dry skin issue from kava?

[Bix]

Hello the group - as a newcomer to Kava I've read a few posts about dry skin. I've only been using K for a month or so - probably no more thany 6 or 8 times thus far - but have noticed dry scaly patches in two small areas on the last two fingers of one hand. Only there and nowhere else. They're red/white and bumpy, not very large but noticeable. I've never had eczema, psoriasis or any other dry skin issues that I can recall. Was wondering if this might be related to Kava? Any advice is most welcome!

Thanks in advance.
Bix

 

[kavadude]

Bix, kava dermopathy is typically not red or raised, although it does often present in the extremities first. It could be related to kava but in my experience it takes a higher frequency than 8 times in a month to get it. A picture would be best.

 

[Edward]

A picture would be best.

Really?!

 

[Manuwia]

ni-Vanuatu often talk about the rough skin patches of dedicated kava drinkers, but this is associated with people who drink kava everyday for years on end. For some, it is a kind of a badge of honor. In the capital, there is a joke about kava heads being called "reptiles" because, as you said, the skin is scaley. It's within the remote realm of possibility that you are experiencing this more quickly than most (everyone has their own specific reactions to kava, within the general range of effects), but as I said, this effect of kava generally takes years of dedicated drinking to manifest.

 

[kasa_balavu]

I know many people who've drunk kava 1-4 times a week for over a decade without any kanikani (the Fijian name for the skin condition caused by kava).

I know 2 guys who drink it almost every night (at least 5 times a week) and who've done so for 2 decades. In addition. these two men who're in their late 30's often also have a basin of kava at the office after work before they head home for the day. They have severe kanikani. Neither of them cares to, but could easily reverse the condition by reducing the kava intake by 50% and using any off-the-shelf skin moisturiser.

This is what very severe kanikani looks like. You don't just suddenly wake up to skin like this. It will come on very slowly, starting as just dry skin and so long as you continue a very high dose, it will progress to this over a few months. Unless you have lots of money to spend on it, or you're in the Pacific Islands with access to cheap kava, you are highly unlikely to ever reach this stage. You need to be overdoing it by quite a bit.

Also note that it's just dry skin that looks unsightly and may be a little itchy due to the dryness. It looks terrible, but is really quite harmless.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical practitioner, and I only have experience with Fiji kava.

Photo credit: https://ffwrfromfiji.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/23-october-2014/

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Ya my hands got dry as hell from kneading without gloves... make sure your not doing that and then touching your eyes or wiping onto other parts of your body or that'll do ya way quicker haha

 

[Bix]

Thanks to all of you for the good info. From everything I've read here I'm fairly convinced that my brief foray into Kava has not been the cause of my skin problems (which I'd post if I had a camera with a decent lens!). On to the dermatologist....