# I've got chicken skin! Halp! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782 "2007-01-13T01:29:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/1 "2007-01-13T01:29:11Z")
“Chicken skin” is the simplest way I know to describe my problem. I’ve got tiny bumps and spots all over my legs and upper arms, that are a little darker than my skin tone. My arms and legs have been this way as long as I can remember, and I’m damn well tired of it. It doesn’t feel smooth, it doesn’t look good. From the elbow down it’s a lesser problem, almost non-existant. So, I don’t know if it’s ugly hair follicles, since it isn’t AS bad after I shave, or it has something to do with neither area ever getting sunlight (both areas are always covered, even in summer), or… what. I don’t know. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![jacob\_wrestling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@jacob\_wrestling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacob_wrestling)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/2 "2007-01-13T01:36:29Z")
[Keratosis Pilaris](http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/keratosis_pilaris.html)? I have that. I find that extra-strength hydrocortisone rubbed on my arms every morning helps quite a bit, but it can get expensive. Normally I just go for a very moisturizing lotion, like Lac-Hydrin, which should be available in OTC form at the drug store. ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/3 "2007-01-13T01:42:31Z")
That’s what my skin looks like! Thank you. It’s hard to look up something like that when you don’t have a name to look for 😃 ---
**Author:** ![jacob\_wrestling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@jacob\_wrestling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacob_wrestling)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/4 "2007-01-13T02:19:47Z")
Yep. I used to refer to it not-so-fondly as “the bumpies”, until one day I discovered the actual name in _Seventeen_. Hey, at least that magazine was good for something. Happily, according to the link I gave, it usually clears up by age 30. So I’ve only got ::checks watch:: 8 more years. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/5 "2007-01-13T07:58:23Z")
[QUOTE=jacob wrestling] [Keratosis Pilaris](http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/keratosis_pilaris.html)? I have that. I find that extra-strength hydrocortisone rubbed on my arms every morning helps quite a bit, but it can get expensive. Normally I just go for a very moisturizing lotion, like Lac-Hydrin, which should be available in OTC form at the drug store. [/QUOTE] If you don’t have a prescription for this, or you haven’t asked a doctor’s advice about doing this, I’d lay off. I have bad eczema and used hydrocortisone creams (a huge variety of steroid based creams) for about 17 years. My skin got dependent on them and I was forced by one hospital to stop using them - my skin wept and sloughed off for about six months before it got its act together and recovered. It was hell. (I hasten to say that I was getting help and other medication through this, but it was still awful.) I also got cataracts at the age of 30 which were put down to the hydrocortisone use. Overuse of steroid creams will thin your skin permanently and leave them thin, shiny and streaky red… ---
**Author:** ![jacob\_wrestling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/76d3ee/32.png) [@jacob\_wrestling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacob_wrestling)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/6 "2007-01-13T16:57:30Z")
**Hokkaido Brit** , thanks for the warning. I did get a doctor’s advice about this, but that was a long time ago. I rarely use hydrocortisone for more than one week at a time. You’re absolutely right, check with your doctor first, and check with him again later. In the meantime, any strong moisturizing lotion safe for daily use should help quite a bit. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/7 "2007-01-13T17:30:01Z")
You could try a body moisturizer with glycolic acid in it (probably an AHA BHA combo) - it will exfoliate gently and should help quite a bit. At the very least it will make your skin _FEEL_ really smooth and nice. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/8 "2007-01-14T02:14:48Z")
[QUOTE=jacob wrestling] **Hokkaido Brit** , thanks for the warning. I did get a doctor’s advice about this, but that was a long time ago. I rarely use hydrocortisone for more than one week at a time. You’re absolutely right, check with your doctor first, and check with him again later. In the meantime, any strong moisturizing lotion safe for daily use should help quite a bit. [/QUOTE] Good! I really wouldn’t wish what I had happen to happen to anyone else! ---
**Author:** ![Not\_a\_Platypus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Not\_a\_Platypus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Not_a_Platypus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/9 "2007-01-14T02:45:59Z")
I know I don’t moisturize nearly enough, so I’ll start there before I go to anything stronger. If I do get to that point (I might, since I’ve also got possibly 8+ years before it’ll go away), I’ll definitely seek a doctor first. As it is, it isn’t uncomfortable or itchy. It doesn’t hurt in any way… it’s just ugly. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/10 "2007-01-14T03:47:56Z")
Yeah it’s ugly but there’s really not much you can do about it that isn’t a huge pain in the ass to do (according to my dermatologist). Easier just to not wear sleeveless shirts 🙂 Never heard that it’ll go away in your 30’s…that’s nice to know. I’ve had it since my teens. A nice endocrinologist put me on antibiotics for it when I was 13, which, when mixed with other drugs he put me on, landed me in the hospital with pseudotumor cerebri (note: this is not going to happen to you if you have keratosis pilaris. Only if you have a stupid doctor.) ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/12 "2013-01-15T05:55:47Z")
> [@jacob\_wrestling](#): > > [Keratosis Pilaris](http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/keratosis_pilaris.html)? Huh. I’ve noticed this exact skin condition on quite a few people and never knew it was an actual _condition._ I just thought they had blotchy skin. Ignorance fought… ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/13 "2013-01-15T12:19:23Z")
[Gribenes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gribenes) is a delicious solution. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ive-got-chicken-skin-halp/387782/14 "2013-01-15T12:26:05Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > [Gribenes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gribenes) is a delicious solution. That’s what I came into this thread expecting it to be about…