What is Dermatitis Herpetiformis?
Dermatitis Herpetiformis (DH) is an important associated disorder or complication of celiac disease which is manifested in the form of a skin rash. There is strong evidence that the changes in the intestinal mucosa and the immunologic findings in the majority of patients diagnosed with DH are identical with those found in celiac disease. Gluten has been found to have a close relationship with this skin rash. DH is often referred to as "celiac disease of the skin" while CD is referred to as "celiac disease of the gut."
For more information read Dr. Russell P. Hall's article "Dermatitis Herpetiformis and Dietary Gluten: Illuminating a Gut-Skin Connection" published in the Lifeline Spring 2004 issue. DH was formerly described in the literature as Duhring's Disease. It has a typical onset in the teens or in the third or fourth decades of life. In the U.S., the presence of diagnosed cases is estimated to be about 1 in 10,000 with a male/female ratio of 2:1. It is more common in whites and rare in people of African or Asian descent. |
