salt online I think i'm gonna try it.I guess it cant hurt.

Hi countrygurl, depending how far into the country you are, you may be able to buy sea salt at the grocery store. I'm almost in the middle of nowhere and I can get it when I go do a big grocery trip "in town" some 25 miles away. I've been doing a lot of thinking aout this because of your post and another mentioning "the beach" as a factor, not just sunshine. I can get sunshine but the air here is different and when I lived at the coast, my KP was definitely less aggravated. I'm trying to figure out how much of my latest skin aggravation is influenced by age/hormones, sleep deficit, diet/EFAs/vitamins, climate, and topical treatments. Over the last year and a half I've changed my diet (initially for other reasons, not KP), eliminated dairy and that hasn't cleared up my KP. I've added oil pulling and an Omega-3 supplement which has definitely improved my skin in the last couple months. Lastly I added a sugar scrub with a little vinegar as dermabrasion and this also has a nice, smoothing AND soothing effect on my skin. BUT (sorry, I AM trying to keep it short...) I'm also thinking about adding a bit of sea salt to my scrub as this keeps being mentioned and from experience I think it may have some influence on my skin.

Have you ever tried an NaPCA moisturizer? It's "The sodium salt of 2-Pyrrolidone-5-Carboxylic Acid". I'm just wondering. I was remembering a spray-on NaPCA moisturizer from some company and that it was an fast way after swimming classes to get moisturized.

- bunnyday

When I read your post I remembered somewhere how someone had said that calcium pills had helped their KP which had gotten worse after pregnancy.

Not sure if maybe lack of calcium has exasperated yours but there may be a link - have a read of the post and see what you think:

How I conquered Keratosis Pilaris

Thanks Anne! I had read at that just a couple days ago and I cracked open a Calcium/Magnesium/Zinc bottle I had in the cupboard and think I'll alternate that with a Calcium/Vit D supplement since Vit D = good for skin tooo. I'll see how it goes and maybe start a new thread in Moms if it seems to help. There have been a few other complaints of post-pregnancy worsening also that might benefit from this info. BUT I'm not the best guinea pig as I am pretty unable to keep things absolutely consistent - a recent need to use sunscreen more often sort of throws off whether I can tell what's helping or hurting but I'll do my best. - bunnyday

Hi everyone,
I just stumbled on this website yesterday and it has been very helpful. I have never been formally diagnosed with KP but after researching my symptoms, I've kind of self-diagnosed. My bumps have gotten worse in the past few months and I didn't know why - I had a baby a few months ago and after reading some of your posts I am wondering if that could be the reason. I used to just have it on my legs and upper arms but now there is more in those areas and it is on my forearms as well. I have little bumps on my face too but I always just thought they were pimples. I have had a few on my stomach as well. I know this may sound gross but I used to squeeze them and white stuff would come out - I guess that is the keratin? I've stopped doing that since they just get worse and come right back. I hope that something works for me.