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Can Someone Explain Dh To Me?

givenupgluten

By givenupgluten
in Dermatitis Herpetiformis

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givenupgluten Explorer
givenupgluten
Posted

What does it look like exactly? When i saw my gastro dr. just recently he was asking if I ever broke out in 'rashes' or had itchy spells before going gluten free. I said no, not really giving it too much thought. My mother has celiac and she has never had any skin problems at all either, so I really never associated the two. I pretty much assumed I didnt either but, when i came home and told my bf about it, he mentioned several occasions where I did have extremely itchy sensitive skin but I never broke out in to any kind of rash. Just recently I had a large area on my shin that was itchy and I scratched and it broke out =- It looks awful. I'm terribly embarrassed to wear shorts or skirts, but it's HOT so I'm doing it anyway! haha

It's been almost two weeks now that I've had it and while it's very itchy, I've tried not to scratch it. It looks just as terrible as the first day though. It looks sort of like a rash (i guess) and bumpy and red. I can't tell if I just scratched too much in the beginning and made it break out like that, or if this is something else. Can anyone explain what dh looks like, or what their symptoms are like?

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RoseTapper Newbie
RoseTapper
Posted

For me, DH presents as blisters surrounded by inflamed skin (pink or red). The area itches for a while before the blisters form, and then the blisters themselves are extremely itchy. The worst of the itching continues for about 48 hours after the blister pops, and then the tissue underneath kind of hurts in addition to itching. The pain lasts for about another 48 hours and then the area starts to scab over. However, the itching continues for about six weeks with me, and the purple scarring that remains takes months to fade away.

givenupgluten Explorer
givenupgluten
Posted
  • Author

Thank you SO much for being so thorough..as I really know nothing about this aspect of the disease. I know that not everyone has this reaction, and it's probably just a coincidence that this is happening to me now. But I wanted to understand it better. Whatever is happening on my legs looks pretty awful. Is it possible to have the terribly itchy skin, but it not be accompanied by the blisters,etc?

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
Thank you SO much for being so thorough..as I really know nothing about this aspect of the disease. I know that not everyone has this reaction, and it's probably just a coincidence that this is happening to me now. But I wanted to understand it better. Whatever is happening on my legs looks pretty awful. Is it possible to have the terribly itchy skin, but it not be accompanied by the blisters,etc?

"Just recently I had a large area on my shin that was itchy and I scratched and it broke out =- It looks awful. "

You may have been doing that scratching as the blisters were forming and not noticed them. If you have a derm look at it he can biopsy BESIDE the lesions and if it is DH he will find antibodies in the adjacent tissue. As mentioned DH leaves distinctive purple scars. That is also a sign.

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