My daughter had these little red bumps on her arms that the local G.P confidently told me was Keratosis Pilaris.
This is a common skin condition caused by a build up of keratin in the pores of the skin that causes blockages and subsequently pimple like bumps on the arms or legs.
After researching Keratosis Pilaris myself I wasn’t completely convinced as the bumps usually appear on the back of the upper arms and our toddler had them on her forearms.
The bumps were also a little angrier than your garden variety Keratosis Pilaris (also known as KP) so I went back to the G.P and asked for a referral to a skin specialist.
Three minutes (not including the one and a half hours in the waiting room) and $375 later I was again told by the dermatologist that it was Keratosis Pilaris and that there was nothing I could do about it except to put an over the counter moisturizer on it for relief, and that it would probably settle down on it’s own.
Well it didn’t. In actual fact it got even worse and was obviously causing quite a bit of discomfort with my little one scratching her arms and constantly pulling up her sleeves to stop anything from rubbing on her forearms. Poor little mite.
We decided that enough was enough so we bit the bullet and took her to a very well respected and long serving (40 years in the same practice) Naturopath in our area. I must admit that I was a bit skeptical at first but our bub was in obvious discomfort and we were getting to the stage where we would try just about anything.
The Naturopath walked into the treatment room (we only waited 15 minutes!) and introduced himself. He then asked who the patient was. I motioned to my daughter and was about to tell him her symptoms when he held up his hand to stop me and said “Don’t say anything – I will tell you what the problem is.”
OK – This was more like it.
He took a large magnifying glass and looked into our toddler eyes (iridology) for less than one minute before telling me that she had a slight fungal infection in the bottom of her lungs that would probably begin to manifest itself (if it hadn’t already) in a bumpy, itchy skin rash on her arms or legs!
He also mentioned that her thyroid was slightly over active and that would explain why she had not been eating very well recently. I didn’t even realise that could have been a problem as all toddlers are erratic eaters at the best of times and ours is no exception.
I was a bit surprised at the speed and accuracy of the diagnosis. I had not mentioned any of the problems to him or his receptionist when making the appointment and my daughters’ arms were covered with a loose fitting, long sleeve t-shirt in the treatment room so there was no way he could have known.
He then gave me two liquid tonics made from natural herbs (he has made his own natural remedies for decades) and told me to give her five mls three times a day until it was finished and that it would clear up the fungal infection within a couple of weeks and restore her thyroid to normal working condition.
I felt a little weird giving my bubby a mixture I knew nothing about and that was not prescribed by a traditional medical doctor but the diagnosis was so spot on and the Naturopath had been in business for such a long time that we decided to give it a go.
Well you will be happy to know that two weeks later the rash has almost completely gone and our toddler is eating like a horse again. Un-friggin-believable! She even ran her hands over her forearms the other day and said, “look daddy – no bumps!” God bless her.
The only real problem we had was getting her to take the foul smelling liquid and I will go into the details of that in another post. Quite funny really.
Another bonus is that it only cost $35 for the consultation and $70 for the natural tonics. We didn’t care about the money (we would have paid anything to fix the problem) we just wanted a correct diagnosis and treatment and this Naturopath hit the nail on the head.
I can’t tell you how happy we are that our little one is no longer in any discomfort and is eating properly again. I would highly recommend this particular Naturopath to anyone, so much so that we are thinking of making him our first port of call whenever we need medical advice instead of our last resort.
Natural is best…
P.S. Due to the responses below I have written a little more about the experience to hopefully help clarify the point of the article. Please click here to follow.
Hi James, great blog. I agree with you – natural medicine is a great alternative, I think more and more people are choosing the natural way over conventional treatments. Your naturopath sounds amazing – can you tell me where he is located? Thanks 🙂
can i please have the name of this naturopath?
My elderly mother has been dealing with a horrible skin infection of some kind which started after the apartment building she lives in got infested with bedbugs and spiders – the management had to fumigate the building 3-4 times and tear out all the walls to get rid of the issue – it was a nightmare. She never had skin problems before that, but has been suffering from that as well as arthritis ever since… the two may be related but her conventional doctors have not only been useless but have tried to tell her that it’s all in her head! She is very low income and I don’t make much money, so we can’t afford to try a ton of different naturopaths. I would much appreciate the contact information for the naturopath whom you mentioned, as it sounds like he does not waste any time and is not trying to buy himself a new Mercedes by overcharging his patients! God Bless Him for That!
