Hey guys, let me start by introducting myself. I'm a 17 year old Canadian guy just finishing up grade 11. I'm very much into hockey, playing 15-20 hours a week at the AAA level. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say I spend more time skating than I do walking.

That brings me to my problem: I've been living with bad KP ever since I can remember. It's been in varying states of severity over the years, but like I said, always VERY noticable. Hockey itself, doesn't show much skin, as you can imagine, but the dressing room does. Getting all your gear on and off requires you to take off your shirt, which you'd think wouldn't be an issue seeing how much physical activity I'm involved in. The fact is, that is the source of my embarrassment. I have dark red, raised dry bumps all over my upper arms, shoulders, and upper back. It looks horrible, to be frank. It's always been my issue; I've had a toned, muscular, lean body thats covered in terrible skin. Instead of taking off my normal shirt to put on underarmor longsleeve shirts like everyone else does (it helps with overheating in hockey), I simply don't take off my normal shirt. While the only direct consequences of this are possible overheating and a nasty smelling wet shirt, after awhile of doing this, my teammates started to wonder why.

I'm naturally far too analytical of myself in many facets of my life; my hockey, my looks, my academics, essentially everything. As such, when my teammates started to notice that I never took off my shirt, I figured that I was the only one that would notice it; as with many of my "issues". I decided to test fate and make an attempt at conformity. When I finally did take off my shirt, the reaction I got was a bombardment of questions about what was wrong with my skin. I was so embarrassed. It doesn't seem like much just reading this, I'm sure, but it was a terrible experience for me.

Hockey isn't the only thing my KP effects either. Anything involving taking off my shirt is off limits in my mind. I don't swim in public pools or go to the beach at all. Not to mention it makes getting with women awkward when it's my cue to let the clothes hit the floor.

Anyways, I needed to vent about all that stuff. It drives me crazy. I'd do anything and spend any money to get rid of it. It truly is a curse. Am I alone in my insecurity?

Anony,

Good to hear from you. No, you are not alone in your insecurity. We have all gone through degrees of it. Taking charge and finding a remedy will help in this area by giving you a sense of control. Check out the sticky thread "Thread Devoted to What Works for You". You will find a variety of remedies used successfully by others. I hope you find something there to try. If anything is helpful, please let us know. Keep in touch.

kebod