Can You Go Years Without A Flare?

[carecare]

I was wondering if you can have a bad flare of DH then have it go away for many years and then come back. My nephew got a rash that my sister was told was papular something or another and that it was a reaction to flea droppings. He had it all over his body at 7 months old. It flared off and on for that year I think and then not again until possibly now. He's 14. He recently had a dr appointment and dr told him to take off his shirt and he had a rash all over his back and chest. Dr asked him about it and he said...oh, it gets worse after a shower. So his dr said to change shampoos and soaps to see if it helps. Didn't I read here that DH can seem worse after a shower? I called my sister yesterday to ask her about the rash as a baby and sent her some pictures of what DH looks like. She said it was exactly what her son had as a baby (it was shortly after she introduced solid food to his system). Then looking at the other pictures said other pictures look just like what he has now. I told her to ask him if it itches.

I really think their family is gluten intolerant/celiac. This same nephew has no enamel on his teeth and his teeth started to basically just fall apart as a young kid...and has had to get caps on all his molars. His father has psoriasis +psoratic arthritis...his mother has Multiple Sclorosis and has felt she's had IBS for years (plus says "I think I have a problem with carbs because they make me feel horrible"...when she eats a high GLUTEN meal. I've been trying to get them both to go gluten free for years but they've refused...but now my sister is more on board after talking to me last night. I'm pushing her to at least do the Enterolab stuff to see if there is a gluten problem with her and her husband.

So I told her to question her son (he's very private and who knows how long he's had this rash...because he wouldn't have ever told his mom about it if she hadn't been there at the dr's with him)...he also recently was eating paleo for a short time and mentioned to her that he actually felt really good...but has since started eating gluten again. I said for her to go right to a dermatologist and request a biopsy of the skin. Told her to make sure they do it properly and to question the derm to make sure he's had experience with DH before making an appointment with them.

What do you think? Can you go years after your initial flare and then have it come back? Do you think this is DH in my nephew?

CC

[tarnalberry]

No idea if it's DH - there are SO MANY other skin conditions that look "similar" - but it could be.

An adolescent "honeymoon" is VERY COMMON, so yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if it went away for a while and came back.

(BTW, when they do the biopsy, the doc has to biopsy the right place - which is just outside of the rash itself. If they don't go to a derm who knows how to do a DH biopsy, the results will be worthless.)