Can Iodine Cause Dh Blisters

[wowzer]

I was wondering if iodine cause DH blisters? I had a biopsy on the about 12 days ago. She asked me if I was allergic to iodine and I said not that I knew of. How long would they take to appear if that is the case?

[ravenwoodglass]

Putting iodine on the skin then covering it and looking for a reaction was an old school way of testing for DH. I have always reacted to iodine. But I had severe DH in childhood (they wondered how I got poison ivy 12 months of the year). My Mom stopped using it on me in early childhood though so I don't remember much about the reaction. I haven't used it since. Hopefully someone else will be of more help.

[RiceGuy]

From what I've read, iodine isn't the cause of the blisters, but can make them occur more frequently and/or more severely. This is apparently because the immune system uses iodine to aid in healing the skin, and I guess that's why nurses would put iodine on scrapes and cuts, etc. The body requires iodine, and you should be obtaining it from food if you eat a well balanced diet of vegetables. You may find it helps to avoid iodized salt, and whatever you do, don't eat kelp, as it contains a whopping amount of iodine.