Perioral Dermititis Or Dh?

[Lalama]

For the last 6 months I have had red bumps right around my mouth area. It started on the right side and then I got them on the left side in the same spot. The dermetologist said that it was perioral dermititis. After I went home and researched it, it said to cut gluten out of your diet. I did just that and after about 3 months my face started to clear up. It comes and goes but has been better for the most part-as long as I don't eat gluten or dairy.

I also had two identical rashes on my elbows last year that were perfectly symmetrical dry scaly patches. The doctor initally thought it was ringworm but it wouldn't go away. Then he simply said it's "dermititis". I never thought this could be dh or caused by gluten, but after reading this I am thinking this could be what I have?

[eatmeat4good]

Yes it could be DH.

Mine has been most severe on my chin. Started as tiny bumps...increased to large lesions as I didn't know about DH. Dr.'s often confuse it with ringworm. I was treated with antibiotics, antifungals, etc. Finally found DH on this site and the sores are healing after 4 months.

The elbow breakouts make it more suspicious that it may indeed be DH. It tends to get worse if the antibodies continue to get activated.

Iodine in shellfish, meds, vitamins and asparagus can also activate the lesions.

I didn't think DH could occur on the face and it took several more years to figure it out. Only when I broke out in all the "classic" places did I attribute it to gluten.

Good luck.

[itchy]

Lalama, for a couple of years before my DH broke out in force I had a couple of scaley patches on my arms. These eventually became sites of persistent DH, though the scaleyness has gone with a gluten free diet.

I would be very suspicious that these are early stages of DH.

I had a number of other minor skin bumps and lumps on my skin at the time which had been there for a couple of years and weren't irritating. These disappeared with the dietary changes, even while other symptoms persisted.

[Lalama]

Thank you for your replies! I feel like all the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together, after all these years of wierd symptoms. Although it is frustrating when these things come and go, at least I know what I need to do to keep them at bay. The only good thing about dh on my face is that, that is what lead me to figure out I needed to give up gluten and with that many other symptoms dissappeared.

I never made the connection with iodine and shellfish causing dh? I am going to the doctor today to see if there are any other foods that I might be reacting to as well.

[eatmeat4good]

They activate the antibodies. And bad. I have been recovering 4 months and still get outbreaks at the slightest shellfish or iodine. So I am going on Dapsone. Yikes.

I never made the connection either until I read it here and then started realizing it was happening.