Rough skin/bumps on arms, legs, and/or buttocks?

[jenn*]

I have Keratosis Pilaris. Here is a pretty concise definition from wikipedia:
Keratosis pilaris (KP) is a very common genetic follicular condition that is manifested by the appearance of rough bumps on the skin and hence colloquially referred to as "chicken skin". It most often appears on the back and outer sides of the upper arms (though the lower arms can also be affected), and can also occur on the thighs and tops of legs, flanks, buttocks or any body part except glabrous skin (like the palms or soles of feet). Less commonly, lesions appear on the face and may be mistaken for acne.

40 % of the population has it, most commonly it appears in women. I have it on the backs of my arms; have for years. Kind of comes and goes (to some extent - never gone completely), but it's been hard for me to correlate the coming and going with anything else.

I also believe that I have hypothyroid (I should find out today) and that is linked to dry skin, dry hair, and can exacerbate (and maybe cause?) dermatitis condtions.

I have found that I am very sensitive to gluten (although no severe reactions, but bloating, break outs, post nasal drip) and have found much evidence pointing to a link between gluten intolerance and hypothyroid.

So, now I've been trying to figure out if the annoying (a purely cosmetic issue) bumps on my arms could have anything to do with these two conditions, and maybe be improved with a gluten-free diet and hormone replacement for my thryoid (if that is necessary for me at this time).

AHA!!! Last line on the Keratosis Pilaris wikipedia page:
Food allergies may also exacerbate the condition, causing hyper-keratosis pilaris, gluten being a common culprit (source: physician's (MD) oral presentation).

I feel like a rockstar! Why aren't my medical providers doing this research? I will, of course, look for more evidence. Anyone can contribute to wikipedia, and I know the internet is not always the best place to find factual information, but it's a start. I will find more, but I wanted to put this info out there for anyone who has shown such a symptom to a doctor and been told "it's just a dermatitis, put this stinky, expensive cream on it twice a day for the rest of your life or just deal with bumpy red arms". I will post again to this in a few weeks, after going back to gluten-free, and perhaps by then I will have started hormone replacement as well. My theory is that I can at least lessen the appearance of the bumps with a gluten-free diet and exfoliating, and hormone replacement if that is something that I need to maintain proper thyroid function.

If you have never checked your thyroid - have a TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) test done. It's very inexpensive and is a good starting point, especially if you have high cholesterol or any family history of thyroid problems. Your thyroid controls your metabolism and could be slowing your weight loss, spiking your cholesterol and triglycerides, and causing many other problems you either aren't aware of or may be attributing to something else. If nothing else, you can scratch one more thing off of that nebulous list of inexplicable health/body issues.

If anyone else has Keratosis Pilaris, please share your info, experience, or your thoughts/counterpoints on what I've posted. I'd love to try to figure this out and see some improvement. I do not want to use the stinky skin cream that I'm 99% positive has some non-vegan ingredients.

[Carol]

I used to have bumps on the backs of my arms. How often to you exfoliate that area??? I found a soap that actually helped this condition and I would leave it on in the shower while I washed my hair and did other things. The soap is Lever....found everywhere I would think. So I would really lather up my arms, exfoliate and leave it on. After a number of weeks.....gone! And it hasn't come back in all these years.

I'm guessing my condition was not as severe. But it would annoy me and I would feel self conscious. A friend of mine, with the same problem, did the same thing with the same results. No more bumps!

[Clary]

My grandson, 14 at the time, and overweight, had a similar condition for a year or more, and it was finally diagnosed as "Keratosis" . I don't recall hearing the "Pilaris" part. He was told he had a Vit. A deficiency, and needed to cut way down on refined white sugar and foods that contained it, and was started on a Vit. A supplement, while his mother started introducing more Vit. A-containing-foods to the diet.

His mother also had him start drinking more water on a regular basis (shooting for two qts. per day). He did clear up over a couple months time, dropped the supplement, and continued with the Vit. A foods and water, and the symptoms did not return. That was about one yr. ago.

[jenn*]

Plus Lever contains Beef tallow to moisturize. Ick, no thanks.

[Anne]

I've had this off and on in addition to psoriasis, and I've noticed that it does respond to nutritional changes.

In the past, I've taken fish oil and lost the bumps. Your daughter probably doesn't want to do that if she's vegan. More recently I've been taking vitamin D supplements. The bumps went away after a few weeks after starting to supplement in late December, and I haven't had them since. The psoriasis is also better, and I've been surrounded by people with the flu without catching it myself.

I think that keratosis pilaris is something with a genetic tendency that is influenced by nutrition. Maybe those of us with KP don't make enough vitamin D from sunlight.

This won't make philosophical vegans happy, but the D2 supplements are useless to me. Only D3 (which is derived from lanolin in wool) has any effect. Many people manufacture the body's version of vitamin D (which is actually like a hormone chemically) very poorly from D2. You can buy vitamin D3 supplements inexpensively at Wal Mart or Sam's.

[Mom to B and C]

Exfoliate every day with a CLEAN loofah sponge and shower gel (like Nutragena anti-acne). Moisturize day and night. There are also great products on the market called KP Duty sold at Sephora and online. There is a chemical exfoliant and a follow-up lotion and they really work. I have noticed no change when I change my diet but it gets better with exfoliation and sun and being in the pool. It's really common and genetic.

[chewymom]

I wonder if that's what I have. I've had little bumps on the back of my arms for years and on my...hindquarters. Off and on I've played around with a gluten-free diet based on some minor tummy issues and some larger acne-like bumps on my face and neck. I wonder if those are the same thing? I'm trying to be gluten-free again, because in spite of doing McDougall, I haven't been losing weight, and EVERY time I've lost weight successfully, it has either been doing a high-protein diet (where I basically ate no flour) or actually being gluten-free. I'll be interested to watch this thread to see how you do with your skin being gluten-free.

[jenn*]

It probably is, from what I understand "hindquarters" and backs of the arms are the most common places, but that they can be mistaken for acne on pretty much any part of the body.

I don't know if gluten-free will clear them, but maybe help a little. Right now the only thing people can do is continuously put amlactin cream on it. No cure though. I don't really want to put stinky cream on my arms and hindquarters, especially not my face! Everyday? Yuck. So, I'm going to try to be completely gluten-free. I may have to jump off the wagon while I'm on vacation (I really hope not to - but I have no idea what will be available) but I will be right back to completely gluten-free when I get home.

I've heard that it can take up to 2 years of totally gluten-free living to get it all out of your system. That doesn't seem right to me, but perhaps I'll post about it on the GF forum later. Now I have to eat lunch and get to work...