Molluscum Bumps/rash Spreading After Going gluten-free

[sugarsue]

DD7 has a bad case of molluscum. She has tested negative for any celiac or gluten intolerance or wheat allergy, but I could see some possible behavor improvements when she went gluten free so we decided to do a trial run. Since then, she feels a lot better, is a lot less angry. But the molluscum has spread all over her body (pretty much everywhere except her face).

I am considering that maybe removing the gluten allowed her body to start to try to fight the virus. Could this be possible? Why might her skin issues get worse after going gluten free? Sometimes I wonder if it's all molluscum or if she has something else going on as well. It may be time for another trip to the dermatologist.

I have been trying to research to see if there is a molluscum/gluten connection but have only found one reference.

Thanks!

Susan

[littleguyw/CD]

Hi there!

Our son had the Molluscum bumps and we did not have a clue why (at the time) he had them. We when to the Dr and where told that they would go away in 18 months or so and there

[sugarsue]

Hi there!

Our son had the Molluscum bumps and we did not have a clue why (at the time) he had them. We when to the Dr and where told that they would go away in 18 months or so and there

[AliB]

This is only a theory but I would suspect that removing the gluten is now freeing up the immune system to start working and may well have triggered a temporary increase. Gluten can suppress the immune system. A poor immune system will not have the power to fight attacks that a healthy one would just shake off.

Another thing I would suggest, in order to give the immune system as much support as possible to fight the virii, is to try to keep her diet as pure as possible. There are a lot of 'food-like substances' out there that are very detrimental to the body and if they are putting extra burdens on the body it distracts it from the healing process. Try to remove as much refined sugar from her diet as possible, keep her dairy to a minimum as processed, pasteurised and homogenised dairy is not good for the body (if you can get her to eat fresh vegetables, salad and fruit, she will get enough calcium) and do not overload on the gluten-free foods. They are very high in carbohydrates and can feed and/or encourage pathogenic microbes.

Try to stick to fresh (preferably organic) meat, fish poultry, fruit, veg, nuts if she can tolerate them, and raw honey and recipes made from these (have a look at 'Pecanbread', a good website aimed at children with ASD, but valuable info for us all and loads of recipes), and use good natural plain probiotic yogurt or probiotic capsules suitable for children to boost her good gut flora and provide extra immune support.

Skin rashes and infections can actually be the body's way of trying to offload toxins. If, for any reason the immune system is struggling and cannot expel toxins through the normal routes, it will use whatever is at its disposal. teenage acne is usually nothing more than the body getting to the stage where it is trying to expel toxins acquired during childhood from the plethora of processed food, sweets, colourings, chemicals and anything else that has been thrown at it.

Teenagers who live in cultures not exposed to the rubbish, do not get acne!

Has she had any antibiotics in the past?

[sugarsue]

This is only a theory but I would suspect that removing the gluten is now freeing up the immune system to start working and may well have triggered a temporary increase. Gluten can suppress the immune system. A poor immune system will not have the power to fight attacks that a healthy one would just shake off.

Teenagers who live in cultures not exposed to the rubbish, do not get acne!

Has she had any antibiotics in the past?

Hello! Yes, she has had LOADS of antibiotics in the past with chronic ear infections, tonsilitis, etc. She has chronic candida now from it and we are working on her yeast problem. I know she does eat too much sugar and carbs. I am working on cleaning up her diet by removing artificial dyes which she is very sensitive to and the gluten but I have not cut out sugars yet. She has started taking vitamin C and some other supplements at the suggestion of our doc to boost her immune system.

Very interesting about the acne in other cultures!

Tonight as I was giving her her "treatment" which is bascially me treating each lesion with tea tree oil after an epsom salt bath. I was also treating many other large areas of her body with creams (which do not seem like molluscum), very dry and itchy patches under her arms, on her torso, arms, etc. It is horrible that anyone should have to go through this, much less a small child. I feel so bad for her.

I appreciate your thoughts on removing the gluten and how it may have affected her. We will stick with it and I believe cleaning up her diet as you suggest can only help in many ways, not only this one!!

PS.... I've been researching tonight, and I think part of her rash may be candida. I wonder if the yeast is on the move after removing the gluten and coming out on her skin too?!

[littleguyw/CD]

Any chance that your son's was not molluscum but dermatitis hepaformis (related to celiacs)?

Susan,

He had Molluscum for sure we saw 3 different Dr and all of them said the same thing. And after we took him off of gluten the bumps were gone in about a week or so...I think? Jack (our son) has been gluten since 12-05-08 so not very long and we have seen HUGE changes in him!!

We were very thankful to the Dr for adding on the Celiac test... even if he was an a$$! Thats a whole other LONG story LOL

good luck and I hope everything works out with you guys

sonia

[AliB]

Hello! Yes, she has had LOADS of antibiotics in the past with chronic ear infections, tonsilitis, etc. She has chronic candida now from it and we are working on her yeast problem. I know she does eat too much sugar and carbs. I am working on cleaning up her diet by removing artificial dyes which she is very sensitive to and the gluten but I have not cut out sugars yet. She has started taking vitamin C and some other supplements at the suggestion of our doc to boost her immune system.

Very interesting about the acne in other cultures!

