Skin Question From New Member

[Marc49]

I just signed up here today after receiving a positive gene test for Celiac.

I have a lot of the symptoms as well, so I am not going from the test alone.

I have looked at this area along with pics posted and have a question.

Most of the pics do not match what I seem to have been getting for the past year on and off. I have no rash per se, but I can go to bed with no skin issue and awaken the next morning with one or two 'pimple' looking lesions that seem to appear on my forearms or upper arms.

They start as red bumps, and proceed to form a head of yellowish/white pus very quickly. By evening when I shower the top seems to tear off and drain the lesion.

After that I will have a bright red spot left on my skin for days or weeks even.

Does this sound like something related to Celiac?

I am a 49 YO male that is way past having acne, and as before this showed up out of nowhere about a year ago. It comes and it goes.

Sometimes it will be weeks between them, and other times it might be every other day.

Thanks!

[SuziQT0322]

I am new here as well. I also am newly dx. My Dx was elimination and also blood test that was done fasting but doc said he believes after 6 weeks of gluten free and the major changes in my health because of the elimination that I have Celiac Disease. I too, have the lesions and was told by the same doc that it is part of this disease. Mine are from just annoying to out and out painful and to the point that I have to have them lanced. I had been told that I was allergic to my water (Ha. I have a spring fed well) to I was allergic to all of my cleaning supplies, and the worst of all....yu need to bathe more. Duhhhhhhhh which is it? I am going with the doc who after 11 yrs of going from 1 doctor to another, in 10 of a visit told me what was wrong.I am much happier and healthier since the major change. The entire household is also healthier and losing some weight that we all needed to lose. So in all, I would say it probably is part of celiac disease. Hope all goes well for you.

[Marc49]

I am new here as well. I also am newly dx. My Dx was elimination and also blood test that was done fasting but doc said he believes after 6 weeks of gluten free and the major changes in my health because of the elimination that I have Celiac Disease. I too, have the lesions and was told by the same doc that it is part of this disease. Mine are from just annoying to out and out painful and to the point that I have to have them lanced. I had been told that I was allergic to my water (Ha. I have a spring fed well) to I was allergic to all of my cleaning supplies, and the worst of all....yu need to bathe more. Duhhhhhhhh which is it? I am going with the doc who after 11 yrs of going from 1 doctor to another, in 10 of a visit told me what was wrong.I am much happier and healthier since the major change. The entire household is also healthier and losing some weight that we all needed to lose. So in all, I would say it probably is part of celiac disease. Hope all goes well for you.

Suzi,......I wish you well also.

I am going to try to go gluten free for at least a couple of months and see if my GI symptoms get better.

My lesions are actually not painful at all, nor do they get to the point of needing to be lanced as they always 'self drain' per se when small.

Cleanliness is not an issue with me, as I am sure it isn't with you either. I shower twice a day, and I have not changed any soaps/shampoos etc either.

I do not typically even have allergic reactions and was quite shocked to see this gene test come back positive.

Hopefully someone that is more familiar with this will feel like chiming in.

[eatmeat4good]

Years ago, my lesions were just one tiny bump. Not really painful. Took forever to heal. Sort of mosquito bite looking. Never really bothered me. Dr.'s didn't know what it was. It took years and years of this for the outbreaks to become an actual large rash with painful oozing sores that would not heal for months to years. Burning, itching hurting and no healing. I think there is a spectrum of possiblities of sores with DH. The more antibodies your body produces the more severe the reaction.

At least that is how it was with me.

I had what you are describing and it evolved into the awful lesions.

If you try gluten free it will take some time for the antibodies to get out of your system so be sure to give it a try.

[itchy]

Marc, your symptoms don't match mine.

When I saw the photos of DH and read the typical symptoms I knew instantly I had DH. Lesions that blister, watery red fluid, stinging fiercely rather than itching, failure to heal for extended periods, painful skin, symmetry on the body and a few others symtoms.

However, as eatmeat4good said, there is quite a range of symptoms, especially in the early stages. One of my early symptoms was scaley patches of skin, in places that later became lesions.

[Marc49]

Years ago, my lesions were just one tiny bump. Not really painful. Took forever to heal. Sort of mosquito bite looking. Never really bothered me. Dr.'s didn't know what it was. It took years and years of this for the outbreaks to become an actual large rash with painful oozing sores that would not heal for months to years. Burning, itching hurting and no healing. I think there is a spectrum of possiblities of sores with DH. The more antibodies your body produces the more severe the reaction.

At least that is how it was with me.

I had what you are describing and it evolved into the awful lesions.

If you try gluten free it will take some time for the antibodies to get out of your system so be sure to give it a try.

Thank you for the reply!

Your early description sounds very much like what I have.

Doc can't put his finger on it but simply says it looks like it has something to do with my hair follicles on my forearms.

