Since summer is here, many patients are seeing or consulting about “chicken skin” every day, so we have summarized this article. “Chicken skin” (scientific name: Keratosis Pilaris) is neither painful nor itchy, and does not produce lesions, so many people do not care too much even if they have this problem. But for women who love beauty, it can be a big deal. This is because it occurs in people from adolescence to 40 years old, and will gradually subside with age, but the period when it occurs is also the period when you care most about your appearance. Some patients wear long sleeves and long pants even on hot days to cover up the unnecessary embarrassment because they find it unsightly. In more serious cases, they mistake the bumps for acne or pimples and use their fingers to squeeze or pick at them, causing more serious inflammation and pigmentation. Here is a look at the causes of chicken skin, countermeasures, and life guidance. Etiology Keratosis pilaris (chicken skin) is a hereditary skin disease, mainly due to keratinization of the hair follicle mouth, and has a strong relationship with fat metabolism. The condition is generally more likely to occur in fatter people. Keratosis pilaris does not have any impact on life except for its aesthetic impact. It is a very common disease in the population, according to statistics, 80% of people suffer from this disease, only that the average person has only a very few, not easy to find. It is due to keratinization of the hair follicle mouth, which affects the growth of the fine hairs, so the skin surface is not smooth to touch, like goose bumps, in fact, there is a curly hair in each small papule. This is not an inflammation of the hair follicle, so anti-inflammatory drugs are of no use. The most common areas where it appears are on the outside of the upper arms, the thighs, the neck, and even the entire back and cheeks. Some people have darker, rougher skin on their cheeks, and although the granularity is less pronounced, it is also “chicken skin”. Symptoms of the disease 1.Broadly speaking, the outer part of the upper arm is the most common place; 2.The affected area is often visible as a pinhead-sized white particles; 3.It is often mistaken for acne, pimples or a poorly washed bath; 4.Because of the keratinization phenomenon at the opening of the sebaceous ducts of the hair follicles, the formation of the so-called “horny plugs”, and after hardening will 5. The appearance of small, pinpoint papules, scattered, skin-colored, reddish-brown or brown; 6. (A few appear itchy) Follicular keratosis is a skin problem with abnormal keratinization, the occurrence of which is strongly related to genetics and often has a family history, also known as a constitutional problem. Keratosis pilaris cannot be cured if it is caused by congenital genetic DNA, and topical medication can only have an ameliorative effect, that is, it allows you to use the medication to get without the trouble of this problem. This will give you the confidence that you deserve in life and work with others. Countermeasures: 1, try not to squeeze these papules at will, so as not to inadvertently trigger inflammation and infection of the pores; 2, oral vitamins or eat more vitamin A-rich food to help the disease; in addition, the external use of skin keratin softening or keratolytic agents, can reduce the symptoms, so that the surface of the skin becomes smoother. Such as topical retinoic acid, salicylic acid ointment, etc. The application of retinoic acid should start from a low concentration, such as from 0.05%-0.1%, to avoid irritation to the skin, and be used once a day at night. Drugs need to be used for a long time in order to have an effect; 3, some patients with periorbital keratosis is more serious, the aesthetic impact is not small, with this nasty disease, many people dare not wear short-sleeved clothes in the summer. So this disease can also be called one of the natural enemies of beauty! Seriously affect the mood, and some patients even have serious psychological problems as a result. For these patients, systematic treatment under the guidance of a dermatologist should be considered for aesthetic reasons. In addition, periorbital keratosis is also very easy to leave pigmentation, more unsightly; 4, need to be especially noted: serious periorbital keratosis is expensive in early treatment, because delayed treatment is not only easy to form unsightly pigmentation, but also can greatly increase the difficulty of treatment; 5, follicular keratosis is a fairly common skin problems, healing is difficult, can only improve. Since keratinization of pores is a keratin-related disease, general treatment is preferred to exfoliating creams, such as vitamin A acid, fruit acid, salicylic acid and urea. From the response of outpatients, it seems that a high concentration of salicylic acid, such as 3.5%, has good efficacy. Salicylic acid is fat-soluble, so it can follow the hair follicle opening and reach the keratinized area along with the skin oil, thus dissolving the keratin and improving the symptoms. In addition, salicylic acid is inexpensive, economical, and mild, and can be used in higher concentrations in preparations to achieve good improvement. However, it is difficult to say which drug is the most effective, because different people have different acceptability of various drugs, some people think that retinoic acid is good, while others think that salicylic acid is effective, the efficacy of the drug will vary from person to person. Patients can get some degree of improvement by patiently rubbing the medicine with the physician’s instructions. However, there is a certain cycle of keratin production, usually one month. However, this is not a “cure”, because the genetic predisposition cannot be changed, so the new keratin will still be keratinized by the hair follicle. Usually, after one month, it gradually returns to its original appearance. This is what the patient must know before treatment Daily life guidance: 1, because “chicken skin” and keratin thickening, so gentle exfoliation is necessary, but must not be excessive. The affected area should be coated with soap or body lotion containing exfoliating ingredients when bathing, and gently brushed with a bath brush to remove the pores of the corns. Many people think that taking a shower every day is a good habit, but it is not good for “chicken skin”. The body lotion can also remove the old waste keratin to some extent, but also may be too much to wash away the oil, so, “chicken skin” people in winter 2, 3 days a bath is enough, or every day only with water bath, without body lotion; 2, moisturizing the most important. More important than exfoliation, is to moisturize the skin. “Chicken skin” is very dehydrated and very lack of oil skin, with the general body lotion will not be enough moisturizing, but should use the pharmacy sold for very dry skin formula body cream and so on. You should also use moisturizing cleansing products when bathing. For those with mild symptoms, you should apply a moisturizing cream or lotion with fruit acids or exfoliating ingredients as soon as possible after bathing. If the symptoms are more obvious, you can use a cream containing urea plus salicylic acid after bathing and rub the affected area with a loofah for 5 seconds a day. The number of brushings can be reduced to one or two per week when the pimples are not obvious, and the moisturizing cream without salicylic acid is used instead; 4, the desire for speed is not achieved, “chicken skin” will make people want to “get rid of it and fast”, but the hand squeeze, scratch, pick, will make the pores around the tissue edema. So don’t scratch or scratch. Do not squeeze these pimples as much as possible to avoid inadvertent inflammation and infection of the pores; 5. If the affected area does not improve or if itchy, painful and other symptoms of inflammation of the hair follicles arise, seek treatment from a dermatologist; 6. The application of retinoic acid, or under the guidance of a professional physician for fruit acid peeling, can make the skin appear crystal clear in a few days. However, this is only an “emergency solution” and should not be done often, as it will make the skin’s barrier function weaker and make the skin drier and more sensitive. To improve the “chicken skin” “is important to insist”, regardless of spring, summer, autumn and winter, after the shower with the ultimate body lotion nourishing skin.