Coeliac Disease & Dermatitis Herpetiformus

Dermatitis Herpetiformus is a skin condition, instantly recognisable to dermatologists (skin specialists) because of its distinctive appearance of tiny skin blisters.  These can appear on the face, knees, elbows, ankles, buttocks and shoulders. They can probably appear anywhere on the body.  The medical profession have found that wheat intolerance is the cause.

Wheat (or the gluten found within the wheat) – intolerance is called Coeliac Disease, and many people don’t have the skin reaction because their inflammation is taking place at a different part of the bowel.

The explanation lies within the bowel.  When a wheat reaction begins, the wall of the bowel thickens over time, and the villi (these are like tiny fingers protruding into the cavity of the bowel) become thickened and flattened.  The job of the villi is to collect nutrients, and when they are damaged like this, the lack of some nutrients causes little blisters to pop up on the skin.

Once wheat is eliminated from the diet (every last bit of it!), the symptoms of Coeliac Disease, which are Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms, diarrhoea, flatulence, bloating and abdominal pain disappear.  Recovery of the villi takes about six months, and then the blisters of Dermatitis Herpetiformus disappear.

SIRET Number 802 713 412 00012

