Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Does Dermatitis Herpetiformis React Well To Regular Antibiotics?


QueenEe

Recommended Posts

QueenEe Rookie

Hi all,

My rash started up after I was gluten free for a few months. First, I got a bumpy, itchy rash on my elbows (both) which cleared up after about a week, without me doing anything to get rid of it. The same rash then appeared on my legs (both) and it hasn't budged since (6+ months)! My GI took one look at it, heard my digestive complaints, and said she was pretty sure it was DH, and that I had celiac. I've never had the intestinal or skin biopsy done to confirm the diagnosis. However, I did notice that once, when I was on a course of antibiotics for strep, my rash cleared up a bit (not all the way, but it did improve). Would this be another indication that it's DH, or does the fact that it reacted well to antibiotics mean that it is something else entirely?

Anyone have any experience with DH and standard antibiotics (not Dapsone) that could advise?

Thanks!


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



kareng Grand Master

You said that you had strep. If it was a sore throat, could you have been eating gluten-free for a few days? Ice cream, jello, smoothies, etc? It's also possible that some of the sores had some infection to them and the antibiotics helped that.

pricklypear1971 Community Regular

I don't have experience with it but there are other meds that can be used. If you google DH treatments you may find a list of alternative rx, match that against your antibiotic.

lovegrov Collaborator

Antibiotics do not get rid of DH.

richard

pricklypear1971 Community Regular

Antibiotics do not get rid of DH.

richard

Dapsone is classified as an antibiotic.

Open Original Shared Link

itchy Rookie

queene: I would interpret your experience differently.

When we are sick our immune systems are preoccupied, and perhaps reduced. DH is an autoimmune reaction so DH is probably reduced when the immune system is diverted.

I have had the experience of my coeliac symptoms being reduced when I was sick. Unfortunately (sic) I haven`t been sick since I stopped eating gluten, so I haven`t been able to check the effect.

I don`t think it was the antibiotics that had an effect, it was the illness.

Background: At least one theory for the rising rates of DH is based on the idea that we no longer have intestinal parasites. Not so long ago a lot of us were harbouring a small zoo of parasites in our guts, and the autoimmune response that causes DH originally evolved to combat these little guests. Without parasites our highly charged immune systems go looking for something else to fight, and for us coeliacs it is gluten. That`s the theory, I don`t know how accepted it is.

Unfortunately the only treatment for DH is gluten avoidance, and even that can take ages to take effect. Certain antibiotics like Dapsone will make the symptoms go away but they do not treat the underlying cause and the symptoms return immmediately when you stop using them.

squirmingitch Veteran

Along with Dapsone there is sulfapyridine & a couple other antibiotics can be used to treat dh.

Open Original Shared Link


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



pricklypear1971 Community Regular

queene: I would interpret your experience differently.

When we are sick our immune systems are preoccupied, and perhaps reduced. DH is an autoimmune reaction so DH is probably reduced when the immune system is diverted.

I have had the experience of my coeliac symptoms being reduced when I was sick. Unfortunately (sic) I haven`t been sick since I stopped eating gluten, so I haven`t been able to check the effect.

I don`t think it was the antibiotics that had an effect, it was the illness.

Background: At least one theory for the rising rates of DH is based on the idea that we no longer have intestinal parasites very often any more. Not so long ago a lot of us were harbouring a small zoo of parasites in our guts, and the autoimmune response that causes DH originally evolved to combat these little guests. Without parasites our highly charged immune systems go looking for something else to fight, and for us coeliacs it is gluten. That`s the theory, I don`t know how accepted it is.

Unfortunately the only treatment for DH is gluten avoidance, and even that can take ages to take effect. Certain antibiotics like Dapsone will make the symptoms go away but they do not treat the underlying cause and the symptoms return immmediately when you stop using them.

And sometimes it's the inverse - after the flu my DH flared (when it hadn't flared while gluten-free).

itchy Rookie

lovegrov, on 28 April 2012 - 08:36 PM, said:

Antibiotics do not get rid of DH.

richard

Prickly pear wrote: Dapsone is classified as an antibiotic.

http://www.drugs.com...petiformis.html

There is a problem of teminology. Whether we think of DH as a disease, or just a symptom of coeliac disease. Clearly Dapsone does not cure or treat the disease of DH, which is coeliac disease in another form.

Dapsone does not treat DH, because those of us with DH must continue to avoid gluten to prevent the underlying effects of the disease on our bodies. However some people are able to use Dapsone to treat the symptoms of DH.

I think it is important to keep the distinction clear.

lovegrov Collaborator

Dapsone, which seems to be more correctly called an anti-bacterial, does indeed treat the symptoms of DH (I took it for 20 years), but it has different action that what most people think of as your standard antibiotic. And, yes, others sulfa drugs have some effect but are generally less effective. You cannot just start popping any old antibiotic (which would be a bad idea anyway) and get rid of your DH symptoms. It simply doesn't work like that.

ravenwoodglass Mentor

Background: At least one theory for the rising rates of DH is based on the idea that we no longer have intestinal parasites. Not so long ago a lot of us were harbouring a small zoo of parasites in our guts, and the autoimmune response that causes DH originally evolved to combat these little guests. Without parasites our highly charged immune systems go looking for something else to fight, and for us coeliacs it is gluten. That`s the theory, I don`t know how accepted it is.

