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Itchy Red Rash All Over Torso


laurajane

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laurajane Newbie

Hi all,

I went MOSTLY gluten-free a year ago. I've never tested positive for celiac but I have other issues which led me to think that gluten could be a problem for me, so I decided to cut it out of my diet. Twice in the past 6-8 months, however, I have splurged on some bread and both times I developed a VERY itchy red splotchy rash all over my torso. It doesn't blister or ooze and doesn't seem to match the DH descriptions -- seem closer to a "yeast rash" though it doesn't occur exclusively in folds of skin, etc -- it's all over.

The first time was last May when I ate a hamburger with bun and three days later broke out in this rash. The second time was over this Thanksgiving, when I ate stuffing on Thursday, a few bites of bread on Friday, and some pie crust on Saturday. Yesterday, Tuesday, the rash came back again. Same rash.

I'm not sure if I should be blaming the wheat/gluten, or the yeast, or both? Maybe candida is an issue? Maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree altogether? It does seem like too much to be a coincidence. I don't know, but I would really welcome some input from you experienced folks!

Thanks so much.

LJ

PS -- I do eat small amounts of wheat from time to time, but never bread or anything leavened. I seem to be okay eating, for example, a soup that has a bit of flour as a thickener -- though maybe I should be avoiding this too.


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ravenwoodglass Mentor

Can you get an appointment with a derm? The derm can biopsy the area adjacent to the rash to check for the antibodies. If the antibodies are found that that is a conclusive diagnosis of celiac. If you do have celiac you should not be eating small amounts of gluten, even the little bit that is in a soup. The fact that this rash shows up 3 days after consumption is a good indication that the reaction is autoimmune, or celiac related rather than an allergic or histamine reaction which would occur within at the most hours of consumption.

dilettantesteph Collaborator

My son had that at around 2 years. Dermatologist said it was excema. Later at 10 years he was diagnosed with celiac after he started throwing up 10 times a day and missed 49 days of school during diagnosis and figuring out the diet. I think the dermatologist missed DH. You would do well to eliminate gluten now after diagnosis as in previous post rather than let the condition progress and end up in a bad state like my son did.

laurajane Newbie

Hi dilettantesteph and ravenwoodglass,

Thank you both for your replies. What you both say makes sense. I could probably get to a derm but here is my question -- the rash is following the exact same pattern it did last time, which is to say that it is now invisible. I am left with itching which is not as severe as when there was visible redness. It seems the rash fades visibly and then the itching gradually subsides over a period of 2 or 3 weeks. Do you think there could still be antibodies even though I can no longer see the rash?

Also, do you think I should disregard the negative blood test I had? When I had the test I was not eating gluten, or if I was it was in very small accidental amounts. I know I've read different things about whether the blood tests are even accurate, and I definitely as avoiding gluten at the time when I had the test (it was about a month after that first rash appeared last spring).

One other thing -- the rash does seem to respond at least partially to antihistamines and cortisone cream. This past week, on the worst day, I got home from work and my back was very red and splotchy and inflamed looking. I took a benadryl and it quieted down quite a bit. Though I imagine it's possible to have a histamine reaction that is somehow secondary to an autoimmune thing?

Sorry for all the questions and again, thank you both for your replies!!

LJ

laurajane Newbie

Sorry, one more thing --

I've also noticed that I retain water after eating a lot of wheat. I used to think it was normal to wake up with a slight overall puffiness in my face, most noticeable in my upper lip. I don't think anyone else would ever notice it but I could always tell when I was putting on my makeup that my lip was slightly swollen. This resolved after I switched to my mostly gluten-free diet. I have noticed, however, that it has returned since the rash showed up after Thanksgiving. Does this sound characteristic of Celiac?

Also, if I can't get the skin biopsy or if that comes back negative as well, is there another type of testing I should look into? I do have a very compliant, helpful, and reasonably knowledgeable integrative med doctor. His specialty is really endocrine/thyroid stuff, but he is aware of and open to celiac issues, candida etc.

Thanks!!

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