Can Dh Come And Go?

[Terri-Anne 0]

Mydaughter often breaks out in a bumpy "rash" on the back of her neck in the hairline. This rash comes and goes. It could be absent for weeks, then suddenly appear, staying for 3 or 4 days, then disappear as suddenly as it came. The rash on her neck does itch. To me it looks more like small pus filled pimples, than little blisters. The contents appear whitish, not clear.

She also wears "Good night Pull ups" at bedtime, and also has a nasty bumpy "rash" that comes and goes on her buttocks. Again, it could appear one day, last for a few days, and then recede for a few days to weeks before reappearing. My sister suggested maybe this was a sort of heat rash, related to wearing the pull-ups and being sweaty in them, but the rash is only on her buttocks, not in the front areas at all. Daughter says the bumps on her behind hurt rather than itch.

Third symptom that has me wondering, is cracks near the corner of her mouth. I know that true "angular cheilitis" which can be related to celiac is right in the corner of the mouth where the lips meet. Daughter's crack(s) are very near the corner, but not exactly at the junction. These cracks appear more rarely than the rashes, like maybe only once every other month, but she is the only one of my children who gets them. She can feel them coming on, as she tells me when one is starting. She thinks they are cold sores, like her older sister gets, but I know they are not. They are very different from the blistering, crusting herpes cold sore my oldest daughter is prone to.

She is currently on a mainstream gluten filled diet! I hate to appear alarmist and bark up the wrong tree completely, especially when I know how difficult it is to convince physicians that celiac is real and present. If I am going to have to get into "bull dog" mode in pursuing a diagnosis, I want to have my facts straight first, so that my confidence won't be shaken by a patronizing doctor.

SOooooo do her symptoms sound like Dermatitis Herpetiformis/Celiac disease, or should I be looking elsewhere for a reason for her "rashes"?

[lovegrov 151]

All I do is comment from my own experience. It does not sound like the DH I had.

richard

[KaitiUSA 9]

When I have accidentally have gluten I get itchy on my elbows and around my knees. I will get bumps there and it will be itchy for a while and then the bumps will go away. My diet normally controls it. I don't get it as much now. Before I was diagnosed it would happen very frequently. This may not happen in everyone this was just my personal experience.

Good luck

[lbsteenwyk 0]

My 3 yo daughter has had a rash on her bottom that sounds similar to your child's. The Ped said it was eczema and gave her elidel (sp?) cream. My understanding is that celiac kids are also more prone to eczema. She also had a dry bumpy itchy rash all over her body (really I couldn't see it, but could feel it). The elidel did seem to help; but what I found to be most helpful was to slather her with Eucerin every night before bed. She's really improved and rarely scratches anymore. I don't know if her rash was related to her celiac disease or not.

[Terri-Anne 0]

Thanks for your responses!

[cdford 2]

Hi! Your daughter's rash around the neck and hairline seem exactly like mine and my daughter's.

That is the first place I break out. If your daughter thinks about it, she may realize that she senses these coming on as well, though that area is not as sensitive. DH can come in different places on different people. Mine starts in my hairline, then my chin and ears, then shows up on my shoulders, arms, and backside. Those on my backside are tender like boils. Not sure why they feel different. I can sense the ones on my face before they ever get that light red look then break out into the pus pocket things. My daughter gets them in her hairline, but never in her ears, always on her lower legs first. She rarely gets them around her hips and rear. In both our cases, the bumps were first diagnosed as other things like eczema. It was not until the celiac disease diagnosis that it was determined to be DH.

The only way to be sure is to test them, but you can probably get a pretty good idea by keeping a food diary.

[Thangalin 0]

hey,

noticed that you mentioned your daughter gets icky cold sores. you've probably done some research on the topic, but in case you haven't, there are some tips and details at:

http://joot.com/dave/writings/articles/sores.shtml

ciao!

N