What we see at first glance is severely itchy blisters or eczema in typical places, especially around large joints — elbows, knees, buttocks, cheekbones, shoulders, wrists. And this leads to a superficial attitude toward visible manifestations. But this disease is mostly internal. And the existing digestive problems are not related to skin manifestations. Their picture can be very wide – from an asymptomatic condition through a feeling of bloating, a feeling of heaviness to diarrhea.
In children, we then observe deficiencies, bloating, slow growth, and anorexia. The intestine can only be affected by islets, so a biopsy of the intestine may not give final results if the disease is not taken into account in the diagnosis. It happens that patients are treated with a completely different diagnosis, usually in the department of dermatology or allergology. Treatment has been unsuccessful for several years, and luck and chance often help to determine the correct diagnosis. The fact that the patient has hypersensitivity to iodine sometimes serves as a guideline. Problems can manifest themselves to a greater extent even after eating only some kind of food, such as fish.
During’s disease can be attributed to autoimmune diseases — in the same group as celiac disease. Currently, we often meet with the opinion that this is a type of celiac disease with skin manifestations of the disease. It occurs mainly during puberty, adolescence, and adulthood, but it is also known to occur in young children. The disease often occurs only as one of the complex symptoms that characterize an autoimmune disease. This idea is also confirmed by the occurrence of possible concomitant diseases, especially diabetes (especially type I) and thyroid diseases, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, as well as rheumatoid arthritis. It also increases the likelihood of gastrointestinal cancer. In the anamnesis of the disease, we see the presence of yeast, which belong to the so-called provocateurs, triggers of the disease. The use of hormonal contraceptives deserves special attention.
The demonstration of antibodies is not easy. Negative tests cannot be authoritative. The diagnosis made by a biopsy is that it is possible to note characteristic changes – on the skin or in the intestine. In practice, the diagnosis is mainly based on this finding. Detection of HLA DG2 or DQ8 antigens can help a doctor diagnose celiac disease. This is usually the trigger of a reaction to the protein of cereals (gluten-gliadin), which is resistant to cleavage by hydrochloric acid in the stomach and pancreatic enzymes. There is a reaction between a leukocyte with HLA DQ2 or 8 on the membrane and gliadin, which triggers an inflammatory reaction similar to the above diseases. This reaction is triggered within a few hours after contact with gluten and gradually leads to the destruction of intestinal cells, including immune cells, due to ongoing inflammation. A cascade reaction occurs,
The treatment consists in following a gluten-free diet. The use of ointments is only useful, it acts only on the effect, the cause is not eliminated, so the effect is not permanent. The positive effect of the diet will manifest itself only after 3 months, but the first sensations of improvement may appear earlier. Dietary activities are lifelong. Some patients report worsening eczema and returning to a quiet period of rest after stopping the diet. Due to the increased sensitivity of patients to iodine, this should be taken into account in the composition of foods and salts containing iodine.
Supplement from the point of view of holistic medicine:
Making a diagnosis, determining the antibody titer, determining HLA antigens, and determining the autoimmune principle does not mean establishing the true cause. In fact, all the reasons mentioned are also consequences. The true causes – the root causes of the disease should be sought even more, at another, much higher level. The patient should ask his doctor, preferably a psychoanalyst, the question: Where is the true cause of my problem? The program should include the topic of restless life, stress, relationships, diet, smoking, the use of hormonal contraception in women, as well as the way of thinking, the choice of mental constructions, skills of processing emotional stimuli, etc.
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