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Can You Diagnose celiac disease Through The Rash?

shaleen

By shaleen
in Dermatitis Herpetiformis

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shaleen Rookie
shaleen
Posted

I've been having problems with my 18 month old. He was diagnosed with failure to thrive (he's 17 pounds and 18 months old). The GI doc says she thinks it's celiac disease however she wants me to put him BACK ON the gluten for at least 2 months before she will do an endoscopy on him. He is on day 6 and already developed an ear infection (his first one) and got this rash back that he basically had since he was 6 months old (it disappeared when I took gluten, corn and dairy out of his diet about a month or so ago). It's a hard, red, burn looking rash on his forearms and legs. Anyway, someone told me that rather than put him through 2 months of crap, to have the rash analyzed by a dermatologist and we can make the diagnosis that way. Does anyone know if that is possible??

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tarnalberry Community Regular
tarnalberry
Posted

Dermetitis Herpetformis (the rash) is diagnostic for celiac disease, but you need a derm who knows how to biopsy it - you biopsy NEXT TO the rash, not on it directly.

brendab Contributor
brendab
Posted

My mother in law had her celiacs diagnosed by the rash.

MacieMay Explorer
MacieMay
Posted

I've been having problems with my 18 month old. He was diagnosed with failure to thrive (he's 17 pounds and 18 months old). The GI doc says she thinks it's celiac disease however she wants me to put him BACK ON the gluten for at least 2 months before she will do an endoscopy on him. He is on day 6 and already developed an ear infection (his first one) and got this rash back that he basically had since he was 6 months old (it disappeared when I took gluten, corn and dairy out of his diet about a month or so ago). It's a hard, red, burn looking rash on his forearms and legs. Anyway, someone told me that rather than put him through 2 months of crap, to have the rash analyzed by a dermatologist and we can make the diagnosis that way. Does anyone know if that is possible??

It will probably be tough to get a Derm to do a biopsy on him. Have you done any research on DH? Do you think it is DH...or just a hive like reaction? Gluten can cause both. I too am having problems with my 18 mos old ( I think i've replied to one of your previous posts ). She is growing OK but the rashes are CRAZY. How long would you say your sons rashes took to go away, when you eliminated the dairy, corn and gluten? We have rashes that come and go but then she has some where the inflammation has caused damage to her skin. This is on her knees, elbows, and hands. These are not going away. I think they need some sort of medicine or they are going to take a long time to go away. Does this sound anything like you are going through? Thanks

shaleen Rookie
shaleen
Posted
  • Author

It will probably be tough to get a Derm to do a biopsy on him. Have you done any research on DH? Do you think it is DH...or just a hive like reaction? Gluten can cause both. I too am having problems with my 18 mos old ( I think i've replied to one of your previous posts ). She is growing OK but the rashes are CRAZY. How long would you say your sons rashes took to go away, when you eliminated the dairy, corn and gluten? We have rashes that come and go but then she has some where the inflammation has caused damage to her skin. This is on her knees, elbows, and hands. These are not going away. I think they need some sort of medicine or they are going to take a long time to go away. Does this sound anything like you are going through? Thanks

Our rashes are red and scaly...come on rather quickly but take forever to go away. The redness fades once the culprit is taken out of his diet (not sure exactly what the "culprit" is yet) but the hardness lasts for weeks. It usually occurs on his forearms and legs. He's never gotten any of the rashes on the trunk of his body or his hands or feet....oh, I take that back. Last time he got the rash it included his had, by his thumb, where he held a piece of corn on the cob...and now he even has a slight rash around his mouth. I did notice though, once I took gluten, dairy and corn out of his diet, within a week or so the rashes were COMPLETELY gone.

MacieMay Explorer
MacieMay
Posted

Our rashes are red and scaly...come on rather quickly but take forever to go away. The redness fades once the culprit is taken out of his diet (not sure exactly what the "culprit" is yet) but the hardness lasts for weeks. It usually occurs on his forearms and legs. He's never gotten any of the rashes on the trunk of his body or his hands or feet....oh, I take that back. Last time he got the rash it included his had, by his thumb, where he held a piece of corn on the cob...and now he even has a slight rash around his mouth. I did notice though, once I took gluten, dairy and corn out of his diet, within a week or so the rashes were COMPLETELY gone.

Thanks for the feedback. It doesn't sound like, we have the same thing we have going on here. I do think my daughter has a gluten intolerance or maybe even celiac, but she has something else too. It's heartbreaking, when your kids are sick. I hope you find your answers, it's so difficult to get a diagnosis for a small child. I just take it one day at a time. Good Luck!!

  • 4 weeks later...
dh mom Newbie
dh mom
Posted

Thanks for the feedback. It doesn't sound like, we have the same thing we have going on here. I do think my daughter has a gluten intolerance or maybe even celiac, but she has something else too. It's heartbreaking, when your kids are sick. I hope you find your answers, it's so difficult to get a diagnosis for a small child. I just take it one day at a time. Good Luck!!

Hi, my heart goes out to both of you for having such young kids with a rash. Our son was 18 when diagnosed. I don't really have any advice for you except that please know DH is EXTREMELY ITCHY. So if your kids are inordinatly cranky, they are probably really itchy.....

just a random thought, but do bottles have gluten? I know paper plates contain gluten and our son cannot eat off of them. or perhaps their bath soap/shampoo? I agree with you. Go to a city and find a PEDIATRIC dermatologist. That is a big mistake which I made. I didn't realize how specialized docs are these days. I thought a dermatologist was specialized enough. Look for pediatric docs.

***Boston Mass has a center for blistering skin diseases. Dr. Ahmed is known world wide. In fact, the DH gene is named after him. He treats folks from all over the u.s. and other countries.

Dr. Ahmed Center for Blistering Skin Diseases, 70 Parker Hill Ave #208 Boston, Ma

Good luck

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