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My Dh Is Back! Advice?

Pegster

By Pegster
in Dermatitis Herpetiformis

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Pegster Apprentice
Pegster
Posted

When I received my diagnosis of DH six months ago, I became gluten-free and everything cleared up right away. Suddenly I have the DH on my elbows and I seem to have hives in strange places. I can't trace anything I might have eaten recently. Does anyone know if DH can just flare up even if I've been gluten-free (with very few mistakes) for 6 months? How long does it take the antibodies to go away? How long after a gluten accident does DH appear? I have never been on dapsone but I'm thinking about discussing it with my dermatologist. Advice? Help?

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tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

I don't have DH, and I'm sure others who do will respond with some great advice, but thought I'd have a go based on what I've read.

Do carefully check anything that goes in your mouth or on your skin for gluten and the hidden varieties of gluten. It's SO easy to overlook something that we usually don't think about. And, I've read, iodine is important in the process of the IgA deposits creating the skin lesions, so the advice there was to reduce iodine in the diet (particularly cutting out iodized salt) until it clears up.

Pegster Apprentice
Pegster
Posted
  • Author

I hadn't thought about iodized salt. I have been eating tortilla chips a lot. I guess I have to watch more than gluten. Thanks for responding TIffany.

tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

From what I understand, that's only while there's gluten in your system and DH lesions. Once it's cleared, you don't have to be as careful about iodine any more. But try googling DH and iodine and see what you see for better information than what's left in my brain. ;-)

ponita Newbie
ponita
Posted

Peggy,

For me the DH appears when I have had a known gluten item. For example,I had a 1/2 of a donut this weekend (sunday afternoon in fact) and on Tuesday evening became awre of the DH rash starting on my arms. So now and in the past my reaction time seems to be 48 hours.

I have been gluten-free since June and can say with very few mishaps ... but this donut on my dinning room table was more than I could handle.

My dermatologist gave me a topical cream to use in case of flareups (Lociod lipocream). My goal was to never need to use the cream. When I broke out this week I went on over yesterday to his office for a biospy to confirm what it was.

I hope you find what casued your DH to flareup.

Melissa

Pegster Apprentice
Pegster
Posted
  • Author

I'm pretty sure the gluten I got was in some ricola throat lozenges and some teas I was drinking when I had a cold. I didn't even look at the ingredients, because it's my first gluten-free cold! Now I know to be more careful. The DH cleared up pretty well after about a week. Thanks for your replies.

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