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Dh While Pregnant, None (Maybe) After?

JustCricket

By JustCricket
in Dermatitis Herpetiformis

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JustCricket Newbie
JustCricket
Posted

When I was pregnant with my son, I acquired a rash that left my shocked OB scratching her head. It stuck around for far longer than I would have wished. But once it went away, it never came back...I think. I also would get hives, but I'm not sure that was related.

It was AMAZING in its itchiness, redness, rawness, and the shear surface area of my body that it covered.

 

During my pregnancy, I also had a "sun burn" on my face. Now, this was not a true sunburn. It just came up, stuck around a few days, and left, even though I hadn't been in the sun.

I get urticaria, easily, but I doubt this would have anything to do with DH. It could just be a little overactivity in my immune system, but the hives usually go away rather quickly.

 

I have not been diagnosed, yet, but have had a favorable response to the gluten-free diet. 

 

I was wondering if anyone else has heard of this, or read of it. Since I was pregnant, I've had minor rashes, but I've not been able to connect them to food yet. I will keep investigating. I have noticed that I itch a lot, if I've had gluten. I also noticed that a fat bruise on my knee got SUPER itchy after a glutening. This seemed to be beyond the "healing itch."

 

Thanks.

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1desperateladysaved Proficient
1desperateladysaved
Posted

I had undiagnosed celiac for 30 years.  I do remember a mysterious rash, which appeared on my arms, in at least 2 pregnancies.  Hmm makes me wonder.

JustCricket Newbie
JustCricket
Posted
  • Author

I had undiagnosed celiac for 30 years.  I do remember a mysterious rash, which appeared on my arms, in at least 2 pregnancies.  Hmm makes me wonder.

 

Thanks, Lady.

 

I thought it was interesting that I never had it before or since, that males get it more frequently and I was carrying a boy. lol. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar, though. ;)

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

I don't know how accurate that info. is that males get it more often. Maybe it's just that females are more apt to come onto a site like this but since I've been on here; I'd have to say the females outnumber the males 100 to 1. I know the "medical" texts say that about males. The medical texts also say it occurs on the elbows & knees & so forth but ask anyone here with dh & we can tell you it occurs any old where it wants to; in fact my elbows & knees were the last place it showed up on. Same goes for my hubs.

I can't really answer your question as I have never been pregnant but it is known that dh seems to be spurred by pregnancy ~~~ the hormones bouncing around I suppose.

JustCricket Newbie
JustCricket
Posted
  • Author

I don't know how accurate that info. is that males get it more often. Maybe it's just that females are more apt to come onto a site like this but since I've been on here; I'd have to say the females outnumber the males 100 to 1. I know the "medical" texts say that about males. The medical texts also say it occurs on the elbows & knees & so forth but ask anyone here with dh & we can tell you it occurs any old where it wants to; in fact my elbows & knees were the last place it showed up on. Same goes for my hubs.

I can't really answer your question as I have never been pregnant but it is known that dh seems to be spurred by pregnancy ~~~ the hormones bouncing around I suppose.

 

Maybe it's a close call, so that the general population experiences one thing, while the reports are showing something else. Maybe I should have used the word "slightly," as one of the articles I read did say that it was only a little more prevalent in men. It also said that it can occur anywhere on the body, but that those are the most common locations.

Both my daughter and my son have complained of stomach problems, and it could be that my son has celiac. Funny enough, he doesn't seem to have had any rashes like that, but my daughter had a rash in her armpits that hung around for a while and nothing helped. Finally, it just went away. I only hope that neither of them experiences what I did, and that I never do again. I would totally lose my mind. I tried everything I could think to protect it and get it to heal. It hurt to touch to put anything on it. At the behest of my ex's grandmother, I tried Gold Bond Medicated powder and that was the worst idea, ever!

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

I'm not knocking what you said at all. It's just that so many docs take it as gospel that the rash is on knees & elbows & if you don't have it there then it's not dh. So many docs, both derms & GI docs, get it wrong or like the GI I went to, get it but don't get it. He was 95% sure I have dh but simply could NOT understand how I was presenting with horrid lesions after being gluten-free for 14 months. And he believes I have celiac disease from the GI symptoms I had so he gets it but then he didn't get it when he wanted to run the blood panel on me (after I'd been gluten-free for 14 months). And then I knew he really didn't get it when the blood panel wasn't a complete celiac panel. It was like batting a ping pong ball back & forth. I kept saying to myself, he gets it, he doesn't get it, he gets it , he doesn't get it like a darn see saw.

 

I sincerely hope the rash never appears on you again for I know the hell that it is. As to your son, not all celiacs get the rash.

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