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Photo Included...tell Me What You Think

Metoo

By Metoo
in Dermatitis Herpetiformis

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Metoo Enthusiast
Metoo
Posted

I finally have some photos. Tell me what you think. The top photo is what is left after I had thousands of tiny blisters under my skin, I had gluten 2 days in a row....some are still blisters but they are tiny and don't show up in a photo. This is very painful...its small but it is incredibly painful, its peaked in pain though, today is better than yesterday.

The bottom 2 photos are the blister stage, before they have popped...they are so hard to get to show in a photo because they are as white as I am. lol. There are hundreds on my pinky in the photo. The one picture has one 'large' one.

72yp82.webp

2eumj5x.webp

f37xhv.webp

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bartfull Rising Star
bartfull
Posted

It's hard to tell from the photos, but do they look like whitehead pimples, and then after a day or two become just red dots? Or are they more like clear blisters? You say it hurts but you don't mention itching. Do you get this on your feet too? Any other parts of the body? And when it heals, does it get really dry and crack and peel?

I have palmoplantar pustular psoriasis. This might be what you have. I get it on the palms of my hands, sometimes on my fingers, and on the heels and soles of my feet. It might itch a little bit once in a while, but the itching is minor compared to the pain. Any pressure on the pustules hurts, and of course the healing stage where the skin cracks open is very painful too.

The good news is that as long as I stay gluten and corn free, I'm fine and it clears up. The bad news is that it is so darned hard to stay away from my triggers that every time I turn around, something gets me.

Have you noticed any difference gluten free? It may be possible that you have other intolerances that are causing it too. For me it is BOTH gluten and corn. For you it might be nightshades or one of the many other foods that bother some of us.

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Metoo Enthusiast
Metoo
  • Author
Posted

It's hard to tell from the photos, but do they look like whitehead pimples, and then after a day or two become just red dots? Or are they more like clear blisters? You say it hurts but you don't mention itching. Do you get this on your feet too? Any other parts of the body? And when it heals, does it get really dry and crack and peel?

I have palmoplantar pustular psoriasis. This might be what you have. I get it on the palms of my hands, sometimes on my fingers, and on the heels and soles of my feet. It might itch a little bit once in a while, but the itching is minor compared to the pain. Any pressure on the pustules hurts, and of course the healing stage where the skin cracks open is very painful too.

The good news is that as long as I stay gluten and corn free, I'm fine and it clears up. The bad news is that it is so darned hard to stay away from my triggers that every time I turn around, something gets me.

Have you noticed any difference gluten free? It may be possible that you have other intolerances that are causing it too. For me it is BOTH gluten and corn. For you it might be nightshades or one of the many other foods that bother some of us.

They are clear blisters. If they don't pop they turn sort of a brownish shade. The intensly itch often, and are bothersome sort of like a pain feeling before they begin to crack. Once they crack they are intensly painful and it kind of cracks, peels off then leaves a raw area.

I have noticed a difference gluten free, they entirely went away...then came back in a much larger area then before. I don't have it anywhere else at this point except on the side of my palm.

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eatmeat4good Enthusiast
eatmeat4good
Posted

This is exactly how the DH on my fingers looked and felt. Itchy, clear, tiny skin colored blisters that pop and then hurt like the devil. I later developed much more severe DH on my face and back of my neck. I've read of other's whose DH started like this too. You are right to be concerned and gluten free. Especially since it seemed to go away when you were gluten free. Now just to watch for traces of gluten, cross-contamination and observe whether Iodine is effecting you. Iodine can keep lesions active so if that happens you can follow the thyca.com diet which is a low iodine diet just until the lesions heal. Yup...I would say it's DH.

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squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

Me too Metoo. That is what the dh on my hands looks like although I rarely get them on my palms or undersides of fingers. They occur mostly on the backs & sides of my hands & fingers. I think they are more painful on my hands than any other portion of my body. And that is how my dh first began but I have never been able to keep from popping the blister to relive the itch even temporarily. And I might add that those kind of blisters are how all my dh began manifesting. It's frustrating because it's hard enough to see the blisters in person, much less get them to show up on a photo. Then I began to get them on my ankles & backs of my calves & knees. Then more & more places. Then my scalp. Then........

It's weird but when I began to get major outbreaks over large portions of my body beginning in April of this year; then my hands stayed clear. Now I'm TOTALLY gluten free since Thanksgiving & this last week my hands began breaking out again. Overall my dh is improving rapidly everyday ---- intensity wise & the length of time for each blister or lesion. It's almost as if the dh is a living being & is having it's "last hurrah".

