Keratosis pilaris

I was in a meeting at work the other day, totally paying attention. Looking at my arms, I noticed some small bumps on the backs of my upper arms. It reminded me of acne. Feeling the need to pick at them, I did for the remainder of the meeting and the bumps turned red.

Back at my desk after my meeting, in between performing very important tasks for work, I googled bumps on arms and found out some information. As if my acne problem isn't enough to make my skin look hideous, I believe I also have a condition called keratosis pilaris, or KP. Apparently, this is a fairly common condition, genetic, and the only downer to having it is that it doesn't look the greatest. Severity can vary, and luckily mine is localized to just my back upper arms, but some people can have it on other parts of the body.

It is caused by build-up of the protein keratin around hair follicles forming hard plugs. Treatment can involve moisturizers with special ingredients. I refuse to see the dermatologist anymore, so I'll just put the lotion we have on my upper arms and hope that works. If you notice me wearing long sleeves more often now, you'll know why. It really doesn't look that bad though, and according to the internet, approximately 40% of adult have it.