Acne, Rash, Bumps All Over...

[LilCowgirl]

I was recently diagnosed with Celiac Disease & I'm learning as I'm going, but my face, shoulders & back have, all of the sudden, been covered with little bumps...sometimes they itch, sometimes they look more like clogged pores or pimples. My GI symptoms & everything else associated with my diet have almost disappeared since starting my gluten-free, soy-free diet, but my skin has gotten worse...not better! I'm getting really frustrated & very embarrassed. I'm wondering if I need to change my makeup, face wash, body wash, lotion, etc. Or if this is just part of my body cleansing itself. Please help! I'm too old to break out like this!

[sreese68]

Acne doesn't itch, so if your bumps are itching, it's something else. Ones that don't itch could be acne. (I've been fighting acne for 26 years, so lots of experience here!!) I found that when I first went gluten free, I had an acne breakout just as if I were starting a new acne medication (many of them cause an initial breakout before they start working). Then, my skin got clear for me. My definition of clear is no cystic acne and only a few small pimples.

When I did a 4 day gluten challenge, my cystic acne came roaring back! It was BAD. My dermotologist was talking about oral antibiotics and another round of Accutane. I waited to start anything new to see if it would go away on its own, and it did. I haven't had cystic acne since! I've only had a handful of the small ones which seem to show up when I eat a food that irritates my system.

So yes, it could be your body cleansing itself. But to be on the safe side, make sure your cosmetics, lotions, etc don't contain gluten.