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Below is my original post. After seeing my doctor I was diagnosed with Seborrheic Dermatitis with eczema. I was prescribed Elidel and Ketoconazole and told to use each four times a day. I have been using them vigilantly and have had a major improvement, but the rash is still not gone on my chin. There is still some slight redness below my nose, but that is all. I have been using the creams for almost three weeks now so I hope that at some point this will clear up completely.
I had barely noticed another problem when I made the original post, but I am having some other symptoms that sound even more like DH. I have these tiny bumps on my legs, upper arms and buttocks. It was also around my torso, but the bumps were even smaller. My skin feels a bit like a fine grade of sandpaper. I wouldn’t call them watery blisters, but they do scab over. This was worse a week or so ago and seems to be improving slightly, but some are really still evident. I am going to go back to the doctor and demand to see a Dermatologist. I recall having this for years, and it seems to occur mostly in the spring. I have a friend with Colitis and she has them on her arms too. I never thought much about it until reading the responses and having this new problem with the facial rash.
Thanks again and feel free to email me with any further thoughts. I will summarize further if anyone is interested.
Begin original post:
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Hi all,
I’ve been following this list for a while now and I have learned a lot. I am Celiac and have been gluten free since Sept. 2002. Since then, I have spent most of my free time learning about this condition and the GF diet. My health improved very quickly after going GF. My diarrhea stopped and I have gained some much needed weight. I am very sensitive to accidental gluten exposure and usually notice it within 1/2 hour of ingestion starting in my upper GI tract. For that reason, I rarely eat out and am extremely careful about cross contamination at work. When I am in control of my diet and surroundings, I do not have problems.
I had been into health foods and nutrition for many years before discovering I was Celiac, so a lot of this is not new to me. I have always had to eat very healthy, as I have had digestive problems and have had less than perfect health all of my life. I am now 43.
In all my research after going GF I am sorry to say that I have paid little to no attention to information regarding Dermatitis Herpetiformis. Other than being severely allergic to poison oak, and having one unexplained rash around my waist and back area a few months ago, which was cleared up with steroids, I have never had skin problems.
Now I am faced with a horrible rash on my face. This is different that any poison oak like reactions that previously occurred in other areas. I have large red areas on my chin, especially in the frown line area under the corners of my mouth, but they are larger than that. It is also occurring in lines from the corners of my nose down to the corners at the top of my mouth. The patterns are fairly symmetrical. It is painful, very itchy and dry. It is cracking and bleeding a little even, it is so dry, Once the dry skin flakes off the skin underneath is still very red and blotchy and the process of dry peeling occurs again. It is not clearing up at all, and I have tried many different things. I have never had any sensitivities to cosmetics or skin care products before and I haven’t changed brands recently either, I have usually had fairly oily skin, so this extreme dryness is also new.
The only thing that I have changed recently is that I started to use kefir. I started taking enough each day to fit in a toddler sized juice cup. My digestion feels better than ever after taking it. I just wonder if it could have anything to do with this rash on my face? I have skipped the kefir for the last two days, and I have not seen an improvement in my skin. I don’t ever drink milk, but have never had a problem with dairy in general. I did have a bad upper respiratory flu a month or so ago which left some redness under my nose area, but I had thought that had cleared up.
From what little I have read about DH, I was under the impression that it would not occur in someone already on a GF diet, and that in fact, the diet would help to clear it up.
I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, and my HMO PCP is not very
Celiac knowledgeable. I apologize that this is so long, but I would appreciate any insights from the list members. My face looks absolutely horrible and I am embarrassed to go out in public. Other than that, I feel fine.
Thanks in advance, I will summarize.
Molly
Santa Monica, CA
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