Dermatitis herpetiformis, also known as Duhring’s Disease is similar to Celiac Disease

Dermatitis herpetiformis is sometimes also referred to as Duhring’s Disease and it is a form of skin disorder that is considered quite akin to celiac disease in which a person may notice rashes that itch almost chronically and such rashes have papules and also vesicles. In fact, this condition is also considered to have a major bearing with a person’s own sensitivity to gluten and you can expect dermatitis herpetiformis to affect people in their twenties while sometimes even children can contract this disease. However, it is just as likely to affect men as it does women and its exact cause has yet to be ascertained though when a person is intolerant to gluten it can also result in dermatitis herpetiformis.

Common Symptoms

The common symptoms of dermatitis herpetiformis can most often be noticed when the skin turns itchy and it is also not uncommon for the vesicles and maybe even papules to begin appearing on various parts of the body, while sometimes it turns into a red patch with some blistering as well. There are certain causes for such rashes to break out including irritation and also having dry skin, wearing clothing of a rough variety and even because of scratching.

To get a better picture regarding the signs of dermatitis herpetiformis, it may be necessary for a patient to undergo skin biopsy and even direct immunofluourescence testing, while in certain instances it may even become necessary for having biopsy of the intestines performed. Once the condition is diagnosed, it can then be treated according to the symptoms, and most patients may find relief through using Dapsone which is an antibiotic, while others may need to take to gluten-free diets which would then preclude the need of taking medications, and which will also help prevent further complications from occurring.

In case you wish to take medications for treating dermatitis herpetiformis, you would do well to choose from Dapsone, sulphapyridine as also sulphamethoxypryridazine and though you can be sure that such medications will control the rashes caused by dermatitis herpetiformis in a short period of time, if you discontinue taking the medications, the symptoms may reappear once more. This means that the treatment with drugs can be considered as being indefinite and it is not even a cure, and often you will need to find what the tiniest dose is that is required that will contain the rash and so the dosage varies from patient to patient.

The good news, however, is that dermatitis herpetiformis can, at present, be cured through treatment, gluten-free diets and this is quite remarkable when one thinks of many other diseases for which no cure has as yet been found.