Dermatitis Herpatiformis . . . Seriously?

Dermatitis Herpatiformis . . . the most unusual in my string of new vocab words. Yes, it sounds nasty but, no, it is not herpes. Which is a REALLY good thing since it appeared a few months back on my baby girl's forehead!!!

At the end of last April (2009), I noticed a cluster of small bumps on Landry's forehead and on her hands. These little clusters of bumps almost resembled tiny clusters of worts and continued to appear over the course of several weeks. So, we called the pediatrician and asked her to take a look. She, too, thought they resembled worts and referred us to the dermatologist (remember her from that all inclusive list). With Dermatologist called and appointment made, we waited for our appointment date in June to arrive.

Finally, the big day arrived and guess what? Another prescription! The dermatologist assured us that it was just eczema - which is very easily treated. "Just put a little of this cream on the afflicted areas morning and night, and the bumps will be gone in no time." Yay - the bumps will be gone in no time!!!

July - bumps still there
August - hi, bumps - glad to see you're all still here
September - looking good, bumps!
October - boo! the bumps are still here for trick-or-treating
November - hey, hey, ho, ho! These here bumps just won't go! (but the eczema medicine had long since been exhausted)

December 7, 2009 - Our first visit to the pediatric nutritionist (4 days after the food allergy diagnosis) - After being in her office for 5 minutes, she looked at Landry and noticed THE BUMPS . . . and she commented on them. "Hey, has she had those bumps on her head and hands for a while?" Ummm - yeah. They've been there a while. And then her reply "Those bumps are Dermatitis Herpatiformis. It's a gluten allergy." And the angels sang! (Well, not really but it was a happy moment, indeed!)

6 gluten free weeks later - NO BUMPS!!! NONE . . . AT ALL!

Oh, happy day!