Daughter's skin

Doctor,

My daughter has little bumps all over her arms and her legs.  Sometimes they have little whiteheads on them. She also gets these bumps on her face. They don't itch, but she has always had them.  The doctor told us that she had a skin type, that needed a non-fragrance mostureizer.  Nonething helps.  I tried a gentle mask on her face and now it looks very dry and almost poison ivy like.  She does have poison ivy on her wrist, I think.  Can you give me any suggestions?  I had ecxema as a child, but it dodn't look like this.

Thank you,
Margaret Savory

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Margaret:

Most likely, your daughter has keratosis pilaris.  This is a hereditary skin condition characterized by flesh-colored bumps of keratin protein in hair openings.  Kids get them on the face and grow out of them, but they persist on the backs of the arms in adults.  Moistruizing and exfoliating with a loofah helps a bit.  Do grownups in the family have it too?

Best.

Dr. Rockoff