Herpetiform dermatitis, also known as Duhring disease or celiac herpetiform dermatitis, is an autoimmune disease that causes small claimant skin blisters similar to herpetic lesions to form.
Although this disease can occur in anyone, it is more common in people with coeliac disease, as it appears to be related to gluten sensitivity.
- Herpetiform dermatitis is incurable.
- But treatment with a gluten-free diet and antibiotic use.
- In the most severe cases.
- Helps relieve symptoms.
- Allowing a better quality of life.
Characteristic symptoms of herpetiform dermatitis include
In addition, it is also very common to have sores around the blisters, which result from scratching the skin too intensely.
The most affected areas are usually the scalp, buttocks, elbows, knees, and back, and usually appear symmetrically, i. e. they appear on both elbows or knees, for example.
The possible cause of herpetiform dermatitis is gluten intolerance, because this substance activates the immune system, leading to the formation of immunoglobulin A, a substance that causes the body to attack cells in the intestine and skin. .
Although it appears to be caused by gluten, there are many cases of people with herpetiform dermatitis who do not have any intestinal symptoms of gluten intolerance and therefore the cause is not yet fully defined.
The most common form of treatment used to control herpetiform dermatitis is to follow a gluten-free diet and therefore wheat, barley and oats should be removed from the diet. Get more tips on how to remove gluten from your diet.
However, because the diet takes a while to take effect, the dermatologist may also recommend the use of an antibiotic in tablet form, called Dapsone, which relieves symptoms within 1 to 2 days, as it can cause various side effects, such as diarrhea, nausea and even anemia, the dose of dapsone should be reduced over time until the minimum dose is able to relieve symptoms.
In case of dapsone allergy, the dermatologist may prescribe the use of corticosteroid-based ointments or the use of other antibiotics, such as sulfapiridine or rituximab, for example.
Diagnosis is usually made by biopsy of the affected skin, in which your doctor takes a small piece of skin that will be evaluated in the lab to evaluate for immunoglobulin A at the site.