Keratosis pilaris (not terminal), a genetic skin condition, is mainly due to keratinization of the hair follicle opening and has a strong relationship with fat metabolism. Generally fatter people are more prone to this condition. Keratosis pilaris does not have any impact on life except for its aesthetic impact. Keratosis pilaris, also known as hair moss, 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 few, not easy to detect. Manifestation: Many small, rough bumps on the extremities, which are very common and especially likely to occur on the outer part of the upper arms and thighs, is a skin disease with the scientific name of peri-hair keratosis. It is a hereditary disease.
Studies have shown that it is an inherited skin disease, mainly due to keratinization of the hair follicle opening, and is strongly related to fat metabolism. Generally fatter people are more prone to this condition. Keratosis pilaris has no impact on life, except for its aesthetic impact.
Pathology.
(1) This is a hereditary skin disease which is due to keratinization of the hair follicle opening, which affects the growth of fine hairs, so the skin surface is not smooth to the touch, like goose bumps, and indeed there is a curl of sweat hair in each small papule. There is no cure for this disease, but proper application of some drugs can improve the condition.
(2) In terms of Chinese medicine, perihistiasis is mainly due to liver qi stagnation, liver wood over earth, and weakness of the spleen and stomach.
(3) The disease is dominantly inherited due to a variation of the 12th chromosome pair in the human body. In addition, the symptoms that occur are associated with thyroid insufficiency and vitamin A deficiency.
In some patients, the condition is more severe and has a significant impact on the aesthetics. With this nasty disease, many people are afraid to wear short-sleeved clothes in 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 this part of the patients, for the sake of aesthetic needs, it is important to consider doing systematic treatment. In addition, Keratosis Pilaris is also very easy to leave pigmentation, more unsightly!
It is important to point out that serious perihistiocutaneous keratosis is treated at an early stage, because delayed treatment is not only easy to form unsightly pigmentation, but also can greatly increase the difficulty of treatment!
Pathological analysis
1, malnourished people (especially vitamin A deficiency)
2.Low humidity of the environment
3, dry air
4, tar, oil and certain other irritants
5, Follicular keratosis is a skin problem of abnormal keratinization, and its occurrence has a great relationship with heredity, often with family history, which is also known as the physical problem.
(In terms of Chinese medicine, perifollicular keratosis is mainly due to liver qi stagnation, liver wood over earth, spleen and stomach weakness, as we all know, the spleen and stomach for the latter, weakness of the spleen and stomach, will inevitably lead to skin loss of nourishment, and eventually lead to this disease.) : The
Clinical manifestations of the disease
The disease often occurs on the cheeks, upper arms, and thighs, some of which have dark red pigmented spots, and sometimes on the back and other sebum-rich areas in severe cases. Small papules and erythema may appear on the affected skin. These papules are mostly formed due to keratinization of hair follicles. The papules are topped with gray keratin, formed by concentrated sebum and aggregation of epithelial cells from the hair follicles.
When the papules are small, they mostly appear as small black dots, while when they are large, they appear as one small spine, often densely fused, in large papular patches. When the affected area is touched, there may be a filing sensation.
Patients often describe the follicles of the affected skin as if there are vellus hairs that do not grow out. However, patients do not experience pain, itching, or serious consequences, although the appearance is somewhat compromised.
In addition, some patients may have white papules in their mouths. The nails may also change, with lines of red and white intervals.
So what exactly is periorbital keratosis?
1. Keratosis pilaris is an abnormal hair follicle keratinization skin disease mostly caused by genetics. The disease has the highest incidence in those with dry skin from childhood to adolescence, and later the rash will slowly and gradually fade with age.
2, hair follicle keratinization is the term of Western medicine, Chinese medicine is mostly called “skin nail wrong”. It often appears as a symptom in the group of “qi stagnation and blood stasis”, and most of them belong to the comprehensive physical problems. If treatment can be slowed down by moving Qi, activating Blood stasis, it takes quite some time to treat completely.
3. Many small, rough bumps on the extremities, which are very common and especially likely to occur on the outer side of the upper arms and thighs, is a skin disease with the scientific name of peri-herpetic keratosis. It is a hereditary disease.
4. It is due to keratinization of the hair follicle opening, which affects the growth of the fine hairs, so the skin surface is not smooth to the touch, like goose bumps, and indeed there is a curl of sweat hair in each small papule. There is no cure for this disease, but proper application of some medications can improve the condition. (For example, taking vitamin A orally or eating more vitamin A-rich foods can help the disease; in addition, topical skin keratin softening or keratolytic agents can reduce the symptoms and make the skin surface 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. The medication needs to be used consistently for a long time to be effective.
