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My husband, Carl, and son, Matt, have been diagnosed with Dermatitis
Herpetiformis.  Carl has been in a test group taking Sulfapyridine
(Sp?) for a couple of years.  The original manufacturer stopped making
it because it wasn't profitable.  But it works, so luckily another
manufacturer is testing the market.  Carl only needs it when he gets a
particularly bad breakout, usually on his back, elbows and legs.  Diet
and a topical ointment, Temovate, usually control it.  He eats a lot of
Corn Pops, so that may be his problem if they are indeed *not*
gluten-free.

Matt was diagnosed a couple of years after Carl.  He was eight years
old at the time and we had gone through a long period of unexplained
*bug bites* on the legs and arms and *impetigo* on his buttocks.  When
the antibiotics had no effect on the impetigo I took him to Carl's
dermatologist.  It looked suspiciously like Carl's DH to me, but I
didn't say anything to the doctor.  The doctor looked at Matt's little
 raw bottom, looked puzzled and said that it could be impetigo.  Then
he turned to me and said, "You know what this looks like?"  I nodded my
head and he said he was going to do a blood workup on him.  It came
back positive for DH.  So far a GFD has worked beautifully for Matt.
He almost never has a breakout  and is thriving.  At age 15, he is
almost 6 feet tall and weighs 200 lbs.  (which is too much, I know, but
try to keep a teenager from eating.)

For the people who have been wondering about their babies:  Matt was
colicky, he spit up almost as much as he ate (breast-fed), and he
started doing much better at four months when I gave him rice cereal
(against doctors orders).

Sorry this is so long.  I hope it helps.

Denise
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