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Are Hives A Part Of Dh?

angmoore

By angmoore
in Dermatitis Herpetiformis

Recommended Posts

angmoore Newbie
angmoore
Posted

My daughter, age 8, was diagnosed with celiac disease in March of 2006. We've been getting down to gluten free in the food department, just starting to tackle the soaps, shampoos, etc.. Since August she has broke out in hives. Are hives celiac disease related - welty and itchy? They don't look like the celiac disease rash, but wasn't sure. She's been on antihistimes and a steriod treatment. That made them calmer, but didn't get rid of them. Is this more like an allergy? Help - she's miserable and I can't seem to help her. Suggestions on what could be a cause or a different type of treatment....

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Fiddle-Faddle Community Regular
Fiddle-Faddle
Posted

Wish I had enough experience and knowledge to be authoritatively helpful here.

All I can offer is a few ideas: a friend of mine traced her chronic hives to hair dye. Even though it was only on her head, she had hives all over her torso--until she changed hair dye brands. Your daughter isn't dying or highlighting her hair, is she?

A neighbor of mine has some kind of chronic shingles that were originally misdiagnosed as hives. That may also be traceable to gluten, I don't really know him well, so not sure--but he's Scotch-Irish, so I'm betting it might be a factor.

It took me months to realize that there was gluten in some unlikely sources foodwise--Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, soy sauce (most brands), salad dressings, marinades, crab stix, some chips, "lite" ice creams and cream cheeses, etc. Even a lot of rice crackers contain gluten. It's everywhere! Oh--oatmeal is another one, especially the flavored, sweetened instant brands, they actually do have wheat starch in them.

angmoore Newbie
angmoore
Posted
  • Author

No hair dye or highlighting yet! Thanks for the bits of info....maybe it is a combination of several things. She had chicken pox last year - 3 years after the Varceilla vacination and she's a little Scotch-Irish. Throw in juvenile diabetes, celiac and stress. I took her to a General Practitioner who prescribed the antihistimine and steriod. Not sure if I should take her back or who I should see. Again thanks, we'll keep reading labels and writing down when she breaks out.

Fiddle-Faddle Community Regular
Fiddle-Faddle
Posted

I didn't think she would be dyeing her hair yet, but you never know these days--one of my neighbors is dyeing her 10-year-olds hair AND her 5-year-old's--ugh!

Michi8 Contributor
Michi8
Posted
No hair dye or highlighting yet! Thanks for the bits of info....maybe it is a combination of several things. She had chicken pox last year - 3 years after the Varceilla vacination and she's a little Scotch-Irish. Throw in juvenile diabetes, celiac and stress. I took her to a General Practitioner who prescribed the antihistimine and steriod. Not sure if I should take her back or who I should see. Again thanks, we'll keep reading labels and writing down when she breaks out.

You may want to take her to see a dermatologist and/or allergist who is experienced in treating children. Hives are typically a reaction to something...whether it's something that has touched the skin or has been ingested. It may be worth doing allergy testing to try to narrow down the culprit(s).

Michelle

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted

I can only answer from my own experience but for me hives were part of the skin effects I would get. Pressure from my clothes or just running a fingernail across my skin would raise big itchy welts. This did go away after I was gluten free, unless I get a good glutening. I don't know if it was gluten specifically that was causing it though. My skin testing showed me to react to everything tested for except beech trees. He put me on an elimination diet that day, he later said my exteme sensitivity clued him in as to the possiblity of celiac but he didn't mention it at the time. The diet confirmed his suspisions. My allergies calmed down quickly after I had been gluten-free a few months and eliminated it from toiletries and bath products. I shudder now when I think of how many oatmeal and wheat germ oil soaks I did prediagnosis to relieve my DH and the itching from the hives.

Michi8 Contributor
Michi8
Posted
I can only answer from my own experience but for me hives were part of the skin effects I would get. Pressure from my clothes or just running a fingernail across my skin would raise big itchy welts. This did go away after I was gluten free, unless I get a good glutening. I don't know if it was gluten specifically that was causing it though. My skin testing showed me to react to everything tested for except beech trees. He put me on an elimination diet that day, he later said my exteme sensitivity clued him in as to the possiblity of celiac but he didn't mention it at the time. The diet confirmed his suspisions. My allergies calmed down quickly after I had been gluten-free a few months and eliminated it from toiletries and bath products. I shudder now when I think of how many oatmeal and wheat germ oil soaks I did prediagnosis to relieve my DH and the itching from the hives.

I like to hear that gluten-free can calm allergies! :) I'm hoping that I will experience the same...I'm so tired of being sensitive to so many things! Right now, I'm trying to wrap my brain around my nickel, chromium & cobalt allergies...they're in so many everyday products (including vitamins & foods!) that I'm not sure how to eliminate exposure...and wonder if when I do get a handle on it, if I will see a dramatic improvement?! Next step will be gluten-free (after my biopsy.)