DH has been with us for for a long time but for many it is misdiagnosed as something else. I think the rising rates are due to more doctors recognizing it for what it is rather than giving the blanket diagnosis of 'dermatitis' etc.

My mother had it severely beginning in childhood, which for her was in the 1920's. I also had it severely from childhood and it was misdiagnosed as 'poison ivy in my bloodstream'.

Everyone still has 'a small zoo of parasites' in our guts. We couldn't live without them. Personally I do not think this 'theory' is accepted at all.

itchy Rookie

Actually ravenwood, the actual rates of coeliac have increased dramatically. There was a study, which I don't have time to look up, which compared the rates of antibodies in the current population, to the antibodies in blood stored from the first world war. Coeliac rates are several times higher now, it is not just better identification.

Also, the lovely fauna in our guts that keep us healthy aren't parasites, they are commensals and we probably don't have antibodies to them. The parasites I was talking about are tapeworms, roundworms, etc. which most of us don't want to entertain, but which our ancestors were still putting up with well into the 20th century. Perhaps coincidentally, or perhaps not coincidentally the same time people were finding it easier to get rid of parasites, we were also getting higher rates of coeliac disease.

As you said, there doesn't seem to be proof, but to me it is as good as any other explanation I've heard.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      126,836
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Art Glassman
    Newest Member
    Art Glassman
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.9k
    • Total Posts
      69.7k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):




  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      @ABP2025, Here's some studies and articles that will help you learn more about thiamin and all... I will write more later. It's possible that your antibiotic for giardiasis has caused thiamine deficiency.   https://hormonesmatter.com/metronidazole-toxicity-thiamine-deficiency-wernickes-encephalopathy/ And... https://hormonesmatter.com/thiamine-deficiency-testing-understanding-labs/ And... Thiamine and benfotiamine: Focus on their therapeutic potential https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10682628/ and... Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/      
    • DayaInTheSun
      Interesting you mention MCAS. I have come across mcas before but I wasn’t entirely sure if that’s what it was. When I eat certain food like dairy or soy my face gets so hot and I feel flush and my heart rate shoot’s up. And sometimes my bottom lip swells or I get hives somewhere. This started happening after I had a really bad case of Covid.  Before that I was able to eat all those things (minus gluten) I was diagnosed with celiac way before I had Covid.  Hmm, not sure really. I may look for a different allergist my current one told me to take Zyrtec and gave me an epi pen. 
    • Kiwifruit
      This is all really useful information, thank you so much to you both.    I have a history of B12 and vit D deficiency which has always just been treated and then ignored until it’s now again.
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @Gill.brittany8! There are two main genes that have been identified as creating potential for developing celiac disease, HLDQ2 and HLDQ8. Your daughter has one of them. So, she possesses genetic the potential to develop celiac disease. About 40% of the general population carries one or both of these genes but only about 1% of the general population develops celiac disease. It takes both the genetic potential and some kind of triggering stress factor (e.g., a viral infection or another prolonged health problem or an environmental factor) to "turn on" the gene or genes. Unfortunately, your daughter's doctor ordered a very minimal celiac antibody panel, the tTG-IGA and total IGA. Total IGA is not even a test per celiac disease per se but is a check for IGA deficiency. If the person being checked for celiac disease is IGA deficient, then the scores for individual IGA tests (such as the tTG-IGA) will be abnormally low and false negatives can often be the result. However, your daughter's total IGA score shows she is not IGA deficient. You should consider asking our physician for a more complete celiac panel including DGP-IGA, TTG_IGG and DGP-IGG. If she had been avoiding gluten that can also create false negative test results as valid antibody testing requires having been consuming generous amounts of gluten for weeks leading up to the blood draw. Do you know if the GI doc who did the upper GI took biopsies of the duodenum and the duodenum bulb to check for the damage to the small bowel lining caused by celiac disease? Having said all that, her standard blood work shows evidence of possible celiac disease because of an elevated liver enzyme (Alkaline Phosphatase) and low values for hemoglobin.
    • Gill.brittany8
      Hi everyone  After years of stomach issues being ignored by doctors, my 9 y/o daughter finally had an upper endoscopy which showed a ton of stomach inflammation. The GI doctor ordered some bloodwork and I’m attaching the results here. Part will be from the CBC and the other is celiac specific. I’m not sure what’s relevant so I’m just including extra information just in case.   The results are confusing because they say “No serological evidence of celiac disease. tTG IgA may normalize in individuals with celiac disease who maintain a gluten-free diet. Consider HLA DQ2 and DQ8 testing to rule out celiac disease.” But just a few lines down, it says DQ2 positive. Can someone help make sense of this? Thanks so much.  result images here: https://ibb.co/WFkF0fm https://ibb.co/kHvX7pC https://ibb.co/crhYp2h https://ibb.co/fGYFygQ  
×
×
  • Create New...