Speaking of Medical Stuff...

While on this Web MD kick of mine, I found out what is on the back of my arms. I have a skin condition called Keratosis Pilaris Rubra. Scary sounding, eh? It's so scary sounding that I won't even include a picture. So there. (Reader - I am just full of scary sounding things!) Anyway, it is just a common skin issue where excess keratin hangs out in your pores and manifests itself in ugly red bumps that look like a cross between "goose bumps" and acne - it only happens in certain places on people (like the backs of arms and legs). It basically makes a person really embarrassed about wearing short sleeves and shorts because of their freakish "chicken skin." There it is. World, I have freakish chicken skin on my arms and legs. And I've had it ever since high school. Okay, it isn't fatal, but there is no real treatment for it. So even if I went to a dermatologist, they wouldn't be able to "cure" it. It is genetic. (Thanks mom and dad.)

I was researching some different things about KP and also sites where people talk about how they deal with it. I noticed that a lot of dietary issues came up on non-medical sites. (The medical sites say that diet has nothing to do with it.) Several KP people say it is related to food reactions to milk, wheat, and corn and that by cutting out certain things in their diets, they've noticed dramatic changes. (I also found some recommendations for different kinds of lotions and such.) But now I seriously want to take a Vega test and see if I have food sensitivities! I don't know, maybe I am just reacting to the fact that I have a nameable skin condition. That is creepy to me.

Body Update: I did have a kidney infection and the antibiotics are helping. It still is hurting, but I sense improvement. When it rains, man, it pours.