Treatment For Keratosis Pilaris

Skin conditions are very much noticeable due to their almost immediate impact on self-esteem and confidence. Some conditions such as keratosis have treatments that are quite effective almost all the time. Keratosis pilaris is one type of a skin condition that can exist in a barely noticeable form and it can also be very conspicuous. First let us look at the basics of this condition.

Keratosis pilaris is a hereditary skin condition and is mostly prevalent in people with dry skin, have a deficiency of vitamin A or a combination of the above. Even if the person has inherited the keratosis, they may not know it as symptoms may simply not have manifested yet or because it may exist in a very mild form to be noticed. Keratosis pilaris is characterized by small bumps on the skin that appear very similar to goose bumps and may be reddish pink and sometimes white in color. On closer observation one may notice that they usually form around the base of hair follicles.

This type of keratosis appears mostly on the outside part of the upper arms, on the outer and upper parts of the thighs and sometimes on the buttocks. It may occasionally appear on other parts of the body but does not appear on the palms and soles of feet.

Keratosis pilaris is a hereditary condition and there is no actual cure. The remedies available only treat the symptoms of the condition temporarily. Some of the treatments recommended by doctors turn out to be really expensive for instance Retin-A creams and may sometimes not be as effective as the patient expects. The treatments of keratosis pilaris involve mostly exfoliation which utilizes mechanical and chemical substances.

One of the first steps to treating keratosis pilaris involves the use of a loofah sponge to manually scrub the affected area. This ensures that any newly formed bumps are removed. The sponge should be used with a gentle shampoo with cleaning and moisturizing properties. A person should scrub hard at the affected area to ensure that the keratin bumps are exfoliated.

Immediately after the area affected with keratosis pilaris is washed, the person should then apply an over the counter moisturizing lotion. A lotion that is also recommended for treatment of acne is good for the purpose even though the two conditions are not related. If this is not available one should look for a lotion that has salicylic acid as an ingredient should be used. As mentioned at the beginning there is no definitive cure for keratosis pilaris but all one can do is to treat the symptoms. These treatments eventually lead to the condition disappearing. Keratosis pilaris is known to disappear as the person grows older so a person can decide to wait it out.

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