Regarding ezcema:

Mark wrote:

> I don't think DH sounds likely.  Here's why:
>
> A dermatologist once suspected I had Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH).  The
> sysmptoms I had which I was told were fairly classic were:  A dry itchy
> rash on my scalp, elbows, kneecaps, finger-joints; tiny, numerous pimples
> on my upper back...They did a punch biopsy of one
> of the pimples, but it came back negative. ( I knew it would because I knew
> these symptoms started from a tick bite in the top of my head.  When they
> did the two punch biopsies where the tick had bitten, thereby removing the
> allergic tissue, my symptoms went away.)
>
Perhaps I'm missing something here, but I am a bit confused as to why
you would dismiss your current rash as DH (or at least, potentially
gluten-caused) based on the above reasoning. If you have not been
recently bitten by another tick, then that can't be the source of your
rash. If you are milk-free, then dairy is also not likely, unless you've
correlated accidental ingestion with ezcema outbreaks. That leaves some
other (possibly food) source for the ezcema.

I just finished collecting responses from people on the Celiac list
about rosacea, another skin condition besides DH which seems to appears
in some celiacs. Some of these respondents with gluten-intolerance (some
diagnosed celiacs, some just intolerant) and rosacea had never had DH;
one considered DH and rosacea to be two sides of the same coin. However,
many of the others had had varying diagnoses over the years *in addition
to* rosacea: seborrheic dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, acne, eczema,
etc. Eight of 11 were helped with their rosacea (which I was
specifically asking about) by going gluten-free.

Multiple allergies are not uncommon among milk-allergic or -intolerant
types, I have learned from this list. And from what I've read on this
list and elsewhere, food intolerances seems to manifest in highly
individual ways, with symptoms that unfortunately don't always fit
neatly into defined categories like DH.

In addition to what I now suspect is rosacea, I have extremely dry skin,
contact dermatitis to various things (nickel, soaps and sponges), and a
all-over body rash that seems to manifest mostly in winter. I am
milk-free largely (probably still getting some in baked goods). I figure
I have nothing to lose and everything to gain by trying the gluten-free
route.

Also, Helen wrote:

> My doctor has said that some of his patients use olive oil. I haven't tried
> it. Seems a bit unsafe to me.
>
I wonder why, as it's a natural substance. These kinds of oils have been
used topically by various cultures for thousands of years. Olive oil is
a common ingredient in certain soaps and shampoos. I have used a
combination of olive oil, peanut oil, melted lanolin and rosewater with
good success on my very dry body skin. I have also used castor oil on my
face, which seems to greatly reduce redness. I imagine both are safer
than cortisone cream, which I understand merely surpresses inflammatory
responses rather than cures anything.

Leslie Beachwood