Keratosis Pilaris

Hi! What would you recommend for a toddler, 15 months, who has what looks like KP - small, skin colored bumps that are rough to touch, all over his upper and lower arms as well as his upper thighs? 

I also have a 7 year old who has chronic discharge from his nose and sinuses/ sinus infections that return every fall and last all winter long. It’s worse upon waking in the morning. Thank you! 🙏 

Hi Kara

Regarding the description you give of your toddler, the rough, hardened skin and bumpiness are mainly related to a  Calc Fluor deficiency. For children in general, it is helpful to use Calc Phos as they grow so rapidly. Calc Fluor is relatively slow-acting, so it may take a while to see an improvement. If you don't notice much improvement after 3-4 months, you could try adding Kali Mur , which addresses all the body's fibrous tissues.

Chronic nasal discharge and sinusitis in your seven-year-old should also respond to Kali Mur  if it is an opaque, whitish colour. If it becomes more yellow-green, you need to work with Kali Sulph . Sometimes you can catch it at the onset when the mucus is clear, more like raw egg white in colour and texture, which is a Calc Phos imbalance. If it is clear and watery at any stage (sometimes precedes the gooey stage), Nat Mur . You can often help clear sinus congestion with Silicea .

You may want to try giving him Ferrum Phos or Immuno Synergy before he develops mucus symptoms to boost his immune system in advance. Before I started using tissue salts, I used to get a winter sinus infection that remained the entire time until it was warm enough to swim in the ocean in early summer. I started taking Ferrum Phos because of my iron deficiency at the time, and only after the first winter thereafter had passed, realised I hadn't experienced the annual repeat of the past 10 years since living in Cape Town.

I was using Calc Phos as well to build blood cells, so in his case, you could work with those two. Being a child, he will benefit from Calc Phos as a general tonic.

I wish you well!
Alison