I have a friend who has Keratosis Pilaris. How can she treat it? Is there a method to hide the effects?

Summary


There is no quick fix.





Drink lots of fluids and apply unscented moisturing lotion 2-4 times per day, especially after bathing or swimming. Use mild soap, such as glycerine or Dove.





Avoid drying situations: tanning, long showers or baths, low humidity, and scented/deodorent soap.





Registering at http://www.KeratosisPilaris.org may provide some valuable information.





It is possible that low vitamin-D levels are associated with KP. So, have her get VERY, very short exposures to sunlight each week: head and arms - 5-10 minutes 2-3 times a week without sunscreen. This is enough time to avoid tanning (which makes KP look worse and can damage follicles) but allows the vitamin to form. This is a case of a "a tiny little bit is good, but any more than that is very very bad." Do not go out and bake in the sun or tanning salon :-)





A pharmacist or doctor can evaluate these treatments:


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From The American Osteopathic College of Dermatology


http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_di...


QUOTE: With persistence, most people can get very satisfactory improvement. Initial treatment should be intensive moisturizing. Try a cream such as Acid mantle, Vaseline or Complex 15 after bathing, and re-apply the cream again several times daily.





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From Bielan B. "What's your assessment? Keratosis pilaris." _Dermatology Nursing._ 16(4):357-8, 2004 Aug.


QUOTE: Keratosis pilaris can be very difficult to treat. Some patients respond to simple moisturization of the skin. Unfortunately, adults usually require more aggressive therapy. Ammonium lactate (Lac-Hydrin®) may be very beneficial in softening the keratin plugs as it is 12% lactic acid. In addition, an exfoliation device, such as a Buff Puff®, rubbed on the plaques may be beneficial but caution must be advised if the patient is darkly pigmented as rubbing may cause hyperpigmentation. Patient information can also be found at www.KeratosisPilaris.org





In anticipation of predictable flairs of common dermatosis in Winter months, the patient should be told to expect a worsening of the skin condition in winter months and begin more frequent hydration of all lesions as the Fall turns to Winter. Frequent, long showers, which everyone enjoys more in cold winters, are also to be shortened. Finally, perfumed and deodorant soaps should be avoided.


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From eMedicine - Keratosis Pilaris


http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic211.h...





QUOTE: No cure or universally effective treatment is available. Symptoms usually remit with increasing age.


* General measures to prevent excessive skin dryness (eg, use of mild soaps) are recommended.


* Some available therapeutic options include emollients, lactic acid, tretinoin cream, alpha-hydroxy acid lotions, urea cream, salicylic acid, and topical steroids. Mild cases may improve with emollients [creamy moisturizers]


* More prominent inflammatory eruptions may benefit from a limited 7-day course of a medium-potency, emollient-based topical steroid applied once or twice a day followed by a routine of twice-daily applications of a compound preparation of 2-3% salicylic acid in 20% urea cream. Advise the patient to gently massage lotions into the affected area. After attaining initial control, patients can then be placed on a maintenance regimen.


* Although calcipotriol ointment has been used effectively for various forms of ichthyosis, it has not demonstrated a therapeutic effect for KP in clinical trials.

I have a friend who has Keratosis Pilaris. How can she treat it? Is there a method to hide the effects?
I don't know about hiding it but do a search on the web. There is plenty of information out there. Here's just two sites to check


http://www.helpforkp.com and





http://www.cosmeticscop.com/search/searc...





A product to try to help with the condition would be Lac Hydrin 12%. It used to be available by prescription only but I think you can now get it over the counter. My only complaint with this lotion is it never seemed to really sink in and was always kind of tacky feeling. It does help though if you use it all the time.