Can Lactose Affect Dh

[ranesbottom]

My 5 year old daughter Leilani has had skin problems since she was 6 mo old. At six months she had so many blisters all over her body the doctor said she had an unusual case of early chicken pox. But when the blisters didn't heal he said it was eczema. Eczema is the diagnosis that all the doctors have given her since then but none of the ointments do anything for it. We have also tried eliminating milk, wheat, rice, and nuts. That seemed to help but the problem did not completely go away so we put her back on all those foods.

She get dry patches like eczema but also blisters on her shoulders, but, elbows and knees that look just like the pictures of DH that I have seen. I am gluten intolerant so I have thought for a long time that it is DH. I took Leilani to a different doctor in July and he agreed with me, so I put her on the gluten-free diet. My husband does not believe that it is DH and I am wondering too because although it is a lot better she still gets a lot of itchy spots and lately some blisters on her shoulders.

So the reason for my question about lactose is it seems that if she eats a lot of ice cream or milk there is a skin reaction. I have read a lot that many people with celiac are lactose intolerant.

I know this message is all over the place, but if anyone has any advice about how I can figure out what is causing my daughter's skin condition I would really appreciate it.

Thank You!

[April in KC]

The physical locations you mentioned sound really suspicious for DH. Elbows, knees, butt are all classic DH places. I do not know about lactose and DH, but I do know that bad cases of DH can take a very long time to clear - sometimes more than a year. If it's DH, as the IgA levels in her blood and skin fall, her skin should get better and better over time. If it's DH, it also helps to avoid iodine - as in iodized table salt, sea salt, shrimp and seafood, etc. Iodine itself is not the problem, but iodine plays a role in the skin reaction. I noticed I would flare up after eating a bag of salty chips. I replaced all my salt shakers with non-iodized salt, and I temporarily cut back on the salty foods, and it helped.

I have DH, but only mild compared to some people. My elbows break out, and I get apthous ulcers inside my mouth. My knees get itchy, but they usually do not get visible spots. All of my itchy spots get more itchy and visible after a warm shower or bath. Mine initially cleared after about a month after going gluten-free, but it would flare up again with my monthly cycle and ANY time I got glutened. With each month that passed, the flare ups got less and less.

Are you positive you have all the gluten out of her diet? How sensitive are you? Is it possible she is sensitive to amounts of gluten that do not bother you? I ask because I have been gluten-free for close to a year now, and I have never accidentally eaten anything that contained gluten ingredients. However, accidental glutenings from cross contamination do happen, and they are enough to cause my DH to flare back up, in a mild way. You don't eat Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, soy sauce, or other sources of gluten, right?

If she is making progress gluten free in a way that seems two steps forward, one back, then I'd stay stick with it and start watching for excess salt and cross-contamination from processed foods.

Having said that, I would never tell someone that a skin reaction could NOT be from another food such as milk. My youngest of three sons had terrible skin reactions as a baby (I think he must have DH like me). When I eliminated gluten, the worst of his eczema cleared up...but I also had to eliminate corn and grapes for it to completely clear up. In his case, different patches of eczema corresponded to different foods.

Best of luck! - April

[gfgypsyqueen]

My youngest has a skin rash that was also labeled exzema. But nothing made it better. Older sister had horrible rashes on that were also called excema but only temorarily improved with meds.

Youngest went Dairy free (dairy allergy) after inconclusive Celiac tests. Still got rashes and could never find the problem. Turns out the insanely itchy rash on the baby is what finally made me make her gluten-free. Her rashes mainly appear on her feet, legs, and in her scalp. And she scratches until they bleed.Nothing stops the itching. But when she is CF/gluten-free no rashes. She is EXTREMELY sensitive to dairy. So I can't officially say if she has DH or an allergy, but either way she can't have trace levels of dairy or gluten.

Older sister also went Dairy free and her rashes went away. She is just Severly lactose intolerant. A lactaid pill and she can eat a slice or two of pizza without problems.

So to me, the rashes can be DH - sounds very likely - or they could be food allergies and sensitivities. See if you can pinpoint the foods that bother her - anything can be the food that causes the problems.

[RoseTapper]

Yes, it could very well be the dairy products that are triggering the blisters. In fact, that's how I found out that iodine was a problem for me (way before I discovered the gluten connection). I had had horrible, itchy blisters on my face and neck for four years when I remembered that iodine used to cause similar blisters when I was younger. I had always avoided iodine because of that....so I wondered: Where am I getting iodine in my diet if I'm avoiding iodized salt and seafood?? The answer came within two weeks. I read an article that stated that milk and dairy products can have very high levels of iodine in them in certain areas of the States/world. In fact, for a time, Canada had a warning that milk was too high in iodine to be drunk by children in that country. I live in Northern California and had moved to a new area when I was 30. From age 30 to 34, I suffered miserably from DH on my face and neck--thank goodness I spotted that article on the iodine connection to dairy. After going off the dairy, my DH faded away. So, yes, you might take her off dairy....and then sometime down the road, begin serving her only organic milk and dairy products (which oftentimes don't contain iodine). With DH, you have to remember that iodine can plan an equally important role as gluten.