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How To Tell The Difference Between Dermatitis Herpetiformis And Scabies?

simmysamra

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simmysamra Newbie
simmysamra
Posted

Hi

 

New user here, I apologize if this question is posted often (I don't frequent forums and am somewhat unsure how to use this!)

 

I am a 25 year old female who recently started showing symptoms of a a DH rash on my body (on my lower back, buttocks, upper thighs, elbows, and then a few randomly on my legs and arms) for about 4 months now, and it has gradually gotten worse

 

I have suffered from eczema and sensitive skin all my life, and initially put it to be just that. However when they did not go away I researched a bit online and found my rash to match up almost exactly with dermatitis herpetiformis.

 

However, I was also wondering how to tell the difference between dermatitis herpetiformis and scabies.

I have heard scabies is very contagious and I have had this rash for some time now and no one in my friends and/or family have contracted anything! However, I would still like to rule out scabies to be safe.

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squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

You can go to a derm & get a skin scraping which they look at under a microscope to see either a mite or the egg. If they dx by looks alone, they may be wrong so if you want to know for sure make sure they do a skin scraping for the scabies.

mamaw Community Regular
mamaw
Posted

scabies  also  run in a line  of  three often  start  around  the  ankle  area...can be  just a bout  anywhere on the  body  but  tend  to be in a line  of  three... I  think of it  as a  trail like  a  mole  would  make  in the yard.....You  should  see a  doctor  for  a  scraping.... honestly I never  thought the two  resembled  each other..

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

No but derms dx dh as scabies all the time.

While you're there you should insist on a dh biopsy. Make sure it's done correctly as 99% of the time they do it wrong. It MUST be taken from CLEAR skin ADJACENT to a fresh, active lesion.

Print these out & take them & give them to the derm so they will know how to correctly do it.

Open Original Shared Link

 

Open Original Shared Link

 

If you get a positive biopsy of dh then you have celiac disease & no further testing is needed. Continue to eat a full gluten diet until the biopsy results are in. Do NOT take any oral steroids or get any steroid injections in the 2 months prior to the dh biopsy.

 

Go over to the dh forum & read, read, read as many threads as you can.

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