Michelle

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Fiddle-Faddle Community Regular
Fiddle-Faddle
Posted

I knew chromium was in vitamins, but didn't know it could be a potential allergen. And cobalt and nickel? Yikes, I already know I'm severely allergic to nickel at least skinwise. What kinds of foods is it in? :blink:

Michi8 Contributor
Michi8
Posted
I knew chromium was in vitamins, but didn't know it could be a potential allergen. And cobalt and nickel? Yikes, I already know I'm severely allergic to nickel at least skinwise. What kinds of foods is it in? :blink:

I should clarify...cobalt is in a lot of products, but I don't know about it in foods (except in vitamin B12 supplements.) Nickel is found in multi-vitamins just as chromium is. Nickel naturally occurs in many foods and water (tap water especially), and at natural levels is supposedly harmless. Canned foods have higher amounts of nickel, and nickel can leach out of cooking utensils into foods (so can chromium.) I have a list of foods to avoid, but it is rather long to type out here. You can do a google search, though, for more info. Like I said, I am still wrapping my brain around it, trying to figure out what amount of exposure is safe for me...I've just found this info out after struggling with many years of skin sensitivity and food allergies.

Michelle

  • 2 years later...
QueenTechnoGeek Newbie
QueenTechnoGeek
Posted

I don't know if hives are part of DH. I kinda doubt it. However, while hives can be caused by a lot of things, they can also be caused by gluten intolerance. See my post here: Chronic Hives and Gluten

  • 2 weeks later...
thleensd Enthusiast
thleensd
Posted
I should clarify...cobalt is in a lot of products, but I don't know about it in foods (except in vitamin B12 supplements.) Nickel is found in multi-vitamins just as chromium is. Nickel naturally occurs in many foods and water (tap water especially), and at natural levels is supposedly harmless. Canned foods have higher amounts of nickel, and nickel can leach out of cooking utensils into foods (so can chromium.) I have a list of foods to avoid, but it is rather long to type out here. You can do a google search, though, for more info. Like I said, I am still wrapping my brain around it, trying to figure out what amount of exposure is safe for me...I've just found this info out after struggling with many years of skin sensitivity and food allergies.

Michelle

How did you figure out this allergy?!? Is there a simple test or was it your own trial?

thleensd Enthusiast
thleensd
Posted
My daughter, age 8, was diagnosed with celiac disease in March of 2006. We've been getting down to gluten free in the food department, just starting to tackle the soaps, shampoos, etc.. Since August she has broke out in hives. Are hives celiac disease related - welty and itchy? They don't look like the celiac disease rash, but wasn't sure. She's been on antihistimes and a steriod treatment. That made them calmer, but didn't get rid of them. Is this more like an allergy? Help - she's miserable and I can't seem to help her. Suggestions on what could be a cause or a different type of treatment....

I don't know if they are related, but I did see a vague medical reference that suggested the medical community look further into it to see if there is a correlation.

A few years back I was diagnosed with idiopathic hives and swelling. They did a ton of allergy tests and I wasn't allergic to anything. I am under the impression that "nothing" causing it really means "we can't figure it out". I was on heavy crazy antihistamines, and the only thing I found that gave me topical relief was putting a couple drops of essential oil straight on the hives (tough with kids... you don't want to get that stuff in your eyes!). I found that lavender, rosemary, and peppermint all helped (some people have allergies to these things, so use caution...there's my disclaimer!)

So...if it isn't DH....that's what I know! Good luck.

  • 2 weeks later...
lpjourney Rookie
lpjourney
Posted

Does your daughter eat alot of acidic fruit or any eggs alone? My youngest brother when he was young broke out with hives because of acidic fruit like strawberries and also from eggs. He was later ( at 14 ) diagonsed type 1 diabetic, my mother and I are confirmed celiac. He can tolerate them now but in moderation. Hope this might help.

Mother of Jibril Enthusiast
Mother of Jibril
Posted

Anyone having problems with chronic hives (defined as lasting six weeks or longer) should see a dermatologist or allergist and check out this website:

Open Original Shared Link

Some people do have hives that are caused by foods (especially foods that have high natural levels of histamines), medicines, chemicals, stress, exercise, heat, cold, sunlight, etc... but there's also an autoimmune version of CU that a doctor can test for. IMO, it's better to know what type you're dealing with! If you have autoimmune hives then you need a good practitioner who will work with you to find the right combination of antihistamines and/or steroids that will keep the hives under control... trying to eliminate every possible "trigger" could make you crazy (and that would actually be counter-productive).

  • 2 weeks later...
Rebecca's mom Rookie
Rebecca's mom
Posted

Most people don't know that Play-Doh and sheet rock (DH and I found THAT out the hard way a couple of weeks ago!) have wheat and/or wheat starch in them. It may well be that she is coming in contact with some seemingly innocent substance at home and/or school which is triggering her hives.

You may also want to check the ingredients in the hand soap that you are using, as well as the detergent that you use to wash clothes. I know that our pediatrician told us that his wife and stepdaughter both have horrible reactions when they eat apple peels - apparently some wheat is in the food-grade wax that is used on the apples!

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