I have had KP on my arms, thighs, and calves for about 10 years now (I'm 22). When I was in highschool I had no idea what the red bumps on my skin were or why i had them. Sometimes i was jealous of the girls with the perfect skin, but i didn't obsess over it. I thought that if i wore shorts/skirts or tanktops then people would ask me questions or make fun of me, but i was wrong. I played tennis and soccer and went swimming with my friends in the summer. (I too lived in SoCal in the hot hot heat) In all 4 years of highschool i got maybe 1 question regarding my KP. It was some person i knew at a family vacation asking "hey, what's that on your arms?" They weren't laughing or anything, they were just curious. I had no idea what it was called so i just shrugged. End of story.
...
That was it. Seriously.

I was never extremely popular or exceptionally pretty in the trendy sense, but my KP certainly didn't have anything to do with that. I had a blast in highschool because i wasn't worrying all the time about my appearance. Oh, i also had stretch-marks on my thighs (i still have no idea why) and STILL nobody said anything when i wore my bathingsuit. People are nicer than you think.

What it comes down to is that nobody really cares about your skin except you. Honestly, do you think that boys spend their time staring at girls' arms? *wink-wink*
All i can do for you is to share my personal experience. In highschool i had 2 relationships with cute guys, neither of which mentioned my skin once. Currently, i'm engaged to a very handsome blonde who thinks that i worry too much about my skin (and i barely worry about it at all!). He loves me for who i am, and that's much more than skin-deep. People will love you for who you are if you would only allow yourself to be free.

Resilience, I believe that you are drawing attention to yourself and your insecurities by covering up all the time. If you relax, then people will relax around you. If you are confident being yourself, then people will get to know and like you. The advice i'm giving you might seen impossible and harsh, but i really and truly think it's for the best and will improve the quality of your life. You'll be happier, more confident, and attract like-minded people to you.

Here it is: Get over it.

Hey!!

Been there, done that too!!! WOW... you are so me, 15 years ago! I was the only girl wearing a sweater and jeans on the hottest day of the year!

I'm too am a newly self-diagnosed KP'er! With rough bumpy KP on arms, but smooth skin covered in red dots from ankle to thigh! HIGH SCHOOL SUCKS - PEOPLE ARE CRUEL.... but be honest about your KP.... I remember always saying "it's a rash, I've just always had it", not really knowing back then that KP had a name!!

You only have to tell a few people, a few times, before your KP will go unnoticed by friends. People are always more shocked by it if they have never seen it before

Tanning helps me ALOT! It just makes the red dots much less noticable.

I'm reading alot of the threads posted, and I'm going to start using the loofah / extra virgin coconut oil regime and see how it goes.

Good Luck & Keep your chin up!
Lena

Let's see...

In high school I was a songleader (cheerleader with pompoms and more rhythm lol). My boyfriend, who I had for 6 years, was voted hottest body in ouse senior year. We were also voted hottest couple. I wore two piece bathing suits, short shorts, little cheerleading uniforms.

In college, I had the same boyfriend for 2 more years until I realized as hot as he was, that was all there was to him. I dated...I dated A LOT. I dated a model, my college's quarterback, I dated a lot of good looking guys. I was a little sister for TWO fraternities (one for my friends' and the other for my college boyfriend's fraternity).

During college and after I had three marriage proposals, actually wore a g-string to spring break, won a bikini contest at 'the river' during a spring break, got into concerts free, got into clubs free (the kind where they let you in based on looks), I was approached by two welll reputable modeling agencies. I have traveled all over the world. I have had guys fight over me. I have girlfriends who have been my best friends forever. I have done ballet and other trained dance styles on stage. I have dated/hung out with professional athletes. The only time I didn't date was when I wiped the slate clean (I have only been dumped once and it was over a misunderstanding- nothing to do with kp). From the time I was 16 until I got married at 30, I wasn't dating for only 3 months and it was because I was just sick of guys (I am very independent and a tad commitmentphobic. I loved my freedom and time with friends).

