How is dermatitis herpetiformis treated? What medicines help?

How is dermatitis herpetiformis treated? What medicines help?

Dermatitis herpetiformis is treated with a gluten-free diet and an oral antibiotic called dapsone. Dapsone will relieve your itching in as soon as an hour, and typically before 48 hours. If dapsone doesn’t help, your healthcare provider may prescribe sulfapyridine or sulfasalazine. These medications are less effective.

You may need to continue taking dapsone for one to two years to prevent more dermatitis herpetiformis bumps and blisters from forming. Getting the full results of a gluten-free diet may take several months. See a nutritionist if you need help with your new diet.

A gluten-free diet helps your dermatitis herpetiformis by:

• Reducing the need for medication to control the skin condition.
• Reducing the risk of developing other autoimmune diseases.
• Reducing the risk of intestinal lymphoma.
• Improving any gluten-sensitive intestinal disease.
• Enhancing nutrition and bone density.