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Could My Mom Have Dh?

JerryK

By JerryK
in Dermatitis Herpetiformis

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JerryK Community Regular
JerryK
Posted

Hey there, hope everyone is doing well.

My 70 year old mother, who is a young 70 I might add, keeps breaking out in a rash.

A few weeks ago, she had a few spots on the back of her neck.....it slowly started spreading

over the course of a couple weeks..she had it all over her body. Red patches with little yellow pustule

type blisters..thrown in there. Intense itching etc....

Of course, me being me, I wondered immediately if she was having a reaction to gluten. She finally went to the emergency room and the Dr. said he thought it was Poison Oak...never mind that in the NW corner of Oregon, where we live, Poison Oak is scarce, plus the fact that my mom doesn't spend a lot of time trudging thru the woods.

They put her on a course of Prednisone and an anti-histamine and the rash went away for the most part. Now...two weeks later, the rash appears to be coming back...

So, I'm starting to wonder...does my mother have DH? I think even she is starting to wonder, because she said she didn't eat her toast this morning....What do you guys think? Does DH get so bad that you have to go to the emergency room?

My mom is now trying to get in to see a dermatologist...I will push her to make sure they do a biopsy.

But the ER doc said he didn't think this rash could be caused by wheat...what do you guys think?

j

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wowzer Community Regular
wowzer
Posted

I suppose it is a possibility. I'm in the same boat with my mother who is 74. She just went through an itchy rash and the steroids etc. My little sister is a diagnosed celiac. I think I have DH. We got this from somewhere. My mother keeps thinking it is from bacon. I'm not sure why she keeps eating it if that is what it does to her. I really thought my rashes were caused from sulfites at one point. Gluten free has helped me so much, but of course I can't get her to listen. I even sent her that checklist that someone posted on this site. All I know is itching is no fun. I got told a year ago I had poison ivy and hadn't been near any. I hope your Mom figures it out as well as mine. Wendy

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