Hello,
I would love to see this Naturopath! Can you please give me his name? I’m really hoping he’s not too far from CA!
thank you!
Meeya
Thank you for this post. Where can I find this naturopath for my daughter? She also has KP, but on her face, which leaves scars. Please help!!!
My seven-year-old has KP on his legs, all over his arms, and on his cheeks. The skin on his face is so sensitive, that usually one of the bumps gets red and irritated. Every so often one gets infected, despite my best efforts. We’ve tried everything! Gluten-free, dairy-free, coconut oil, tea tree oil, AHA, BHA, and urea lotions, cod liver oil, Omega-3, vitamin A, flax seed oil, apple cider vinegar, and more! We have stuck with all of these for 6-18 months with no results other than softer, more moisturized skin with continued red dots, white bumps, and an occasional infected spot that resembles a yeast infection. I’ve even resorted to salicylic acid (BHA) astringent, hydrocortisone cream, and clotrimazole cream for the yeast-looking spots. Western medicine says “It’s harmless.” Well my son has a scar on his cheek from a particularly nasty spot that is now two months old! The emotional turmoil from having this on his face is severe, and with over 40% of the adult population somehow affected, there should be some effective treatments by now. At this point, I would take my child anywhere in the world and pay every cent I have to help him. Please share the name of the naturopath that helped your daughter. Thank you.
As someone who has suffered from KP my entire life, I would love believe that there is some alternative treatment or cure for it; but there isn’t. I am a huge advocate for natural and non-medication treatments. But, those treatments needs to have solid, empirical research to them. If you insist on going to a Naturopathic or Oriental physician, please ensure that the treatments and tests that they are doing have some empirical basis to them.
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/iridology.html
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/confessions.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15992238 (only the abstract, but provides the results)
http://archopht.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=412789
Science is not the end all and be all. Some doctors that go solely on science end up ruining lives and killing people, and those who listen to a naturopath and try to fix the cause rather than the symptoms are the smart ones! SMH
KP can be found almost anywhere on the body, including the forearms– in fact, the forearms are a common location especially for those that has it on their upper arms as well. Iridology has consistency been found to lack any scientific backing. With all due respect, while there is some research backing SOME of naturopathic medicine, this entire assertion is completely absurd.
I think it makes more sense than telling someone a condition just is what it is, there is no way to fix it, and that you need to suck it up and deal with it. Good for you to use your head rather than listen to a doctor say “because I said so” and “because it is a standard of care”
Hello, I am wondering if you know what those tinctures were made out of. I have these bumps all over and I frequently have chest tightness, congestion, sinus pressure, as well as dark rings under my eyes. I believe it to be a fungal infection too. My doctor has given me antibiotics because she believes it is bacterial, but I am not so sure.
Thank you,
Victoria
2 slices fresh lime squeezed toss in large glass, 1/4 to 1/2 cup lime juice (santa cruiz or lakewood brand), sierra mist lemon lime soda in can, mix together, all these are available on amazon.com drink 3 times a day Take 3 tablets total: 1 morning, 1 noon, 1 night, of Organically grown “KYOLIC” aged garlic must be the “CAPLET” ones NOT CAPSULES and has to be “KYOLIC BRAND” comes in 30 caplets; green, yellow, white box with a picture of a garlic on it and the word KYOLIC on top of box Walmart has it, you may have to order it on line threw them, don’t worry you won’t overdose on garlic and yes the drink is bitter, do the best you can, drink and take this every day until completely gone and 2 weeks after that because you don”t want it back. That’s folk medicane.
I’m from Asia and moved here in Canada, I was 11 yrs old when I came here and also the year I started getting the bumps.its been 6 yrs and Ive tried a ton of creams that doctors prescribed me, nothing much really worked. I get called out often at school to pull up my sleeves, asking why I always wear long sleeves during the summer, and I really dont know how to answer and ended up hating myself at the end of the day. well recently I was on youtube watching chemical peel results and how this creates clear skin in just one week! I’m so intrugued by it, but also cautious If its going to do good with my symptom. I really want my skin to clear atleast just my arms, Its all over my body! my legs, my buttox and some on back