Hi! I’m twenty years old, and I’ve been dealing with this skin problem in its current manifestation since I was about thirteen or fourteen. Here’s a quick rundown:
- Over the years, it has spread to most of my body. The only places that are free of it are my hands, my head and face, my neck, the center of my upper back, the tops of my forearms, and my crotch. It is most severe on my buttocks and the backs/inner areas of my thighs, where it first started years ago. On my buttocks there is almost no unaffected skin visible. On areas it’s more recently spread to, like my shoulders, it is much milder.
- It manifests as pink or red spots or patches, varying from dots a couple millimeters in diameter to irregularly shaped patches a couple inches long. It is scaly and flaking. It worsens immediately during/after showering. It very rarely itches. In its most severely affected areas, it is blistering and sometimes painful to the touch. Patches that have been healing for a while appear discolored (light brownish or pale pink/purple) for a long time.
- Its severity fluctuates, and there have been a couple periods of a few months to a year where there were almost no new outbreaks. However, the I’d say the general trend has been one of worsening and spreading over the past 6-7 years.
- It was diagnosed as guttate psoriasis when I was around sixteen, but it didn’t respond to the steroid treatment and it doesn’t fit many of the symptoms— notably, guttate psoriasis is almost always acute, and it doesn’t blister, and it normally itches.
lf anyone has dealt with or seen something similar, please let me know. I’m contacting another dermatologist, I’m just curious to see if anyone has any insight.
Written by
els174
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It started in puberty this must be significant do you take the contraceptive pill this is the first question if you do you should think about stopping - I would stop immediately but I can't advice on that but estrogen birth pill is often the culprit of many rashes
If you don't take the pill you could look into pregnenolone do some research start on a low dose some people take DHEA but this has to be treated with caution too but its worth reading up on
But really you need a diagnosis, keep on the trail of getting a diagnosis and then treatment you will find out eventually if you keep at it, good luck
Are you on a gluten free diet? I ask because it could be dermatitis herpetiformis (DH/ or gluten rash).
When it is severe it blisters and scales. Also, when it heals it leaves purplish discoloration. It can also come and go, with periods of up to years with no flares. (But, by the time you reach middle age, the waxing and waning are over, and it becomes a constant presence, unless you are strictly gluten free.) It also frequents the same areas your rash is showing up. If that is what it is, you are lucky you aren't experiencing the sometimes intense burning/ itching that many with it do.
Generally, if skin is involved you are looking at food allergies or sensitivities. Gluten and dairy, along with leaky gut/ unhealthy gut bacteria, are the usual suspects.
I would start with eliminating gluten and dairy. It must be a complete elimination, no sneaking a taste here or there. The reason I recommend cutting dairy at the same time, is that the structure of dairy proteins is similar to gluten protein and can cause a cross reaction. You can always slowly add dairy back in later to see how you react.
It will take weeks for the rash to begin to dissipate, if it is DH. But, be patient. I assure you it is worth the wait. I suffer from both Celiac and DH. (DH is the outward manifestation of Celiac.)
If you are looking for a diagnosis, make sure you get tested while you are still eating gluten. Results will be skewed otherwise. (But, gluten can still cause skin problems without having Celiac's.)
However, if you are just looking to feel better, changing the diet can be a game changer on many fronts.
Having a restricted diet is challenging, to say the least. But, it's a wonderful opportunity to get more fresh foods in your system. When I start missing now forbidden favorites, I just remember how sick I felt while eating them. Problem solved.
I’ve actually been looking into celiac, because I noticed in my research how much my rash looked like DH! I’m planning on asking my doctor to order a blood test. Thank you so much for your input.
I wanted to add that a positive diagnosis of DH is indicative of Celiac without intestinal biopsy. But, the problem is that nowadays doctors have no idea how to do the skin biopsy correctly. The sample must be taken adjacent to the lesion, but on unaffected skin. Even worse, they don't know what they are looking at under the microscope.☹️ So, if you want to try for a diagnosis, (which can still be elusive even if you ARE Celiac), my advice is to continue eating gluten up until your blood test , and though I wouldn't wish this condition on my worst enemy, hope that it shows positive on the blood test.
Regardless of whether you are Celiac or gluten intolerant, the treatment is the same: strict avoidance of gluten.
Fractionated coconut oil mixed with aloe gel can help soothe your skin in the meantime. Rosehip seed oil mixed in can help with healing.
The replies above are right on it. Look first at what you're putting into your body that is adversely affecting it. After that look at what's around your body in environment that could be adversely affecting it. That's the two routes of exposure. Stuff doesn't just happen for no reason. When Drs don't know what's causing it, that's just because they can't see it happening.
So follow those food leads and try an elimination diet. Get rid of hormonal interference. Ensure there's no mold/bacterial contamination in your home. That causes some nasty skin reactions amongst other things. xx
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