Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):
  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Help! I Have Weeping Eczema On My Face. Could It Be Caused By Gluten?


BoyWonder

Recommended Posts

BoyWonder Newbie

Ok long story short i started getting these itchy bumps in between the webs of my fingers,

these itchy bumps resemble little tapiocas...they are tiny and have a dimple in the center. and are very itchy.

i also started getting similar bumps on my arms and elbows...legs, etc. around this time i also started developing weeping eczema on my face...

ive had extensive blood work done at the request of my doctor to see if there was anything wrong with me and it all came back normal.

ive had bacterial cultures and biopsies done on the itchy spots and those all came back normal.

i even had a biopsy done on a new cluster of bumps that appeared on my hand by a dermatologist. i asked if he would be able to see that i have dermatitis herpitoformis from the biopsy and he said yes (but i read that in order to successfuly test for DH..u actually have to do a biopsy on the area AROUND the lesion? not the actual lesion itself?) so im confused...anyway the test came back normal too..

no doctor has ever suggested that i have a gluten sensitivity...but my own research online says that i might have it.

my question is

1.)

i read that only people of european descent can have celiac disease is this true?

2.) has anyone on here suffered from eczema, WEEPING eczema to be exact due to gluten? is that even possible?

3.) if i do have asensitivity to gluten why am i only suddenly now developing these itchy bumps,eczema ?? ive never had these before in my life prior to last year... (im 24 years old)

i need help :(

this has been driving me crazy


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



mushroom Proficient
Ok long story short i started getting these itchy bumps in between the webs of my fingers,

these itchy bumps resemble little tapiocas...they are tiny and have a dimple in the center. and are very itchy.

i also started getting similar bumps on my arms and elbows...legs, etc. around this time i also started developing weeping eczema on my face...

ive had extensive blood work done at the request of my doctor to see if there was anything wrong with me and it all came back normal.

ive had bacterial cultures and biopsies done on the itchy spots and those all came back normal.

i even had a biopsy done on a new cluster of bumps that appeared on my hand by a dermatologist. i asked if he would be able to see that i have dermatitis herpitoformis from the biopsy and he said yes (but i read that in order to successfuly test for DH..u actually have to do a biopsy on the area AROUND the lesion? not the actual lesion itself?) so im confused...anyway the test came back normal too..

no doctor has ever suggested that i have a gluten sensitivity...but my own research online says that i might have it.

my question is

1.)

i read that only people of european descent can have celiac disease is this true?

2.) has anyone on here suffered from eczema, WEEPING eczema to be exact due to gluten? is that even possible?

3.) if i do have asensitivity to gluten why am i only suddenly now developing these itchy bumps,eczema ?? ive never had these before in my life prior to last year... (im 24 years old)

i need help :(

this has been driving me crazy

Do you know if your doctor ordered the full celiac panel of blood tests? If so, get a copy of the results and post them on here, including the reference ranges.

Answer to question 1: No, as far as I know this is totally false.

Answer to question 2: Not within my experience. I have psoriasis, not eczema. However, most of my family have symptoms of gluten sensitivity and my baby brother developed the most horrible weeping eczema shortly after birth; however, he was never diagnosed even though he went on to develop other gluten-suspicious problems before his death.

Answer to question 3: Those with a predisposition (generally genetic inheritance) to celiac often only develop it after a trigger event--physical or emotional trauma, pregnancy, major surgery, etc., etc.. You can develop it at any time; looking back you can often see early symptoms you didn't recognize as gluten sensitivity.

I have had in the past lots of tiny red itchy spots on my hands and wrists which have recently seemed to have gone away (15 months gluten free).

Your problems may not be related to gluten. And if your doctor did the biopsy on the actual lesion and not the area adjacent to it, that would not diagnose dermatitis herpetiformis. As you obviously realize, biopsying the lesion is not correct procedure. And the biopsy must be done while the lesion is active.

Post your results here and the celiac experts on the forum will evaluate them for you.

Sorry not to be able to be more helpful. Others, I am sure, will also answer.

GFinDC Veteran

Hi Boywonder,

I don't know much about DH myself. But this thread in the DH area might help you identify it. CuriousGeorge posted some pics of DH in it.

