<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hi Everyone!

Thanks to all who responded.  It is always good to know that we are not alone.

I received lots of practical advice:

No picking, scratching; etc.  No touching your face.  Wash face with
antibacterial soap.  Dab acne with hydrogen peroxide to dry out.  Don't scrub
your face, just massage gently with fingertips.  Use a gentle face cleanser
instead of soap each morning (suggestions:  Clearasil and SeaBreaze.  I did
not check GF status of either one!)

Other suggested medical conditions included:

Roacea (several people mentioned this);   SEE
http://www.rosacea.org/home.html
Helicobacter (a type of adult acne associated w/ Rosacea); and
Candida (as a result of many years of malabsorption).

Other culprits included:

Vitamin Deficiencies;
Fatty dairy products, dairy products in general, sugar, tomato sauce, cheese;
etc.;
Inadvertent gluten;
Soybean Vitamin E; Vitamin Supplements w/ soybean; Soybean oil and Lecithin;
and
Zinc Deficiency (mentioned by several).

Solutions included:

Clinique products, Clearasil, SeaBreaze;
Sauna therapy;
Topical antibodies;
Retina A;
Accutane (very serious prescription drug);
Zinc treatments (50 mg GF tablet 2/day for 2 weeks; then 1/day thereafter);
Seeing dermatologist for prescription drugs;
Sarna cream; Supplements:  L-Glutamine; high potency "yogurt pill";
Aromatherapy.  (I received the following response:  "The book I use most is
called The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann
Worwood.  Pages 129 thru 132 speak about acne and provide the recipes and
dietary advice for treating this problem.  This book is widely available and
is the number one book on the subject.  It is available in most book stores
and also through amazon.com.");
Barleans Flax Oil; and
Other solutions:  See Below.

I found several responses very interesting, including a few regarding the
"detoxing" of your body after going gluten free.  The idea is that it takes
quite a while after going gluten free for your entire body to "heal" after
years of suffering from a chronic illness.  I received the following:

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"sometimes what happens is the toxins from the food and chemicals from
before are still in your body and your skin is trying to get rid of them.
You can do a body detox tea or capsule to help rid your body of poisons.
Also acidophilus is a good thing to take to balance out the flora in your
intestines.  You will find this in the refrigerator section in a health
food store.  Enzymatic Therapy has a supplement called Derma Klear.  This
with their soap really helps the skin and body to detoxify.  You will
find this in your local health food store".
----------

Finally, I received the following well thought out response, which I will not
attempt to paraphrase or summarize:

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"Often, "adult acne" is an indication that you are ingesting or creating
poisons (from immune reactions) that overload the normal systems for
eliminating them, so they emerge through the skin.

Dermatitis Herpetiformis, a rash/itch of reddened areas and pustules is
sometimes associated with CD. There may be red bumps on the forehead,
elbows, other joints, thighs, a red rash, lines of red marks, or almost any
skin irregularity.  As I recall with my wife (the celiac in the family) she
would get itchy red rashes, bumps and lines (maybe from scratching) on
almost any part of her body, and non-itchy raised bumps on either side of
her forehead.  These have stopped erupting (first to stop was the itch/body
rash), gradually diminishing, over years on the diet.  She started the diet
in 1993, and I think eruptions stopped by end of 1996 after she refined the
diet to eliminate the non-gluten irritants.

Your system may be sensitized (because of frequent reactions to gluten) to
other foods, or you may still be ingesting hidden gluten (hydrolyzed
vegetable protein, distilled [from wheat] vinegar, "natural" flavoring
[which may contain wheat starch as an extender], or etc.)

Other foods may consist of fresh dairy, sugar, raw carrots, fat meat, tea,
spices, or whatever.  It seems quite individual and makes little sense from
a scientific (medical) viewpoint.  However, the common-sense rule is, if it
bothers you don't eat it.

Your best bet is to keep a food and symptom log (diary), note what you eat
and how your symptoms increase or decrease.

Try to start with as basic a diet as possible:  short-grained white rice,
finfish, white meat chicken, spinach, ripe bananas, ripe bartlett pears,
aged (extra sharp white cheddar) cheese, natural honey, extra virgin olive
oil, etc.  Avoid packaged foods, restaurants, drugs, vitamins and
supplements as much as you can until you figure out what is bothering you.
Then add foods one at a time and note any changes.

Nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, white potatoes) cause a problem in some
people."
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Based upon the response, many celiacs suffer from "adult acne".  I hope this
summary helps each and everyone!  And of course, it is always good to drink
LOTS of water, a new goal I am working on too!    :-)

Regards,

Heather
Oklahoma City, OK
USA