I married a doctor...a hottie doctor. Not my words, but there is a funny story about the catering manager at the hotel we were having our wedding reception at went to a dentist in Newport Beach (this is before my hubby became an orthodontist). She almost dies b/c her doctor was hot (these are HER words) b/c she was in her sweats and no make up. She had to make another appointment for the following Friday to get a cavity filled. She took a half day off of work to get ready for her dentist appointment! (Now this is the part I got from her boss). She was bummed because her "hottie doctor" that she had been telling all the girls at work about was not in the office. She figured out why after her appt when she got into work- our 20 x 24 photo for our reception was in her boss' office - her appointment was the day before our wedding and she had no idea that her "hottie doctor" was engaged and getting married the next day at her work! While we dated and still in our marriage he gets hit on by patients and random assistants. I have no worries- I know he loves me and we have two beautiful boys (6 yrs and 8 mos). Our pastor's jaw dropped (not just my hubby's but the pastor's!) and in front of our whole wedding he said, "Wow, you are stunning!" My husband almost kicked his butt! (not seriously but he was like, Hey man, that's my wife!")

Oh, and I forgot to mention - I have KP and I have had it since at least the 6th grade. And now that I am older, I am soooooo glad that I NEVER let it hinder what I did in my teens and twenties. I succeeded in school, college, socially and academically. I didnt give myself time to pity myself or second guess myself. I had a BLAST. I would not change what I did and how I experienced the world for anything. You cannot be afraid to live to the fullest. The most precious commodity in life is not perfect skin or a perfect body but TIME. I know when you are in high school time moves much more slowly. But one day (and trust me, it does not take long) you'll look back and 10 years flew by, your life has totally changed and you cannot look back and say "I wish I did xxxxx"...do NOT allow yourself that false luxury.

You all are young.You dont have a ton of adult responsibilities burdening you (yet) so HAVE FUN! I had a great time in high school and I would still want your time if I could take it. Take advantage of the gift of time that you have.
I hope you dont take what I wrote about myself as bragging. I dont mean for it to be- I just wanted to tell you the life one KPer had and I want, more than anything, for you kids to be able to write an ever better history of yourselves when you are 30 (or 30ish) and there are kids in your shoes right now on this board. "F" the KP and live your lives. When you are old and gray and on the last leg of life, do you want to remember the KP and how your were such a victim and all of the things you missed out on OR as a survivor who lived life to the fullest, no regrets??

And for you guys who have it - there were two guys before my husband who were just amazing, and probably the 2 hottest guys I ever dated. No, not the models or pro jocks...those were just for fun. But The one guy who just melted my heart, I mean the guy was so hot girls were trying to pick up on him while he was waiting for me in line at a movie kind of hot, had KP on his arms. He was so charming, smart and freakin' hot, I didnt know he had it until he told me (and we both lived at the beach at the time). Here I am a Kper and I didnt even realize he had it (and this was during the summer).

Just go for it and have fun - you are only young once and if someone stares or says anything, screw 'em, they are not worth the time (and I am sure they have some issue as well).

Hang in there


Kim

I definately agree about the tan. When I was in high school, I used to tan at home on weekends for a few hours and at lunch-time sit in the sun as well (but wear sunscreen). When you have some colour you can also slap on a bit of fake tan to make it darker. Also found eating loads of fruit, especially the orange ones (and carrots) gives your skin colour, helps KP and helps with tanning. And of course, moisturise or oil every day. I think it is so great to have this forum so we know what it is, when I went to school, other kids told me to stop shaving and ruining my skin, pity that wasn't the problem.

If someone gives you a hard time about it just tell them you are allergic to a-holes and walk away. what can they say?

You basically just described my problems. I live in Hawaii and i would wear long sleeves all the time if i could but, well... its hawaii. I do whatever i can to hide it but its really hard. It makes me so self concious when i wear a tank top or spagetti straps. my friends don't care but there are always those people who say "whats that on your arm?" i didn't know what to tell them cause i didn't know what it was either.

if you think people will treat you differently, they really won't. i knew this guy for about 6 months and he just asked me why i had "goose bumps" on my arms last week and then i had to explain it to him and he doesn't care... he likes to touch it though and that makes me feel ugly. but you really are your hardest critic cause everyone i know, either don't notice it (which i think is weird cause its kind of severe) or don't care. but i know, that doens't change the way we feel about ourselves :'[

Hi Resiliency,

I am from So. Cal, too, and had KP all through my jr. High, high school and college years. It was horrible: everything you can imagine, and worse.