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.ph...mp;#entry510306

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,322
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    James Minton
    Newest Member
    James Minton
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • catnapt
      oh that's interesting... it's hard to say for sure but it has *seemed* like oats might be causing me some vague issues in the past few months. It's odd that I never really connect specific symptoms to foods, it's more of an all over feeling of unwellness after  eating them.  If it happens a few times after eating the same foods- I cut back or avoid them. for this reason I avoid dairy and eggs.  So far this has worked well for me.  oh, I have some of Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot cereal and I love it! it's hard to find but I will be looking for more.  for the next few weeks I'm going to be concentrating on whole fresh fruits and veggies and beans and nuts and seeds. I'll have to find out if grains are truly necessary in our diet. I buy brown rice pasta but only eat that maybe once a month at most. Never liked quinoa. And all the other exotic sounding grains seem to be time consuming to prepare. Something to look at later. I love beans and to me they provide the heft and calories that make me feel full for a lot longer than a big bowl of broccoli or other veggies. I can't even tolerate the plant milks right now.  I have reached out to the endo for guidance regarding calcium intake - she wants me to consume 1000mgs from food daily and I'm not able to get to more than 600mgs right now.  not supposed to use a supplement until after my next round of testing for hyperparathyroidism.   thanks again- you seem to know quite a bit about celiac.  
    • trents
      Welcome to the celiac.com community, @SilkieFairy! You could also have NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity) as opposed to celiac disease. They share many of the same symptoms, especially the GI ones. There is no test for NCGS. Celiac disease must first be ruled out.
    • trents
      Under the circumstances, your decision to have the testing done on day 14 sounds very reasonable. But I think by now you know for certain that you either have celiac disease or NCGS and either way you absolutely need to eliminate gluten from your diet. I don't think you have to have an official diagnosis of celiac disease to leverage gluten free service in hospitals or institutional care and I'm guessing your physician would be willing to grant you a diagnosis of gluten sensitivity (NCGS) even if your celiac testing comes up negative. Also, you need to be aware that oats (even gluten free oats) is a common cross reactor in the celiac community. Oat protein (avenin) is similar to gluten. You might want to look at some other gluten free hot  breakfast cereal alternatives.
    • SilkieFairy
      After the birth of my daughter nearly 6 years ago, my stools changed. They became thin if they happened to be solid (which was rare) but most of the time it was Bristol #6 (very loose and 6-8x a day). I was on various medications and put it down to that. A few years later I went on this strict "fruit and meat" diet where I just ate meat, fruit, and squash vegetables. I noticed my stools were suddenly formed, if a bit narrow. I knew then that the diarrhea was probably food related not medication related. I tried following the fodmap diet but honestly it was just too complicated, I just lived with pooping 8x a day and wondering how I'd ever get and keep a job once my children were in school.  This past December I got my yearly bloodwork and my triglycerides were high. I looked into Dr. William Davis (wheat belly author) and he recommended going off wheat and other grains. This is the first time in my life I was reading labels to make sure there was no wheat. Within 2 weeks, not only were my stools formed and firm but I was only pooping twice a day, beautiful formed Bristol #4.  Dr. Davis allows some legumes, so I went ahead and added red lentils and beans. Nervous that the diarrhea would come back if I had IBS-D. Not only did it not come back, it just made my stools even bigger and beautiful. Still formed just with a lot more width and bulk. I've also been eating a lot of plant food like tofu, mushrooms, bell peppers, hummus etc which I thought was the cause of my diarrhea before and still, my stools are formed. In January I ran a genetics test because I knew you had to have the genes for celiac. The report came back with  DQ 2.2 plus other markers that I guess are necessary in order for it to be possible to have celiac. Apparently DQ 2.2 is the "rarer" kind but based on my report it's genetically possible for me to have celiac.  I know the next step is to bring gluten back so I can get testing but I am just not wanting to do that. After suffering with diarrhea for years I can't bring myself to do it right now. So that is where I am!   
    • catnapt
      learned I had a high PTH level in 2022 suspected to be due to low vit D  got my vit D level up a bit but still have high PTH   I am 70 yrs old (today in fact) I am looking for someone who also has hyperparathyroidism that might be caused by malabsorption    
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.