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serenitynow , 25 Jun 2009

KP Arm pickers?

Hi there, just wanting to connect with others who pick at the kp on their arms/legs. My arms are the worst; I have such a hard time ignoring a swelling bump and need any ideas on how to resist the urge. It just feels WRONG to leave it alone! And in some lighting my arms look bumpy everywhere! Besides wearing long sleeves all the time, I'm not sure what else I can do to fix it. Any lotions or potions that actually work for kp? TIA.
51 Answers
maddykins
July 15, 2009
Hi there. So good to know that there are other people out there who have the same problem as me. I feel that i have to pick at the KP on my arms and on the tops of my legs even though KP is a normal condition that quite a lot of the population have and obviously have no problem with!!!!!! Only thing i heard was to moisturise the KP alot to make it improve but don't think there is a cure for it. I started picking my face from about 14 but could be before then which started on my face but over the years has moved down to include my arms chest, tops of legs. I did have cognitive b/therapy but not sure it worked that well although it was just nice talking to someone about it!! I don't pick my face as much as i did years ago and tend to do my arms the most. feel as though this whole skin picking/spots controls my life and I hate it. So nice to know i am not alone on this site. Also the typing stops me from picking!!!!!! Tend to pick at night time when alone - I even have the gloves but they are still in the wrapper in drawer and have been for ages!!! Should really use them!!! Any advice on clearing scarring would be helpful. Lets all help each other on here by sharing our thoughts. xx
belsy
July 17, 2009

In reply to by bas

Ok, now found out what it is: http://www.helpforkp.com/ And... I have it.. and it is what I pick all the bloody time.... arrghhhhh....
maddykins
July 17, 2009

In reply to by belsy

kp is keratosis pilaris which are the tiny bumps some people get on the back of their arms and legs. It is quite common but dosen't cause any problems apart for us skin pickers!!!!!!!!!
Elisa8
July 18, 2009
AHHHH I am so relieved to know that someone else suffers from this! I will sit in front of the window with my arm tilted too see the bumps and pick for hours.... sometimes It's really bad!!! I just can't leave the "bumps" it seems so gross to leave that in my skin. Anyone out there used a product that really works to clear up KP???
Belle and the Beast
July 01, 2010

In reply to by Elisa8

Ammonium Lactate Lotion works great. I had my mom take me to a dermatologist for the first time about a year ago and I was being really brave and I went in and told the doctor that I was a picker and that I was worried I was a lot more on the ocd side of it then just normal teen picking. She just ignored what I was trying to tell her and then called in a really attractive man nurse to come see the nastiness on my skin which embarrassed me to tears, and after the appointment I curled up in a ball in the car and cried for several hours... BUT she did prescribe me the lotion for the KP and it has rid me of most bumps. I never went back but I still fill my prescription. I will warn you though, just because I have less to pick at doesn't mean I quit picking. I still dig at my arms all the time, I've even moved farther down them in search of black head and clogged pores I can pick at. I have to make a real effort to put on my medication and then leave them alone because I often want to inspect them for things to pick now that there aren't obvious bumps. I still feel like I need more help than the kind that comes in a bottle.
Jesica
July 03, 2010

In reply to by Belle and the Beast

I am so sorry that this happened to you....I cried before and after my doctors appointment...but my doctor understood what I was saying and is treating me for OCD..so far so good with the picking..since my picking has died down. If you are in the sacramento area I could refer you to my doc....I'm assuming maybe some docs have different views of this....though I remember I went at a dermatologits 10 years ago....and just subscribed me steroids and acne cream...nothing to help with the picking even though he diagnosed me with a picking disorder....even though then Ididn't know tthat was what the diagnosis meant. You might want to do some research and see if there are doctors who do understand picking...
Jesica
June 29, 2010
Hi there....umm...after 40 years..I think I am coming to terms with being a "picker"...after going to get a facial and the facialist asking me if I was a "picker"..and I bluntly said yes...I aslo say that show about obsessive compulsive picking...I don't think I am that bad...I don't attack my face as much...but more my arms and sometimes my legs...that way I can hide it. I do it under stress as well as.....those bumps drive me nuts....it remind me of being dirty and it has to come out...I sometimes can hear the stuff come out..uggh..gross...I don't like bumps, mounds, etc....but once it's picked..of course the bump gets bigger and it has to be taken off.....and being ITP...a slow bleeder doesn't help either...I don't heal as well as others... it's summer and now I can't hide my picking...oh, of course I say...it's excema....but it isn't....I've been a picker all my life....it only escalated when I started getting pimples ..and then when I'm under stress and have low self image of myself I wish it would all go away....I guess it's not as bad as other disorders or addictions...but sometimes it can really make you want to stay in and not get out....I"ve gotten to the part wehre I just dont' care what people think and I don't care what I look like..but I do care now and want to change my thinking and get better.
MAD-am
June 30, 2010
yep i do this aswell, its how my picking problem started 11 years ago i noticed my brother picking the little bumps on his elbow and i picked up on the habit, except i seemed to have more bumps than he did and i had no control i will pick every single bump i could find. i also use different lighting to find smaller bumps, for example i sit by my bedroom window in the evening when the sun is low so i can see more. i just hate the feel of them and squeezing them seems so rewarding when the little white blob comes out. i find st ives blemish control scrub helps reduce the appearence of them, sun exposesure and bio oil helps reduce scarring
MAD-am
June 30, 2010
would a fellow kp arm picker like to be my buddy? i want to stop picking and popping the kp. since i had my baby 8 months ago it has spread to other parts of my body, and i carnt hide it any longer. i think if i there is two of us we can encourage and help each other as i havent found anyone with this problem in person, this might work and we can stop together. i promise to be honest i will tell you if i do pick, but i will try really hard not pick or pop. well i wouldnt want to let my buddy down would i?
Maxine
June 30, 2010

