subject: Red Bumps on Legs - 4 Tips to Treat Keratosis Pilaris [print this page] Red Bumps on Legs - 4 Tips to Treat Keratosis Pilaris
If you have red bumps on your legs, then you probably have a skin disease called keratosis pilaris. It's not dangerous, but it's incredibly common, occurring in about half the population. It's mostly found on the upper arms (tricep area) but can also be found anywhere that hair can grow.
At the moment, there is no cure for keratosis pilaris, but here are a few tips that will help clear it up:
A little sun goes a long way. For reasons unbeknownst to dermatologists, the sun does a GREAT job with clearing up the skin. It reduces a lot of redness and sends many of the bumps packing for the hills. As always, be very careful when dealing with overexposure to the sun because of skin cancer.
Stick with a good moisturizer. Keeping the skin hydrated with a good moisturizer will help alleviate some of that redness caused by the skin building up an excess of keratin, which is what causes the bumps and redness in the first place.
Don't over exfoliate. Since keratosis pilaris occurs because of too much keratin clogging the pores, exfoliating will keep them more open and clear of any clogging, but being over-aggressive with your exfoliation can only cause tempers to flare with the bumps.
Do not pick at them. As tempting as it may be, control yourself from popping all the little bumps. It definitely is a fulfilling thing to do when you're bored, but popping the bumps can cause scarring and will not make things better.