That doesn't make sense to me as I get them on my upper arms between the elbow and shoulder also and I am not really hairy there.

Like I said,.....this only started about a year ago. I never had bad acne as a teenager, and that ended by the time I was 17 to 18. I have never had skin issues or allergies to soaps and the like either. I can use scented body washes with no problem, and switch brands often.

None of this seems to tie in with these bumps. As you said they are about the size of an insect bite when they appear. I literally can shower and go to bed with totally clear skin, and awake in the AM with a nice red bump somewhere on my arms. Small amount of pus forms quickly, and the top is very thin and tears off easily just by brushing the skin with your hand. After that it turns bright red and stays that way for a long time. Nothing like acne at all, at least not like anything I had as a teenager.

This all came to light when I had a fecal test done by a new 'functional medicine' doc I am going to. It was a company called Metametrix and one result had something to do with gluten sensitivity,......I registered as 'borderline' per se.

He then had me do a gene test through EnteroLab, and I just got back the results recently,......here is a C&P of them:

Date: 1/19/2011

Gluten Sensitivity Gene Test

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 1 0302

HLA-DQB1 Molecular analysis, Allele 2 0502

Serologic equivalent: HLA-DQ 3,1 (Subtype 8,5)

Interpretation Of HLA-DQ Testing: HLA-DQB1 gene analysis reveals that you have one of the main genes that predisposes to gluten sensitivity and celiac sprue, HLA-DQB1*0201 or HLA-DQB1*0302. Each of your offspring has a 50% chance of receiving this gene from you, and at least one of your parents passed it to you. You also have a non-celiac gene predisposing to gluten sensitivity (any DQ1, DQ2 not by HLA-DQB1*0201, or DQ3 not by HLA-DQB1*0302). Having one celiac gene and one gluten sensitive gene, means that each of your parents, and all of your children (if you have them) will possess at least one copy of a gluten sensitive gene. Having two copies also means there is an even stronger predisposition to gluten sensitivity than having one gene and the resultant immunologic gluten sensitivity or celiac disease may be more severe. This test was developed and its performance characteristics determined by the American Red Cross - Northeast Division. It has not been cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

I hope it's OK to post things like this here!

[eatmeat4good]

Of course it is OK to post things like that. I found it interesting as I have not been tested but was considering Enterolab. Just wanted to let you know you could ask for a biopsy of the clear skin next to the lesion. If it is DH that is where the antibodies lie. They won't find any if they biopsy the lesion itself. I'm glad you found this early. And I hope it goes away for you. I just want you to keep DH in mind because the sores can go entirely away for some years and then return with a vengeance. Are the edges of the lesion raised? That is also another sign.

[Marc49]

Of course it is OK to post things like that. I found it interesting as I have not been tested but was considering Enterolab. Just wanted to let you know you could ask for a biopsy of the clear skin next to the lesion. If it is DH that is where the antibodies lie. They won't find any if they biopsy the lesion itself. I'm glad you found this early. And I hope it goes away for you. I just want you to keep DH in mind because the sores can go entirely away for some years and then return with a vengeance. Are the edges of the lesion raised? That is also another sign.

No,....I really can't say that the edges are raised. I'll have to look closely with a magnifying glass the next time I get one though to be sure. Either that or I'll snap a pic.

I had my last one about 4 days ago. It was the only one, and was on top of my left forearm about midway down from the elbow. Just a red spot now.

They look like a pimple, but form much faster and come to a head faster.

Also the skin on top is much thinner than an acne type pimple. It simply rubs off and drains it.

Another member mentioned something I am also noticing.

I have a rough patch of skin on each of my knee caps. Figured it was just callouses as I do kneel while working from time to time. I do far less of that type of work now though, and I never had them before when I was doing a lot more kneeling.

They look a little bit 'whitish' and are rough and almost cracked looking. Between a quarter and a fifty cent piece in size. They don't itch or hurt either but feel like leather.

While this has nothing to do with DH,.....I found out I have high ferritin levels, but my iron tests were normal. Seems that elevated ferritin can be caused by acute inflammation in the body.

Wondering if this Celiac stuff is also responsible for that?

Used to be a beer drinker as well. Needless to say that is over I guess as I am sure beer must be full of gluten.

I hope everyone has patience with me, as I am sure to ask plenty of questions on this forum before I get all of this down correctly!

[eatmeat4good]

Well there is gluten free beer! Redbridge. Haven't tried it yet but hear it is a good substitute.

[Marc49]

Well there is gluten free beer! Redbridge. Haven't tried it yet but hear it is a good substitute.

I'm sure there are substitutes but I think I will simply eliminate another substance that is not healthy from my life.

I will go to having a glass of Cabernet from time to time. Maybe that isn't gluten free either!

Not much of a wine drinker anyway, and I don't touch the hard stuff.