Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Rash That Looks Like Bites? Due To Gluten? (Photos)


LundqvistSaves

Recommended Posts

LundqvistSaves Rookie

Hello!

After a year of constant sickness and stumping 4 gastroenterolists, I was finally diagnosed with a rare parasite. Needless to say, my GI is all messed up and I am slowly healing. I also think I may be gluten intolerant (was tested for celiac and gluten allergy, but came back negative).

One symptom I noticed when I wasn't yet strict on my gluten-free diet were these random welts that I would discover every other week. It seemed like only one would form and then dissolve, then maybe I'd get another one two weeks later. They were incredibly itchy, and honestly I had always thought it was just a spider bite. I went back on a gluten-free diet and they seemed to go away. I thought maybe it was due to gluten, but i'd eat it occasionally (a slice of pizza maybe once or twice a week) and it wouldn't always happen.

I've been totally gluten-free for 2-3 months now. Now on Tuesday, I broke out on the left side of my neck, left forearm and left finger in a whole bunch together -- probably 12 total (most I've had at once was 2). I went to the doctor and he diagnosed it as shingles (because they are all just on one side of my body). He said he was "95% sure", despite the fact that I have no pain at all, no sick feelings, and absolutely no blistering which are all symptoms of shingles. The only thing I can think of was I had toasted some bread in a toaster oven the day before the bumps broke out. There is the possibility of cross contamination, but just a few days earlier than that I had done the exact same thing and had no problems at all.

I was wondering if anyone has experienced these symptoms. I added photos, I'm sorry that they are so gross. I was hoping someone would recognize the same type of rash. I honestly don't think it's shingles. Could this be gluten? If so, why does it only happen sometimes, and why would it happen so badly this time if it was just a little cross contamination?

Thank You!

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y90/jasonstangelo/photo.webp

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y90/jasonstangelo/photo-2.webp


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Mri3 Newbie

Hello!

After a year of constant sickness and stumping 4 gastroenterolists, I was finally diagnosed with a rare parasite. Needless to say, my GI is all messed up and I am slowly healing. I also think I may be gluten intolerant (was tested for celiac and gluten allergy, but came back negative).

One symptom I noticed when I wasn't yet strict on my gluten-free diet were these random welts that I would discover every other week. It seemed like only one would form and then dissolve, then maybe I'd get another one two weeks later. They were incredibly itchy, and honestly I had always thought it was just a spider bite. I went back on a gluten-free diet and they seemed to go away. I thought maybe it was due to gluten, but i'd eat it occasionally (a slice of pizza maybe once or twice a week) and it wouldn't always happen.

I've been totally gluten-free for 2-3 months now. Now on Tuesday, I broke out on the left side of my neck, left forearm and left finger in a whole bunch together -- probably 12 total (most I've had at once was 2). I went to the doctor and he diagnosed it as shingles (because they are all just on one side of my body). He said he was "95% sure", despite the fact that I have no pain at all, no sick feelings, and absolutely no blistering which are all symptoms of shingles. The only thing I can think of was I had toasted some bread in a toaster oven the day before the bumps broke out. There is the possibility of cross contamination, but just a few days earlier than that I had done the exact same thing and had no problems at all.

I was wondering if anyone has experienced these symptoms. I added photos, I'm sorry that they are so gross. I was hoping someone would recognize the same type of rash. I honestly don't think it's shingles. Could this be gluten? If so, why does it only happen sometimes, and why would it happen so badly this time if it was just a little cross contamination?

Thank You!

http://i3.photobucke...ngelo/photo.webp

http://i3.photobucke...elo/photo-2.webp

Hi, it may be you are reacting to the wheat - more so as an allergy, rather than just to the gluten. I found after doing an elimination diet to determine exactly what I was reacting to, that it was a reaction to wheat. I did not have reactions or skin lesions/red spots with any other grain - only with wheat. I have removed wheat completely from my diet. I follow very "clean eating" now. I thought I was eating "healthy" all along - I was always very careful - but I was unaware of my wheat/gluten allergies/intolerance. Occasionally I have had a slice of pizza etc. - but pay the price. I found that since removing wheat from my diet, all my symptoms have been erased; but I am also that much more sensitive to the wheat when I do consume it (as my tolerance is no longer built up to it). And also notable, I react differently to different wheat. My research has shown those with wheat allergies are more reactive to GMO (genetically modified) wheat vs. organic wheat. And i believe I read that re: GMO wheat - there are something like 25,000 different forms of it. I react to both, but much more severely when the wheat is not organic. And the reaction comes from consuming merely a piece of cake, a cookie, a piece of pizza. So you may need to determine if it is not just the gluten you're intolerant to, but possibly maintain an additional wheat allergy. (when I did the testing I was extremely thorough - I did not react to barley or rye at all to the degree that i did with wheat ... wheat even induces "allergy" symptoms such as sinus headache, stuffy nose, watery eyes, itchy lesions - since eliminating wheat I no longer require Claritin or antihistamines; all these years I thought I suffered from seasonal allergies to the outdoors!) Best of luck to you ; try to identify the culprit & you'll banish the skin lesions ... mine are completely gone.

kmag Rookie

Gotta say it doesn't sound like shingles to me either. The hallmark of shingles is severe pain before the appearance of blisters, of which you have neither. Looks a lot like hives, but I couldn't say if it's from gluten or not. You are obviously reacting to something.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - Mari replied to Jmartes71's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      4

