Susan Carmack <[log in to unmask]  wrote:

*I have intensely itchy pimples around my back and neck.
Please tell me what I am doing wrong.*

Susan, you will likely get scores of possible solutions, and here's another
one, long shot though it may be. Some 10% of Celiacs suffer from DH (Dermatitis
Herpetiformis), which is, as you describe, an intensely itchy blistery skin
rash which often appears on the neck and back. Since you aren't consuming any
gluten (at least not from the diet you described) the  other source of DH in
gluten free Celiacs is from the iodine in seafood. I myself have had this happen
on a few occasions. I can handle a small amount of seafood now and then, but
if I buy a 3 pound bag of shrimp and eat it all within a week, I'll suffer an
outbreak of DH. (Certain supplements, cosmetics and drugs can also contain
gluten.)

A simple biopsy done by a Celiac-savvy dermatologist will put the question to
rest. Of course, s/he may or may not be able to diagnose exactly what is
causing the pimples. I've heard it said that dermatology is the best medical
specialty to go into, because one's patients will neither get cured, nor die from
their ailments, so will always keep coming back! LOL!

Good luck to you, and please keep us posted.

Maddy Mason
Hudson Valley, NY