Causes and Treatment of Keratosis Pilaris
By Susha Cheriyedath, MSc
Causes of Keratosis Pilaris
Keratosis pilaris is caused by abnormally high buildup of keratin. The reason for this buildup is still not clear. However, studies indicate that it can be associated with some skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis (eczema) or genetic disorders.
Keratosis pilaris is found to be more common in people who have dry skin. In dry weather, this skin condition seems to worsen and hence flares up in winter and clears in summer. Targeted cancer therapies such as vemurafenib can also cause lesions resembling that of keratosis pilaris as a side effect.
Keratosis pilaris is an inherited skin condition that runs in families. It usually develops in childhood, is at its peak during adolescence, and often clears in adulthood.
Treatment of Keratosis Pilaris
Keratosis pilaris normally clears up on its own at a slow pace. In order to speed up recovery, treatment methods are available, which mainly focus on exfoliation and moisturizing of the affected skin. It can take months to see any improvement and the tiny bumps almost always come back on stopping treatment.
• Moisturizers and Exfoliants
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If general moisturizers or emollients don’t work, dermatologists usually prescribe medicated creams. Skin creams that contain alpha hydroxy acid, salicylic acid, lactic acid, or urea help in exfoliating or removing dead cells from the skin. These creams are called topical exfoliants and they also soften and moisturize dry skin. They are available as over the counter as well as prescription medicines. Follow your doctor’s advice on how often to apply these creams. Topical exfoliants are usually not prescribed for children as the acids present in these creams can cause skin irritation or
Acne, acne vulgaris as it is scientifically known is a disease of the hair follicle on the face, back, and chest or where ever the acne is found. Acne is usually common among teens during puberty. At puberty sebaceous glands attached to the hair follicles are stimulated by circulating male hormones. As the stimulated sebaceous glands increase oil production it predisposes the skin cell to plug the follicular pore. Usually the plug appears as a whitehead that is if it is covered by a layer of skin that is thin. As this process goes on with time the follicle enlarges and may cause the wall to rapture allowing normal skin bacteria and other irritating substances to have access to deep layers of the skin and eventually causing inflammation near the surface of the skin. The inflammation results in a pustule. Deeper inflammation produces a papule which is a pimple. If the inflammation goes very deep it can cause a cyst. Blackhead is not dirt. Blackhead is a mild acne type that has a dark or black surface due to oxidized oil. Pimple is also an acne type which has a
Psoriasis: This is a common, chronic and recurring skin disorder that changes and alters the life cycle of skin cells. It causes cells to accumulate quickly on the skin surface. The extra cells from the skin forms a thick, itchy, silvery scale and a red patch. It can appear at any part of the body such as the knee, scalp, elbow etc. it is treated with drugs applied to the skin, ingested and with ultraviolet radiation. This disease has affected about 1%-5% of the world population and it is more common to the light skinned people. Psoriasis may persist throughout a person’s life as it comes and goes but it is usually reduced during the summer period when the skin is exposed to ultraviolent radiation and flare ups are common during
Keloid disorder is a genetic condition of the skin. Some individuals are born with the tendency to develop keloids and this does not happen unless there is an injury to the skin. The underlying genetics of Keloids is not well understood. From all we know, and much like most other genetic conditions, there is a wide spectrum to the genetic susceptibility to develop keloids with some individuals suffering from a very mild form of this genetic condition, to those with very
Skin (history of skin disease, pigment or color change, change in mole, excessive dryness or moisture, pruritus, excessive bruising, rash
I enjoyed reading your post. Actinic keratosis (AK) is a widespread skin ailment branded by cutaneous lesion of sun-exposed amid fair complex individuals and it augmented the peril of emergent squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and added skin sarcomas which are a snowballing problem related to the immunosuppressed populace (Dodds, Chia, & Shumack, 2014). According to Cohen (2010), AK predominance in the United States and Australia has overstretched from about 11 percent to 26 percent from research analysis done, and one analysis outcome indicated that about 19 percent of Australians over the age of 40 years with no history of prior AK before the research analysis onset did acquire one or added AK between the
Severe complication: Folliculitis may lead to permanent skin damage like scarring and hyper-pigmented dark spots. Several other pathogens associated with this infection are Pseudomonas spp which is contracted mostly in hot tubs and causes pruritus. Fungal folliculitis due to Candida spp. and Trichophyton
As previously stated, Psoriasis is caused by a mistaken trigger in the Immune system. “Normally, T cells help protect the body against infection and disease.” (NIAMS, 2013) When the disorder triggers the immune system, it causes the T cells to activate and trigger other immune responses. This will develop the redness and scaling of the
If you decide to undergo melasma laser treatment, then choose an experienced dermatologist for the treatment. Your doctor
Superficial FolliculitisFollicutitis include bacterial, hot tub, barber's itch, and pityrosporum folliculitis. Hot -tub folliculitis is from the skin being exposed to hot water, where the bacteria Pseudomonas spp can form. Pityrosporum folliculitis is where the yeast, pityrosporum, gets down into the hair follicles and multiplies. Barber's itch is when the hair follicles of the beard become inflamed.
Dag Uillen, a dermatologist in New York City, recommends a very easy way to eliminate this problem. He advises the use of apple cider vinegar.
This includes scaling, inflammation, pain and pruritus (Penzer & Ersser, 2010). Another physical symptom is well- demarcated red, silvery, dry, raised, scaly plaques, follows by unpredictable patterns of relapse and period of remission (Green, 2011). In psoriasis, there are few factors that can trigger the psoriasis to come and appeared in the skin. This factor includes drug such as beta blocker and lithium, koebner phenomenon that form along the trauma, streptococcal throat infection, ultraviolet light exposure and stress (Penzer & Ersser, 2010).
Hyperkeratotic plaques can be treated using 2% to 5% of salicylic acid ointment. You must also avoid using harsh detergents and soaps. Be sure to find a moisturizer that is right for your skin type (preferably the ones for sensitive
Keratoconus is a bilateral, non-inflammatory thinning of the cornea with the onset during adulthood.2 It primarily results in visual loss due to the irregular astigmatism.2 The etiology can be environmental due to eye rubbing, contact lens wear, and allergic eye disease.2 Excessive exposure to sunlight can cause oxidative damage to the corneas leading to a decrease in certain enzymes.4 Therefore, there is a higher prevalence of keratoconus in countries that have hot and sunny weather.4 A common theory in the pathogenesis of keratoconus is the release of proteolytic enzymes by the abnormal epithelium causing the cornea to weaken and thin by the degradation of the stroma.2 This stromal thinning is caused by the reduction of the number
A vicious cycle exists in predisposed individuals, where an abnormal and inflated immune response to an allergen occurs, with cytokines released actually causing both inflammation, as well as keratinocyte hyper-proliferation; hence the distinctive raised plaques and scales of psoriasis. [34] The cell cycle of the keratinocytes is also expedited. [35] These keratinocytes produce cytokines, themselves, that attract more leukocytes to the lesion, further propagating
Generally this means a pleasing appearance is not a guide to character. In this case, we