Tonight as I was giving her her "treatment" which is bascially me treating each lesion with tea tree oil after an epsom salt bath. I was also treating many other large areas of her body with creams (which do not seem like molluscum), very dry and itchy patches under her arms, on her torso, arms, etc. It is horrible that anyone should have to go through this, much less a small child. I feel so bad for her.

I appreciate your thoughts on removing the gluten and how it may have affected her. We will stick with it and I believe cleaning up her diet as you suggest can only help in many ways, not only this one!!

PS.... I've been researching tonight, and I think part of her rash may be candida. I wonder if the yeast is on the move after removing the gluten and coming out on her skin too?!

If I had a cent for everyone with a yeast problem who has had antibiotics I would be a rich woman!

Our kid gets an infection - the first thing we do is pay a visit to the doctor-god and he gives us a course of pills to give them. Great in theory, but in practice what is happening is the pattern is then set for an ever escalating downward spiral of further infections and weakened immune support.

Each infection will be worse than the last and each time the immune system is stripped of more of its strength until we can get to the stage where we are stuck in a situation where not only is the immune system not able to fight infection any more but the antibiotics won't work either because the bacteria has become resistant to it. Hence the epidemical rise in antibiotic-resistant strains like MRSA, C.Diff and E.Coli. I am not saying that they may not be needed in certain cases, but it is the indiscriminate over-use that has led to this paradox.

Ironically, apart from very rare occasions where a child has a very compromised immune system from the start, most childhood infections clear up just as well, and just as quickly without antibiotics, as with them. What compounds the problem is that many are also given the wrong type of antibiotics, or also given them on a 'just in case' basis which is criminal and totally irresponsible.

Every time we are given antibiotics the pathogens get a greater grip - even bacteria like Candida which is a normal part of gut flora, can become pathogenic if given the opportunity. Yeasts are not touched by antibiotics so they have free reign to take over and let their bed-fellows in! It is reckoned that 70 - 80% of the Western population has Candida overgrowth, and that will contribute to further infections in the body.

What we see in an infection is the inflammation. Our first instinct is to get rid of the inflammation. But it is there for a reason. The body increases the core temperature to kill the invading bacteria. If we try to cool the area down or take preparations to cool it down we are depriving the body of its defense mechanism and the chance of the pathogen surviving and spreading is much more likely.

The stronger the immune system is, the quicker and easier it can fight pathogens. People with very strong immune systems rarely, if ever, get sick.

We need to give the body the tools it needs to build the immune system, to protect itself and fight infection. It has a fantastic ability to do that - if we support it and let it do its job properly. Antibiotics undermine the immune system by destroying the good bacteria along with the bad, the bacteria that keeps the digestive tract functioning properly, that fights and keeps the bad bacteria under control, that provides essential enzymes, minerals and vitamins and strengthens immune support. The role of good gut flora has only just recently been realised and years of ignoring it and destroying it have taken their toll on us all.

Children can often have compromised immune systems right from the start because they do not have good gut flora passed on from their also gut flora-compromised parents, especially the mother. Those who are formula-fed will also not have strong gut flora and so the cycle continuously repeats itself through each successive generation. We then spoil the little darlings (and I fell into that trap too, as is my daughter with our grandsons) with lots of goodies, goodies that are actually 'baddies' as far as our health is concerned.

We think that because we are surrounded by the stuff and 'everyone' eats it that it is normal and must be good for us, but that is not true. The fact that 'everyone' is eating it is contributing to the fact that 'everyone' is sick in some way or another and 'everyone' relies on drugs or medicinal preparations to prop them up all the time. We are oblivious to the fact that by eating it we are actually abusing ourselves and our children.

I did not realise this until my digestion collapsed and I finally realised what I was doing to my body and what my family was heading for. It was not until I came on to this forum that it really hit me how many people are suffering with conditions that the Medical Profession has no answer for. It is fortunate in many ways that you have been able to pick up on this while your daughter is still young enough to adapt - many like me, suffer for years, getting worse and worse before they are able to finally understand what is going on - some sadly never figure it out.

There are a lot of sites on the Specific Carb Diet (SCD) but Pecanbread, and 'breaking the vicious cycle' are the main ones. There are a lot of SCD websites springing up now as people realise the value of eating 'pure' foods and most of them have a lot of recipes too.

I love Naomi Devlin's blog - she makes SCD and gluten-free goodies for her little boy and herself and is an enjoyable read too.

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I do hope your little one recovers soon, it must be horrible for her to have to deal with that at her age. My grandsons have issues I am sure are connected with gluten and dairy. I am trying to get my daughter into the mind-set of feeding both them, and herself, more healthily.

[sugarsue]

Thanks to those who helped with the molluscum issue. The verdict today is that, yes she does still have molluscum but it is resolving itself nicely (I think from going gluten free!) but that it appears she has very bad exzema too. He said if it were for me, he'd do the skin biopsy and test for DH too but since she's only 7 it's not worth the test right now since we are going gluten free anyway and that is the treatment if it were DH. I don't know if that's the right decision but we go back in 2 weeks for a checkup.

That said, any reason why she would get bad eczema after going gluten free? That seems strange to me unless it's more detoxing??

Thanks for any thoughts you have.