Iodine

[Mack]

I was diagnoised with DH about three months ago, and read that I was not to use idodized salt, and to avoid foods with lots of idoine, and make sure my medicines did not have any gulten or idoine in them. It is pretty hard to find vit. with out idoine. Does any one else have this problem

[darlindeb25]

Someone with a stronger intolerance to iodine will probably come along, so I will bump this up. I do have a problem with iodine on my skin, not so sure about how much of a problem I have when eating it. I use sea salt now, and do not get much iodine otherwise. My vitamin does have the daily allotment of iodine in it, so I can't help you there.

[mysecretcurse]

I personally feel that is really bad advice. Iodine is an ESSENTIAL nutrient. You should not avoid iodine, you should be taking iodine. I have celiac and DH and I take 50mgs of iodine daily. There is barely anything in the multivitamins I take like hundreds of times that amount daily.

The only thing you should avoid for DH is GLUTEN!

Iodine is essential for the thyroid, proper detoxification, and a lot of other functions in the body. It does not trigger my Dh unless there is gluten in my system.

My health has improved so so much since doing iodine therapy.

[ravenwoodglass]

It can be hard to find a vitamin without iodine. Most do not have very much in them so I go with the one that has the least. The ones I take only have 6% of the daily value (from kelp) and I have had no issues with them now that I have healed fully. Before my DH went into remission I simply used seperate specific vitamins rather than a multi. I do avoid it in salt. You are correct about avoiding it at least until all your lesions have cleared and you have no new ones. After you have been a while without an outbreak you can try adding back in iodized salt if desired and watch for lesions. The iodine reactivates the antibodies in the skin, once those have cleared you may be able to tolerate it.

[darlindeb25]

The only thing you should avoid for DH is GLUTEN!

This is not such good advice either, not when you have a problem with iodine.

https://www.celiac.com/articles/177/1/The-G...rmis/Page1.html

Open Original Shared Link

DH is not an allergic reaction; a different mechanism is involved. It

is caused by antibodies to the gluten found in wheat, rye, and barley.

The causes of DH flares include large quantities of iodides (some

iodine is needed in the diet), kelp, shellfish, non-steroidal

anti-inflammatory agents (such as aspirin), gluten, stress, and some

cleansers.

What else looks like DH?

* DH can be misdiagnosed as psoriasis, or the patient may have both

conditions.

* Linear IgA disease--the immunofluorescence pattern is different,

but it looks and feels the same as DH to the patient.

* Allergic contact reactions.

DH is treated by adherence to a gluten-free (gluten-free) diet. The skin

lesions can be treated with either a sulfone (Dapsone) or sulfonamide

(Sulfapyradine) drug. In about 85% of the cases, at least a year on a

strict gluten-free diet is needed before DH is resolved. In rare cases DH

lesions clear up after only a few weeks on the gluten-free diet.

Dapsone can have side effects, though these are not common. It can

alter blood chemistry, causing anemia. Those of Mediterranean or

African ancestry can have sudden red blood cell count drops [known as

G6PD Deficiency--Dr. Alexander]. Other complications include

tingling fingers and neurological problems.

Ideally, if the patient is on medication there would be monthly lab

tests to monitor the dosage and effect on the patient. This almost

never happens.

The gluten-free diet takes a long time to bring DH under control because it

requires time to clear the IgA and IgG from the blood. So even if one

is on a gluten-free diet and/or taking Dapsone, technically one has DH. Like

an alcoholic, one always has the disease.

Dr. Papp concluded his presentation by answering a few questions from

the audience.

Q: How soon after ingesting gluten or iodine will a flare occur?

A: It varies tremendously. With iodine, it usually takes several

days of consumption before a flare occurs.

Q: What effect does stress have on a DH patient?

A: It intensifies any symptoms the patient is experiencing.

Q: What effect does iodine on the skin have?

A: It really has no effect; it doesn't penetrate enough. Iodine must

be consumed to cause a DH flare.

