Skin conditions and celiac disease – I read lots and lots of stories about people having reactions when touching products containing gluten.

All of the information I’ve read says that gluten molecules are too large to pass through pores in the skin. So why the disconnect? Why are people reporting they have skin reactions when touching gluten even though gluten is too large to be absorbed by the skin?

Well, it seems they don’t have a lot of controlled studies to look at whether contacting gluten can cause skin issues. Or at least nothing I found, if you find something, let me know. But there is a lot of information about celiac disease and how it could affect the skin.

A 2022 article proposes psoriasis, chronic spontaneous urticaria (hives), rosacea, atopic dermatitis, and a few other diseases affect celiac patients in higher numbers than normal controls. The article also says more research is needed to determine why. Researchers often diagnose the skin disease first and find the celiac disease later. Regarding psoriasis and celiac, they float a theory. Researchers theorize the lack of absorption of Vitamin D due to celiac damage in the small intestine could exacerbate or cause psoriasis. Article link – https://loom.ly/tJzEUf8.

This 2020 article says definitively that celiac patients are at higher risk for various skin disorders, such as eczema, psoriasis, urticaria, vitiligo, acne, an alopecia areata. https://loom.ly/v__Q-ng

Researchers in this article recommend anyone with psoriasis should be tested for celiac. https://loom.ly/UI3b2EA

Here they say that absolutely there is a higher risk of atopic dermatitis in celiac patients. https://loom.ly/vIEKe9M

What I am finding is that celiac disease can definitely affect the skin. They don’t know whether a gluten free diet helps clear up these skin manifestations or not. So, while I am certain you have a skin rash, I’m not certain it is celiac and/or gluten related and should always be checked by a doctor.

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