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I received many replies to my question about blisters on bottom of foot 
being connected to gluten/DH.  Below are the best of them:

To Brenda's post on blisters on the feet. I also get blisters on my 
feet.
Although they seem to almost be under the skin and only bother me in the
winter. I have not been to the doctor this year for them, they are Very
painful! Last year I went the a doctor(not my family doc) but she had no
idea. These blisters are on the sides under my toes and on 
the"knuckles", if
anyone know what causes these I would like to hear also.   Laurie

I don't get blisters on my foot from eating gluten, but from eating 
eggs.  Perhaps it is an allergic reaction.

I do the same thing!!! My gastro sent me to a dermatoligist and of 
course by the time I saw him it was all cleared up.... I wish I could 
help, I just put Benadryl on it... and try not to itch....

Was dx'd with DH at the age of 9.  Back then we didn't know it was 
auto-immune or that it was related to CD. They simply put me on an 
iodine free diet and when the rashes went away, declared me cured!  I 
only discovered the connection when finally dx'd with CD at the age of 
44!  I'm 45 now....

It sounds like DH to me, however I have never really documented the 
ingestion and then the reaction time before.  I have noticed that I get 
this reaction from all products high in iodine.  So if you are noticing 
this on a regular basis and NOT ingesting gluten, check to see if you 
are ingesting iodine.  Fish and seaweed are high iodine foods.  I also 
realized I was having problems when not ingesting iodine or gluten (or 
so I thought)  and finally traced the culprit to multivitamins that were 
loaded with iodine.

And personally, if you are having this reaction, then be very careful of 
gluten products that touch your skin.  It's been my experience that 
shampoos/conditioner with gluten make my scalp super itchy.  That's my 
experience- may not be an issue for you- but just thought I'd put it out 
there since it took me a long time to make the connection.....

My 7 year old daughter was diagnosed with Celiac disease 2 years ago.
She has never been sick from gluten, but has issues with malnutrition as
a toddler until she was 5.  She has grown about 8 inches in since going
GF and is very healthy.   We are very diligent about contamination so I
am pretty sure she has had almost no gluten in the past 2 years.  The
only symptom that I wonder about is small water blisters (look like
little bubbles) on her hands from time to time.  They seem to go away by
themselves after about 3 days.  She says they are very itchy.  I have
been assuming she has had some contamination when she gets them - but I
have never been able to track it down.

It seems like the range of reactions is larger than I ever imagined!  I 
was diagnosed just a few years ago, in my late 30's, and prior to that I 
used to have terrible acne on my back, always felt self conscious 
wearing open-back summer clothes, but everything cleared up within a 
month of changing my diet and hasn't been back since!


It sounds like Dermatitis Herpetiformis- and the cause is gluten, yes. I 
got them- horrible- for years before I knew the cause. Thankfully, going 
GF cured me- but it took awhile for the gluten to work its way out of my 
system.

I have two responses for you.  Having had DH, I would say that your 
little blisters may well be DH, although my blisters were in the anal 
area and therefore not easy to evaluate and ponder -   I just remember 
the itching to be excruciating, and the residual peeling and red, with a 
slow return to normal color and feeling.

I have no idea where you live nor whether or not you are open to what I 
am about to tell you, as it will seem to be a bizarre suggestion. My 
father, never diagnosed, obviously always suffered from celiac disease, 
as did his sister, and then my sister and I.  I have a son and a 
grandson who have celiac disease, so there is little doubt that it is a 
genetically passed problem in our family.  However, I had a form of 
acupuncture treatment called NAET, and have been completely cured of 
symptoms.  That cure took place six years ago, and I simply lurk on the 
LISTSERV, hoping to convince a few people to try this solution.  I have 
NOTHING to gain (and lose a lot of time) doing this, but I believe so 
strongly in my recovery that took place when I was 72, that at 78 I am 
willing to try to help some people who are younger.  I can now eat 
ANYTHING without any reactions.  A miracle.  My gastroenterologist was 
dumbfounded, but as he was a personal friend who had complete knowledge 
of my symptoms, he could only admit that I had been cured. Our son has 
had NAET treatments and is cured, and now the grandson, [a chemistry 
scholar who has been trying to tell me that he does not believe in 
acupuncture as it does not seem to be "scientific"] has finally decided 
that he will give NAET a try, as coping with the diet during a recent 
term at Oxford in England was just too difficult when he is still in 
graduate school and has very little free time to cook, etc.

The NAET treatments are very simple.  NAET stands for Nambudripad 
Allergy Elimination Treatment.  You can learn all about it at 
www.NAET.com   Read the information about the treatment and what 
illnesses can be treated.  If you have questions, write back and ask me. 
You will have to look at the section about how to find a practitioner in 
the USA or Canada, to see if there is anyone near where you live.
*It sounds like it may be DH. I don't get that reaction but I do (in 
addition to the gut problems) get extremely itchy skin mirrored on both 
sides of my body when I eat wheat.

I know you'd told me about your allergies and that you
don't have any to wheat, but I am betting you are gluten
intolerant or at least gluten sensitive. To me, it really
doesn't matter. One girlfriend gets the itchy blisters on her butt right
away after she's had gluten. My son gets the blisters on
his torso after eating a lot of gluten (before he went GF
again). As far as it being DH, the folks on the board will
probably say yes, but medical personnel will say that's
unknown unless you get biopsied for DH and it's positive.
BUT many dermatologists still biopsy incorrectly. My son's
dermatologist biopsised the blister itself and you are
supposed to biopsy the skin so far from the blister to see
if it has the gluten antibodies.

The cream I like and has given me great relief from the severe itching 
is by Boerike & Tafel, a division of Natures Way Products   It is called 
Florasone Cream. I got it at our local health food store, which is not 
big at all. Hope it helps.


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