Q: After several years on a gluten-free diet with no flares, is iodine still a

problem?

A: No.

Open Original Shared Link

Environmental Triggers

Environmental triggers include gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, and barley, and other grains that are contaminated with wheat during harvest. Gluten is also found in hydrolyzed vegetable protein, artificial colorings, malts, malt ales, hydrolyzed plant protein, monosodium glutamate, preservatives, modified food starches, vegetable gum, beer, and vinegar. Iodide in iodized salt and foods high in iodine and halide are suspected of causing disease flares.

[mysecretcurse]

I understand, but iodine is neccessary for the body to properly function.

[linuxprincess]

I personally feel that is really bad advice. Iodine is an ESSENTIAL nutrient. You should not avoid iodine, you should be taking iodine. I have celiac and DH and I take 50mgs of iodine daily. There is barely anything in the multivitamins I take like hundreds of times that amount daily.

The only thing you should avoid for DH is GLUTEN!

Iodine is essential for the thyroid, proper detoxification, and a lot of other functions in the body. It does not trigger my Dh unless there is gluten in my system.

My health has improved so so much since doing iodine therapy.

I heavily disagree with this as someone who has DH flare ups at milk, wheat and possibly iodine now, too. I am worried about not getting iodine in my diet and I understand that can be an issue later on. Symptoms of Celiac's, including DH, often worsen for people the longer they avoid certain triggers or allergens and overtime they develop new intoerances. There are natural ways to get iodine besides salt that has been chemically treated; kelp, kombu and other salt water marine life often have acceptable levels of iodine in them that many Celiac's do not react to as heavily as salt that has been treated with iodine. Also, as iodine is very water soluble, this may be why sea life is a great alternative for a less harmful iodine intake.

Another thing to remember is that everyone's body is different and what may work for you does not always work for another. If a food or supplement bothers you in any way then simply stay away from it. Your body is telling you something when you have that reaction. Look for other sources to get your nutrients. The planet has given us vast amounts of resources that we should look to for help.

[ChemistMama]

Yes, you can troll this discussion as much as you want, and we'll still agree with you: iodine is a necessary nutrient. However, very intelligent people who study this thing for a living while wearing white lab coats have done research which proves that iodine is also involved in the formation of DH blisters on the skin. An old test to see if you have DH is to place a pad soaked with iodine solution on your skin, and if you have DH the region will start to flare up.

You only need 150 MICROGRAMS of iodine daily in your diet to feed your thyroid, since it can't store iodine.

To compare, one teaspoon of iodized salt has 400 mcg. One cup of low fat yogurt has 87 micrograms. You can easily get more than your daily requirement without taking supplements. For us DHers, too much iodine can cause flare-ups. I am proof of that; I stopped taking my vitamins, and when I resumed I took two (contaiing 300 mcg) and got a flare-up the next day.

See links below for info on iodine and how much of it is in the foods you eat.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

For those interested, Country Life sells multi vitamins without iodine! They are also gluten free.

Open Original Shared Link

[mysecretcurse]

Um.. troll this discussion?

I'm not a troll, I'm a member of this forum and have been for some time.

I'm simply trying to help by offering the information that I know. If that's "trolling" then I guess this place isn't what I thought it was. (a support group)

However, very intelligent people who study this thing for a living while wearing white lab coats have done research which proves that iodine is also involved in the formation of DH blisters on the skin.

Yes. I'm aware of this. I also consider myself to be intelligent and I do my research as well.

[April in KC]

I guess I'm on both sides of this one. I found it very helpful to lessen iodine exposure for about six months after going gluten-free. It helped my DH go away and stay away. I would get noticeble flares after salty food or seafood.

After avoiding iodine for some time, I developed some minor thyroid issues - I was starting to feel a lump when I swallowed. I knew it was time to reintroduce iodine in my diet.

If you're going to cut back on iodine, please be aware of the symptoms of iodine deficiency:

- enlarged thyroid (goitre)

- dry skin

- hair loss

- fatigue