Many people have this disease, to the dermatology hospital to the clinic, the doctor prescribed the same drugs are coated with retinoic acid, or to prescribe some anti-itch medicine. Then how to cure it, the author has compiled some of the latest academic experience and clinical experience in the treatment.
Medical advice.
1) Try not to squeeze these papules at will to avoid inadvertently triggering inflammation and infection of the pores.
2) Oral vitamin A or eating more vitamin A-rich food can help the disease; in addition, the external use of skin keratin softening or keratolytic agents can reduce the symptoms and make the skin surface 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. The drugs need to be used consistently for a long time to have effect.
3) Some patients with periorbital keratosis are more serious, the aesthetic impact is not small, with this nasty disease, many people dare not wear short-sleeved clothes in 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 this part of the patients, for the sake of aesthetic needs, it is important to consider doing systematic treatment. In addition, Keratosis Pilaris is also very easy to leave pigmentation, more unsightly!
4) It is important to point out that: severe perihistiocutaneous 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!
==> From the Chinese medicine, perifollicular keratosis is mainly due to liver qi stagnation, liver wood grasping earth, spleen and stomach weakness, as we all know, the spleen and stomach for the latter, spleen and stomach weakness, will inevitably lead to skin loss of nourishment, and eventually lead to this disease.
5) Follicular keratosis is a fairly common skin problem that
a. It is a somatic dominant inheritance of abnormal keratinization metabolism with a 50% chance of being passed on to the next generation.
b. The symptoms are usually obvious from puberty and become less obvious at the age of 30 or 40, and generally do not leave any sequelae.
c. The incidence is as high as 40% to 50%, mainly on the outer side of the upper arm and thighs, and in severe cases, even on the outer side of the elbow and calves, it looks like keratin has accumulated in the follicle openings, and when it is strong, there will be redness or swelling around the phenomenon, and people misunderstand that their arms or thighs have a lot of acne and inflammatory pimples, but if they force to squeeze it, it will cause red spots. If you squeeze it, it will cause a red spot. If the pores are a little bit red, or even feel like a grain of bump, this is follicular keratosis. If it is more severe, the pores will be darker, appearing dark red or brown, and the grains will be rougher, looking very much like goose bumps.
d. It most often appears on the outside of the upper arms, thighs, neck, and in some people, even the entire back and cheeks, where follicular keratosis can appear. Follicular keratosis is a genetically predisposed physique. In people with this constitution, the keratin around the hair follicle thickens, causing the mouth of the follicle to be clogged with overly thick keratin, resulting in a small grainy bump.
e. Some patients with atopic dermatitis and ichthyosis usually also suffer from follicular keratosis. The symptoms are more severe in winter, because follicular keratosis is related to the thickening of keratin, so when the climate is dry and cold, the thickening of keratin will be aggravated, and the symptoms will become more obvious.
f. Keratosis pilaris is generally associated with vitamin A deficiency. Lack of vitamin A can cause systemic dryness, and dryness exacerbates the symptoms of follicular keratosis.
g. Generally speaking, follicular keratosis is not much of an inconvenience except for its poor appearance. However, it is most feared that patients will scratch with their hands. When patients pick and scratch, it will make the tissues around the pores edematous, so that the pore openings will become smaller and more easily blocked, and it will produce the phenomenon of acne and folliculitis, and if scratched, it will also form scars and pigmentation, and then it will be even less easy and more troublesome to treat or improve.
h. Since follicular keratinization is a disease related to keratin, the general treatment is preferred to exfoliating creams, such as A acid, fruit acid, salicylic acid and urea, etc.
=>A acid has a deeper effect and can directly affect the nucleus to remove abnormal keratinization, so long-term use will achieve certain therapeutic effects. In addition, urea, which has the function of water retention, is also effective for exfoliation, and is a topical drug often used in clinical practice.
Salicylic acid => 3.5% is quite effective. Salicylic acid itself is fat-soluble and can just follow the hair follicle opening and follow the skin oil to the keratinized area, thus dissolving the keratin and improving the symptoms.
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. Usually, after one month, it gradually returns to its original appearance. This is what patients must know before treatment
=>It is recommended that when the skin is highly hydrated after bathing and the keratin becomes softened, applying the ointment at that time will have a better effect. However, if the skin feels too irritated, it is recommended to rub the medicine after 30 minutes. In addition to rubbing the medicine, you can also do some moisturizing actions by yourself. For example, applying some moisturizing care products to reduce the dryness of the skin can be helpful.
=>Patients can use exfoliating bath products, such as scrubs, exfoliating brushes, loofah cloths, etc. Moderate exfoliation can be helpful, but too much can cause skin damage. Excessive friction will not only injure the skin, but will also make the cuticle thicker. Therefore, the act of exfoliation once or twice a month is sufficient.