Did you know that eczema could possibly be not just eczema?

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When Eczema is Not Eczema Living with eczema (dermatitis) is its own special torture. In many people, the chronic skin condition causes nearly incessant itching along with its telltale unsightly red or sometimes brown-colored rashes on the arms, face and neck, including in the folds of skin of knees and elbows. Adding to the torture is that it is a life-long condition -- eczema has no known cure and the few treatments for it may only be marginally helpful. And so when 53-year-old "Ken" called Mark A. Stengler, ND, for a consultation about the eczema that he had had for more than two decades, he held out little hope. As Ken was about to discover, though, eczema isn't always what it seems. Ken was a carpenter and part-time painter so his work exposed him to chemicals practically every day. It was hardly surprising that many of the specialists he saw over the years pointed to Ken's livelihood as the trigger for his eczema flare-ups and the reason why the condition became so intense at times. Indeed, the itching was often so bad, Ken told Dr. Stengler, that he got little sleep at night and the rash had grown to cover much of his body. He reported that his previous doctors had prescribed numerous different steroid topical ointments in an attempt to stem the chronic itching -- but nothing really helped. After meeting with Ken, Dr. Stengler figured that the toxicity was so deep, he needed some cleansing from the inside out. And so, to counteract any toxic residue that could result from frequent exposure to chemicals, Dr. Stengler put Ken through a detoxification program with liver cleansing herbs, purified water and the like. Surprisingly, this didn't help much and so Dr. Stengler scratched his own head. Although Ken's skin had the appearance of eczema, Dr. Stengler decided to look past the decades-long diagnosis to see what else it might be and what might possibly be an underlying cause. A WHOLE DIFFERENT CAUSE Eczema is sometimes associated with allergies or reactions to a variety of foods with milk, peanuts, soy, fish and tree nuts (walnuts, cashews) leading the pack. But there is yet another reaction to food that has been associated with a form of dermatitis as well -- that is an intolerance to gluten, the protein found in many grains including wheat, barley and rye. (At one time oats were also on the gluten list, but some researchers now feel that oats may not produce a reaction.) Complicating the picture further, the gluten-associated rash is not actually eczema. This condition, which looks strikingly like eczema, bears the name dermatitis herpetiformis. In spite of the seeming reference in the name, this has nothing at all to do with the herpes virus. It does, however, have everything to do with celiac disease, or gluten intolerance. Celiac disease is also a life-long condition with symptoms that can surface in a number of different ways from few symptoms at all to severe gastrointestinal distress, including diarrhea, abdominal pain, gas and bloating. In fact, celiac sufferers occasionally become seriously malnourished because the small intestine loses its ability to absorb nutrients, although many do not exhibit symptoms. Celiac disease can develop in childhood, but dermatitis herpetiformis is more apt to surface starting in the 20s or after and more frequently in men, a profile that certainly fit Ken. Dr. Stengler now tested his patient for antibodies to gluten in the digestive tract through a stool test. Having such antibodies reveals the presence of a gluten intolerance. Ken's antibodies tested extremely high, says Dr. Stengler. Consequently, Dr. Stengler put him immediately on a strict gluten-free diet with no foods containing wheat, rye or barley and allowed him to eat oats only occasionally. After six weeks of faithfully following this diet, admittedly with considerable difficulty, Ken discovered that his decades-old eczema-like disorder disappeared completely. It has now been a year since Dr. Stengler diagnosed Ken's condition and he reports that as long as Ken sticks to his gluten-free diet, his skin remains clear and without any sign of a rash. He sleeps peacefully without the itching that plagued him previously and he is able to continue his work around chemicals without any effect on his skin. CONCLUSION Dr. Stengler points out that although just less than 1% of the population is affected by celiac disease, some researchers estimate it is largely underdiagnosed and that many more people suffer from gluten intolerance. This disorder can cause a host of other problems including, as we have seen, skin rashes and digestive distress, but it might also be behind other chronic conditions including headaches, fatigue, mood swings, depression and joint pain. www.lajollawholehealth.com