I had KP all over my legs, so I had to wear jeans every SINGLE DAY, even in the summer, and you know what the heat is like there. It was so hard seeing all the popular girls with their long legs and their perfect skin, wearing daisy dukes every day and showing off how perfect they were. People were always like, "You dress weird. How come you never wear shorts?? "

And what was I supposed to say? "Oh, because I have a hideous skin disease, that's all."

You can't say anything. You're just like, "Oh. Uh. I like jeans.
And shorts are dumb. Even Oprah says so."

I never saw anyone else with KP (and my high school had 2,000 students at the time !!), and I was totally ashamed and felt like the only person in the world who had it. (And there was no internet at that time, either, so there was no way to connect with other people suffering from it.)

As for whether people "notice"... I think it depends how bad your KP is, and where it is. If you have the big red bumps and dots on your legs, you're screwed and everyone will notice and point and make their little hushed comments to their friends.
But KP is more common on the arms, and that is a less visible place, too. (How often do people see the backs of your arms, really?) So I think it is more socially acceptable. However, it's still a skin disease and can have devastating effects on your self-esteem.

So, really no one saw my legs for more than 10 years. (Yes, I stayed a virgin all through college, too. How are you supposed to have a relationship with someone? )

Thankfully, I have found an effective treatment now. But... I am almost 29 years old. Most of my younger years were miserable and isolated, mainly because of KP and severe acne. I am happy that I look pretty normal now, but I feel that a lot of my years are behind me and have been "lost" to this disease.

I am having to start over now. Try to reinvent myself. It's hard. Well, KP hits some people much harder than others.


However...

WTG, Boosmom !!! Bagged yourself a doctor ?! Wow, you're my new hero!!

hey im new to this site and i know wat ur going through, i just recently found out i have kp after thinking it was acne for a while now. it is all over my upper arms, and i have had a tendency to pick at the bumps, which results in large ugly sores and scars. I am trying to stop, but in the meantime, does neone know of a product that will help heal the kp or diminish the appearance of scars?
and in reply to ur post resiliency, im also in high school and very self conscious about my arms, i used to use cover up but realized how silly that was seeing as it doesnt make much difference and probly just makes it worse. i usually wear long sleeve shirts, but in the summer it;s just too hot so i say screw it and bare my arms, even though it is nerve racking. I've found that people are usually pretty nice about it, i havent been made fun of about it althought i get questions about wats wrong with my arms, it is pretty noticeable. But i wouldnt let it stop you from doing anything you want to do in high school, it is just a skin condition, and beauty isnt just skin deep. If you want to play sports that requires wearing jerseys that are cut at the shoulder, i suggest wearing a t-shirt underneath, that's what i do for basketball. and just be confident, people don't notice as much as you think.

maybe i had KP when i was your age coz i just found out that i have like 2 weeks ago when i went to my dermatologist coz the bumps on my back is bothering me. it didn't bother me when i was in high school coz nobody noticed it. i came from the philippines so i went to the beach very often to hangout with my friends. only when i went back home for vacation that somebody noticed it, a masseur coz i often have a massage there. also a friend noticed it when we went to the beach and what's embarassing is that friend is a girl and she's so hot and i like her. so when i came back i see a dermatologist right away that when i got the bad news that i have KP and there's no cure for it. but maybe if just don't mind it it won't bother you. i hope.

Hi Resiliency,

I went through the same experience you did. I was too embarrassed to wear sleeveless shirts. The KP was on my upper arms, buttocks, face and upper thighs.

This August I began what is known as "oil pulling". It is practiced in Ukraine and India. For 20 minutes every morning, on an empty stomach, I genty swish 2 tsp. of coconut oil (you can use any good quality oil such as safflower or sesame) though my mouth, under my tongue, through my teeth. The instant benenfit was how white my teeth became.

