Itchy Red Rash All Over Torso

[laurajane]

Hi all,

I went MOSTLY gluten-free a year ago. I've never tested positive for celiac but I have other issues which led me to think that gluten could be a problem for me, so I decided to cut it out of my diet. Twice in the past 6-8 months, however, I have splurged on some bread and both times I developed a VERY itchy red splotchy rash all over my torso. It doesn't blister or ooze and doesn't seem to match the DH descriptions -- seem closer to a "yeast rash" though it doesn't occur exclusively in folds of skin, etc -- it's all over.

The first time was last May when I ate a hamburger with bun and three days later broke out in this rash. The second time was over this Thanksgiving, when I ate stuffing on Thursday, a few bites of bread on Friday, and some pie crust on Saturday. Yesterday, Tuesday, the rash came back again. Same rash.

I'm not sure if I should be blaming the wheat/gluten, or the yeast, or both? Maybe candida is an issue? Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree altogether? It does seem like too much to be a coincidence. I don't know, but I would really welcome some input from you experienced folks!

Thanks so much.

LJ

PS -- I do eat small amounts of wheat from time to time, but never bread or anything leavened. I seem to be okay eating, for example, a soup that has a bit of flour as a thickener -- though maybe I should be avoiding this too.

[ravenwoodglass]

Can you get an appointment with a derm? The derm can biopsy the area adjacent to the rash to check for the antibodies. If the antibodies are found that that is a conclusive diagnosis of celiac. If you do have celiac you should not be eating small amounts of gluten, even the little bit that is in a soup. The fact that this rash shows up 3 days after consumption is a good indication that the reaction is autoimmune, or celiac related rather than an allergic or histamine reaction which would occur within at the most hours of consumption.

[dilettantesteph]

My son had that at around 2 years. Dermatologist said it was excema. Later at 10 years he was diagnosed with celiac after he started throwing up 10 times a day and missed 49 days of school during diagnosis and figuring out the diet. I think the dermatologist missed DH. You would do well to eliminate gluten now after diagnosis as in previous post rather than let the condition progress and end up in a bad state like my son did.

[laurajane]

Hi dilettantesteph and ravenwoodglass,

Thank you both for your replies. What you both say makes sense. I could probably get to a derm but here is my question -- the rash is following the exact same pattern it did last time, which is to say that it is now invisible. I am left with itching which is not as severe as when there was visible redness. It seems the rash fades visibly and then the itching gradually subsides over a period of 2 or 3 weeks. Do you think there could still be antibodies even though I can no longer see the rash?

Also, do you think I should disregard the negative blood test I had? When I had the test I was not eating gluten, or if I was it was in very small accidental amounts. I know I've read different things about whether the blood tests are even accurate, and I definitely as avoiding gluten at the time when I had the test (it was about a month after that first rash appeared last spring).

One other thing -- the rash does seem to respond at least partially to antihistamines and cortisone cream. This past week, on the worst day, I got home from work and my back was very red and splotchy and inflamed looking. I took a benadryl and it quieted down quite a bit. Though I imagine it's possible to have a histamine reaction that is somehow secondary to an autoimmune thing?

Sorry for all the questions and again, thank you both for your replies!!

LJ

[laurajane]

Sorry, one more thing --

I've also noticed that I retain water after eating a lot of wheat. I used to think it was normal to wake up with a slight overall puffiness in my face, most noticeable in my upper lip. I don't think anyone else would ever notice it but I could always tell when I was putting on my makeup that my lip was slightly swollen. This resolved after I switched to my mostly gluten-free diet. I have noticed, however, that it has returned since the rash showed up after Thanksgiving. Does this sound characteristic of Celiac?

Also, if I can't get the skin biopsy or if that comes back negative as well, is there another type of testing I should look into? I do have a very compliant, helpful, and reasonably knowledgeable integrative med doctor. His specialty is really endocrine/thyroid stuff, but he is aware of and open to celiac issues, candida etc.

Thanks!!