I would say yours is dh.

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Di2011 Enthusiast
Di2011
Posted

Ditto for me too.

My hands are the last area of my body to be affected. Started at the ankles and worked itself upward. At the moment my upper torso and arms/hands are still affected with general itching elsewhere. But if you haven't had it on your upper thigh/buttocks then you haven't had the worst of it. Avoid gluten in any form (if you don't know what a chemical/additive is then research - anything vaguely or possibly wheat/gluten derived is a no-go for me even if claimed to be gluten free eg. xanthan gum E415) You do not want this to spread or intensify.

Ice packs and antihistimine (polaromine/phenergan - not for the "allergy" relief but for the brain/nerve ease and sleep helper) have helped me to some degree. Get the ice/cold packs on to avoid destroying your skin. I have five cold packs on hand and when things get bad I rotate through them. Evenings/nights are bad so when I get itchy I sleep with them. Good luck .. and know that I/we are thinking of you.

After 3 months strictly(very very strictly - see the "sensitive" thread) and 6 months (with mistakes etc) gluten free I am finally adding back a bit of iodine foods without particular issue on consumption.

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LabyrinthRunner13 Rookie
LabyrinthRunner13
Posted

I totally agree with everyone else. My blisters start out under the skin on my fingers and hands and if I am really good and dont pop them, then they turn yellow. And then I HAVE to pop them. No matter how determined I am, I can't stand it. Even to the point where I would scratch them like crazy in my sleep.

I also know what you mean about them being hard to photograph. But, I agree with what everybody else has said. Its probably DH. When I went gluten free, mine went away in about a month. Its not a fun diet, but when my hands look even remotely "normal" I get so excited I have to show everybody! Its worth it.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Lorisc Newbie
Lorisc
Posted

My hands look like this but a lot worse. I went on a 7 day fast, juice only, and only at the very end did they show signs on clearing up. I've had this since I was 13 or 14 but it's getting worse. I'm just now finding out it's gluten. I've known for a year I was allergic to corn but this is going to be interesting. I've only had abdominal pain but no other gi symptoms. Now itchy skin, i always thought it was normal to always have extremely itchy skin! I have the clear blisters on my hands and feet and red rash now on my hands. Does anyone know where I can kind a chart for foods to eat and not eat? Thank you!

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weaselfish Rookie
weaselfish
Posted

My hands look like this but a lot worse. I went on a 7 day fast, juice only, and only at the very end did they show signs on clearing up. I've had this since I was 13 or 14 but it's getting worse. I'm just now finding out it's gluten. I've known for a year I was allergic to corn but this is going to be interesting. I've only had abdominal pain but no other gi symptoms. Now itchy skin, i always thought it was normal to always have extremely itchy skin! I have the clear blisters on my hands and feet and red rash now on my hands. Does anyone know where I can kind a chart for foods to eat and not eat? Thank you!

Hi Lorisc,

Check this site out as a start:

Open Original Shared Link

Then use a search engine like google or this alternative:

Open Original Shared Link

and search for gluten free topics like this:

"gluten free bread"

"gluten free re-fried beans"

etc . . . ( use the double-quotes !!! )

During my own personal research on Dermatitis Herpetiformis / Celiac, I've collected many valuable links regarding the affliction. If you'd like me to post them for you, just let me know.

Best of luck and healing,

WF

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Lorisc Newbie
Lorisc
Posted

Thank you for responding! I would really appreciate any links or articles anything! I will do as you suggested!

Thank you!

Quote name='weaselfish' timestamp='1327526306' post='768068']

Hi Lorisc,

Check this site out as a start:

Open Original Shared Link

Then use a search engine like google or this alternative:

Open Original Shared Link

and search for gluten free topics like this:

"gluten free bread"

"gluten free re-fried beans"

etc . . . ( use the double-quotes !!! )

During my own personal research on Dermatitis Herpetiformis / Celiac, I've collected many valuable links regarding the affliction. If you'd like me to post them for you, just let me know.

Best of luck and healing,

WF

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rosetapper23 Explorer
rosetapper23
Posted

I get DH on my face, neck, the sole of one foot, and on one palm....and it looks JUST like your photos. Remember, to get better, you may need to avoid iodine. That means that you'll need to avoid seafood, iodized salt, asparagus, and some brands of dairy.

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