In reply to by MAD-am

Hey that's a really good idea! I'm willing to try anything and this sounds good. My sticker book (childish I know!) is sort of like a buddy I suppose, but you always work harder when you're with someone else! How do you think we could work this? Keep a record and talk to each other once a week or something?
Jesica
July 01, 2010

In reply to by MAD-am

You know what I just did today...I went to my doctor..admitted I was a picker and asked for help to clear up my arms.....he came back and said....you have an OCD problema and giving you somethign for yoru arms is not going to help....he's giving me somethign for the OCD ...a light dosage that he thinks will do the job. Waiting on pharmacy to fill...I feel embarrassed that I have to take a pill for OCD..but feel relieved that I might see a light at the end of the tunnel..the pill is also used for depression as well...and lately I have been feeling somewhat depressed because I just can't seem to do a simple task because I have to do other tasks to get to that task...most people would just do the task and forget about the other tasks...but not me..and it drives me nuts ...so maybe this will be a blessing in disguise....will let y ou knwo later what I'm taking, how much and if it is working. To help with the picking..I am really starting to catch myself and I even have my kids watching for me too! lol....but am putting triple antiobiotic on all the wounds and those wounds that need more attention..Iput a bandaid on it..I might have a bunch of bandaids on my arm..but it does remind me not to pick. Trying to figure a way to ask hubby if I can get some fake nails..that really helped when I had them because it frustrated me taht I could not pop the bumps.
brens
July 02, 2010

In reply to by Jesica

Jessica Congrats on going to the doctor and getting help. I haven't told anyone yet. I can vouch for the artificial nails, as it really made it harder for me to pick when I had them in my 20's . It's a good idea if you can afford the upkeep. I just don't have the patience any longer to sit though the endless nail salon visits, but should be considering it anyhow. Good luck.
Jesica
July 02, 2010

In reply to by brens

after taking my "little pill"..I dont' think I will need to get fake nails...which for me now, is a relief....I don't have the time and patience for it. I have yet to tell any of my friends about it..i've only told one that I was diagnosed with OCD and that hopefully it will help me let go of the way I do certain thing etc....I think once I heal up I might start speaking up... I'm thinking maybe another reason I finally spoke up...as that my old doc had moved and we had a new doctor and figured...best nip this in the bud with the new doc and since my kids see what I do to my arms...I needed to get it under control. So brens....go, it will be hard....I cried before and after....silly me, my heart was racing a bit...but go to your doc and get it under control....good luck.
brens
July 02, 2010

In reply to by MAD-am

MAD-am I will be your buddy. I have a swim suit event coming up in 6 days so I have a big incentive to stop picking at least for this week. I am hoping I can stop picking and heal adequately from recent picking before then. Otherwise I will be the only one wearing long sleeves in 90 degree weather. I've picked alot this week, so there are lots of red bumps on the backs of my arms, legs, butt, face, back, back of neck (under hair), and in my scalp. if i can reach it, i've picked it. geeez!!! good luck. let me know if you pick.
Maxine
June 30, 2010
Hi there, I'm 24 and started picking the skin on my arms and legs when I was 9. I've tried to give up in the past but the stress of giving up only seemed to make it worse! Ive tried loads of products - moisturising, exfoliating - to improve the texture of my skin, but I believe that even if the skin improves, I will always find something because it's in my nature to pick my skin, blemished or not. I also use needles to get at tough ones or ingrown hairs, once I have a needle in my hand though it's like I go on a rampage on my skin! It's taken me years to even realise and I have finally thrown all my needles away - that was a scary but exciting day! It might mean that I sometimes make a mess of my skin with my fingernails, but it's for the best. I've also started keeping a record. I used to keep a record of how long I picked for, but that only spelled out how out of control I was and got me down, again making the situation worse. So now I keep a record of every time I resist picking. It's a bit childish but I give myself a shiny sticker every time I manage to resist or to stop, and I rate how I did during the day by the size of the sticker! The main thing is it's a positive record and I'm finding it's helping cos for the first time I see my picking in the positive light of giving up and reducing it, not the negative light of I'm still doing it. Another trick I use is to say to myself "wait 15 minutes" and check my watch, promising myself I can pick in 15 minutes. When I can do this it really works, cos in 15 minutes I've usually found something else to do by then! I've also finally come to accept that this is a very slow road to recovery and that's completely ok, and that I'll probably be trying to resist the urges forever, but just think how much easier it's gonna get. This habit got progressively worse over a period of years, well it can improve too! Thanks for reading, this feels great to share my experience with complete strangers as Ive only ever told my boyfriend, and I hope maybe my methods might help someone else to cope.

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