On the 21st. day, I realized my skin had cleared by 90-95%. The bumps were gone! In Sept., I visited my sister for 3 weeks. I cut my oil pulling time back to 10 min. each morning, so I could join her earlier -- and talk! The bumps started slowly coming back. I went back to my 20-min. regimen, and they decreased again.

Now I do two 20-30 min. back-to-back sessions each morning to clear up the remaining 5-10% remaining bumps. They are decreasing each day and residual redness is also noticeably decreasing.

To learn more about oil pulling, google those two words. I hope you try this.

Hey, i totally understand where your comeing from.
im 16 years old and as well in highschool. and ive had my kp ever since i can remebr. i rember kids in kindergarden brushing up against mmy arms and telling me i have the chiken pox. and now at the age of 16 all ym firneds get to go to beaches and have fun , be themselves and jus not care. and it makes me really envious and angry cuase i jus CANT do that. my kp is on my thighs, arms, and buttocks. i really dont care about my arms. and u shudnt either it relaly doenst matter, people dont give if u dont care about it either. i wear tank tops all the time, and yes htere are a few people that ask me wat i have on my arms. and im jus blunt and tell them i have a skin problem no one has ever made fun fo me ebcuase of that or anything.
the sun also relaly helps, personally im medditranean but despite that my skin is very pale. when my arms get tanned u cant see the kp at all.

also i reccomed, if your arms are rough and bumpy that is , to try out a cream called Atoderm after one week of applying it generously to my kp after eveyr shower. i could immediatly tell the difference, ur skin becomes so much smoother.

anyways i hope i helped u , u helped me hun i thout i was the only one haha.

yea i know the feeling iv had since i was itty bitty and nothing had helpe donce i hit 19 it stared going away tanning beds help like go once a week er somthing and every time i get outa the shower i put on baby oil in the shower i scrub like hell with a apricot scrub and stone. its a lota care but its worth it

i actually had a pretty opposite experience in high school. although i wasn't popular, into sports, etc, i still wore short sleeves and shorts, and had no problem in bathing suits. people didn't really seem to notice my kp, unless i was picking at it. if they asked, i told them i just had something weird with my skin that made it get little bumps. no one really cared.

don't let yourself get too wrapped up in appearances and stuff. honestly, no one notices your bumps as much as YOU do. most people won't give em a second glance. there are so many people out there with psoriasis, eczema, weird freckles, moles, different skin colors, birthmarks, hairy arms...it's nothing to fret about. i can almost guarantee you the girl or guy with the super hairy arms will get more attention than you will with your kp!

if people ask, tell them it's a skin condition, brush it off like it's no big deal. i know it's hard, high school is a realy, really rough place. there is so much focus on fitting in, and when adults tell you to "be yourself" you just want to smack them.

try going short-sleeved with a group of close friends sometimes, maybe spending the night at someone's house--it'll be kind of dark, and people who know you and care about you will be there. i bet no one will notice, and if they do, at least they're people who love you. or maybe shortsleeves during a day at the mall--there are plenty of freaky people to gawk at, that are certain to take the attention away from a pair of arms that happen to have a few red dots! maybe even going out to eat with your family in short sleeves would be a good idea. just little steps to help you gain confidence, andhelp you learn that people don't really pay as much attention to that stuff as you think they do. it's us folks with kp who notice them more than anyone else ever will....except a dermatologist, i guess.

Hey i know how you feel. I have the same problem and am 16 years old. I felt so left out because I have always been so self concious about wearing those really awesome sleeve less shirts that are really pretty and about wearing summer dresses or even going swimming. the only time i ever really would where a tank top or anything was when it was dark enough like in a movie theatre and i knew that my friends or people i was with wouldn't stare or say things to me about it. I did the same thing and caused scars on my arms which have taken a long time to go away. I find that putting about 1/2 a teaspoon of coconut oil on each arm every night, and then wearing a long sleeved shirt to bed helps a lot. Don't let these things stop you from doing the things you want to. don't let it define who you are.
luv, timegoose.