      Related issues

    2. - Scott Adams replied to catsrlife's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      4

      Patiently Waiting to See Results

    3. - catsrlife replied to catsrlife's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      4

      Patiently Waiting to See Results

    4. - Jmartes71 replied to Jmartes71's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      4

      Related issues


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,259
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Lindia
    Newest Member
    Lindia
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • Mari
      jmartes, Thank you for sharing  more information with us. Most of us Celiacs whose problems do not clear up with in a few years have to decide what to do next. We can keep seeing DR.s and hope that we will get some  medication or advice that will improve our health. Or we can go looking for other ways to improve our health. Usually Celiac Disease is not a killer disease, it is a disabling disease as  you have found out. You have time to find some ways to help you recover. Stay on your gluten-free diet and be more careful in avoiding cross contamination . KnittyKitty  and others here can give you advice about avoiding some foods that can give you the gluten auto immune reaction and advice about vitamins and supplement that help celiacs. You may need to take higher doses of Vit. B12  and D3.  About 20 years before a Dr. suggested I might have Celiac disease I had health problems that all other Dr said they could not identify or treat. I was very opposed to alternative providers and treatments. So many people were getting help from a local healer I decided to try that out. It was a little helpful but then, because I had a good education in medical laboraties she gave me a book  to read and what did I think. With great skeptism I started reading and before I was half way through it I began using the methods outlined in the book. Using those herbs and supplements I went from hardly able to work to being able to work almost fulltime. I still use that program. But because I had undiagnosed celiac disease by 10 years later some  of my problems returned and I started to loose weight.    So how does a person find a program that will benefit them? Among the programs you can find online there are many that are snake oil scams and some that will be beneficial. by asking around, as I did. Is there an ND in your area? Do they reccomend that person? If you would like to read about the program I use go to www.drclark.net   
    • Scott Adams
      It's unfortunate that they won't work with you on this, but in the end sometimes we have to take charge of our own health--which is exactly what happened to me. I did finally get the tests done, but only after years of going down various rabbit holes and suffering. Just quitting gluten may be the best path for you at this point.
    • catsrlife
      My doctor didn't take the time to listen to anything. I don't even think she knows what it means. She is more concerned about my blood pressure that is caused by her presence than anything else and just wants to push pills at me. The so-called dermatologist wouldn't do a skin test. she prescribed all of these silly antihistamine skin meds. This lady didn't even know what she was talking about and said "they never turn out as celiac, they usually just say it's dermatitis so here's your meds," just like my regular quack. I'm trying to change insurance companies at the moment and that has been a battle because of red tape, wrong turns, and workers having wrong phone numbers. What a joke! The allergy blood days say I have a wheat allergy of .31. Hopefully it's just that and until I find a decent doctor and dermatologist, I'll just lay off the wheat anyway, since it gives me asthma, high blood sugar, and joint pain. So frustrated at this point. The rash on my back of arms/elbows is mostly gone. Both calves and chest have started up. smh. It comes and goes. It fades faster now, though, although my forearms still produce one or two bumps on each side. The itching has calmed down a lot except for the bump area. I have dry skin to begin with so anything affecting it just makes it crazy. i'm never going to eat wheat again. I don't care if they need it to produce results or if it is just an intolerance, allergy, or celiac. It gives me hell.
    • Jmartes71
      I had the test done by one of the specialist through second pcp I had only a few months because he was saying I wasn't.Even though Im positive HLA-DQ2 .My celiac is down played.I am with new pcp, seeing another girl doctor who wants to do another breathe test next month though Im positive sibo this year.I have high blood pressure not sure if its pain from sciatica or sibo, ibs or hidden gluten. Im in disability limbo and I should have never been a bus driver because im still suffering and trying to heal with zero income except for my husband. This isnt fare that my health is dictating my living and having ti beg for being revalidation of my disregarded celiac disease. Its an emotional roller coaster I don't want to be on and the medical made it worse.New pcp new gi, exhausted, tired and really fed up. GI doctor NOT girl..
    • Mari
      Hi Jmartes, It sure is difficult to get useful advice from medical providers. Almost 20 years  ago a Dr suggested that I might have Celiacs and I took a Celiac Panel blood test. No gluten challenge diet. On that test the tTG was in normal range but an alpha antibody was very high. I went online and read about celiac disease and saw how I could investigate this low tTG and still have celiac disease. Normal tTG can happen when a person had been reacting for many years. Another way is that the person has not been eating enough gluten to raise the antibody level. Another reason is that the tTG does not show up on a blood but may show up on a fecal test. Almost all Celiacs inherit at least one of the 2 main Celiac genes. I had genetic tests for the Celiac genes at Enterolab.com. I inherited one main Celiac gene from one parent and the report said that the DQ gene I inherited from my other parent, DQ6, could cause a person to have more problems or symptoms with that combination. One of my grandmother's had fairly typical symptoms of Celiacs but the other grandmother had severe food intolerances. I seem to show some problems inherited from both grandmothers. Human physiology is very complex and researchers are just beginning to understand how different body systems interact.  If you have taken an autosomal DNA test you can download your raw data file and upload it to Prometheuw.com for a small fee and search for Celiac Disease. If you don't find any Cekiac genes or information about Celiac disease  you may not have autoimmune gluten intolerance because more than 99% of Celiacs have one or both of these genes.  PLEASE ASK QUESTIONS IF YOU WANT TO KNOW EHAT i HAVE DONE TO HELP WITH SYMPTOMS.  
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.