I Thought I Was Allergic To Sulphates In Shampoo...but

[Noche22]

I only found out I had Celiac 6 days ago!!! I have been HORRIBLY sick for YEARS now, but my doctor and I never put all the clues together till now.

Anywho, about 5 years ago I started getting a HORRIBLE rash on scalp. Almost like psorriassis (SP?). It hurts, itches...BADLY!!! I have since then seen changed to organic shampoo and the problem isn't 'as bad' but still there. I get flaky almost like dandruff. My head is a mess. I am constantly in pain, with teeny blisters. They travel down my neck sometimes.

Because I only found out 6 days ago about the celiac, could it be Dermatitis Herpetiformis this whole time? I of course don't know much about it. Is there medication to take for this?

I see my doctor tomorrow, so I will discuss it with him. Just wanted to post about it to see what everyone thought.

[eatmeat4good]

It very well could be. The teeny blister part and the pain are consistent with DH. The location is consistent as well. I too thought I was allergic to many ingredients in soaps and shampoos, but it was gluten. If it really is the case, the sores should stop hurting soon after going gluten free. A bit longer to heal. Iodine is an activator of DH.

Welcome to your recovery. I'm glad you found out what was wrong. I too was sick for years. Recovering now 4 months. Would not be well without this site. Keep reading.

[rosetapper23]

Yes, I agree that your symptoms are consistent with DH. However, you might also be suffering from a zinc deficiency, so you might ask your doctor to test you for that (zinc deficiency can cause flaking of the scalp). If you are indeed deficient in zinc, be sure to buy the amino acid chelated form.

[Noche22]

Thank you for your replies. I have my first official follow up with my doctor tomorrow, as my results were read over the phone to me. I will be going in depth with everything so I will bring this portion up with him as well. He prescribed some medication to me a couple years ago for this issue (thinking it was a sulphate allergy reaction), so he is already familiar with it. If it is DH, then I guess there is another approach to take.

I will update when I get back tomorrow afternoon. Thank you

[ravenwoodglass]

Thank you for your replies. I have my first official follow up with my doctor tomorrow, as my results were read over the phone to me. I will be going in depth with everything so I will bring this portion up with him as well. He prescribed some medication to me a couple years ago for this issue (thinking it was a sulphate allergy reaction), so he is already familiar with it. If it is DH, then I guess there is another approach to take.

I will update when I get back tomorrow afternoon. Thank you

The best approach with DH is avoiding gluten strictly and also iodine. If the doctor suggests dapsone do read on it throughly. It can have some nasty side effects. The diet and avoiding iodine will clear up DH nicely without meds but it does take some time for the antibodies to leave the skin so for awhile you may get flares when you get even small amounts of gluten. Do switch to topicals without gluten.