I Have A Terrible Rash--is It Cd?

[CBL]

I just discovered celiac disease and have not yet restricted gluten from my diet. I suspect it might be a cause of my rash, though.

My rash lies dormant, usually in the winter; hot humid weather seems to encourage it.

It starts looking like a small red insect bite; it is extremely itchy. It gets bigger over the course of ~10 days and it turns into an oozing blister. Sometimes multiple rash "spots" will spread and blister and then merge together and become one large open sore (this mostly happens on my palms). The pain and itching is unbearable.

The rashes can appear on my arms. legs, neck. The mostly come in clusters.

My rash first appeared in my mid twenties. No one (MD, dermo) one could tell me what it was. I thought it was a form of excema.

I've been treated with pregnizone (cortizone shot) and topical steroid cremes; this dries it out temporarily.

Regarding other symptons of celiac disease: I also have some gastrointestinal issues, although I've always just assumed that I had a "spastic colon". I have leg cramping. I'm having trouble with depression. I can't gain weight.

Please help! Any advice or information would be appreciated. I don't have insurance, so I need all the help i can get!

Thanks!

Carter

[lovegrov]

This does sound a lot like dermatitis herpetiformis, or DH. You need to find a dermatologist who's familiar with it. Dapsone controls the outbreaks but what you really need to do is go gluten free, because if you have DH, you do or will have celiac.

If you simply don't have the money for testing then your only choice is to go ahead and try the diet and see if you improve. For the DH you'll also need to avoid iodine for a little while. Improvement will not be immediate, although if you don't get outbreaks in the winter, your DH might be fairly mild.

richard