Skin Problems

[Samantha14]

Im fourteen. I have theses red and white patches on my arms. They dont itch. When i scratch them they kinda flake like dandruff. They look somewhat and feel like goosebumps. They never burn or irritate me. What are they?

[mallam]

Sounds like psoriasis. See Wikipedia article.. A mild case if it doesn't itch, so don't be alarmed by the gruesome article. The old remedies are often the best. Salicylic acid lotion completely cured my grandmother, my wife, and me. You have to find a compliant pharmacist to make it up these days. It used to be available in a proprietary preparation, now prob suppressed by the big pharmaceuticals pushing drastic varieties of snake oil which don't work. And don't trust the 'nutriceuticals' either: Chinese varieties of snake oil have been found to cause severe liver damage.

[Temano]

If these patches are round in shape and seem slightly raised then this is likely a harmless fungal infection.
You can usually get rid of it with any fungal cream available at a pharmacy.

[Bert]

Salicylic acid is the active ingredient in some (many) wart removing creams. So you may find some ready made in your pharmacist's. But I would not know if it would be the right strength. I guess it could do no harm, since it is intended for topical application, i.e. on the skin.

[mallam]

Hello bert. The questioner seems to have immediately lost interest in this question, but if by 'active ingredient in some (many) wart removing creams' you mean the ingredient that does most of the removing, I think that is the resorcinol. There is indeed supposed to be some resorcinol in the traditional formula for salycilic acid, though there doesnt have to be much, but without as you say knowing the right strength (as opposed to the Molotov cocktail in wart-removing preparations), I hope I am right in thinking pharmacists in the litigious US are prepared as those in the UK to examine such minor lesions and make recommendations on the strength of their observations. For the US is where I guess the questioner is from.
And that of course goes for all our suggestions. Topical applications are perfectly capable of wreaking havoc, the Chinese 'snake oil' I mentioned being only one of many such.

[copperascove]

samantha. ask your mum if she has changed soap powder or fabric softener. It could be that you might have a reaction. if not, you could try an oil based skin moisturiser. hope this helps and good luck.