Advice Required - Spongiotic Dermatitis

[mattlambert87]

Hi all,

I will try and outline my issues as best as possible and if anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.

Firstly, I have never had any skin problems up until about 6 months ago and am a fairly fit and healthy male. About 6 months I noticed a small pea sized soft lump in my nipple. Fearing the worst I went to my GP and although he didn't think it was breast cancer, I was sent for a biopsy. I had a biopsy taken and whilst waiting for the results came out in a horrible, itchy rash over my chest, abdominal region and upper arms. The rash was extremely itchy and would ooze with puss and then form thick yellow crusts.Still whilst waiting for the results of the biopsy I went back to GP and was misdiagnosed with impetigo and given anti-biotics. After the course of anti-biotics which hadn't had any impact, I booked back in with my GP and this coincided with my results of the biopsy. The results came back as spongiotic dermatitis. I was given a small tube of steroid cream - Betnovate and told to use a couple of times a day for a couple of weeks.

The steroid cream worked extremely well and the sores instantly began to improve. However, there was that many sores the cream quickly ran out. As soon as I stopped using the cream the sores began to re-appear and became itchy again but didn't ooze or crust. I was given a larger tube of Betnovate along with with large tub of Cetraben. This has mostly got the sores/rash under control, however, if I don't use the creams for a few days the sores begin to re-appear and I begin itch as its that irritable that I just cannot resist to itch. It is still in the same areas as before upper body, arms, forearms, chest etc but I have also started to get an itchy scalp. My GP referred me to a dermatologist at the hospital and I hoped that I would be able to find the root cause with some patch tests etc. But the dermatologist's help was "poor" at best. She took one look said that it was an eczema dermatitis and to continue using creams. No patch tests or anything.

Which leads me to my current position. I don't really want to be using steroid cream for the rest of my life to control the sores/rash. I need to try to eliminate the problems fully as it has effected my daily life and self-confidence. I have done quite a bit of research into spongiotic dermatitis and some of the info is conflicting but most seem to agree that it is a contact dermatitis and there is likely to be an underlying issue with some food/product/ingredient that I am in contact with...

Does anyone have any advice on where or how to start with this? I initially thought it could be a laundry conditioner and have tried to go through the process of washing all my clothes/bedding without a conditioner. However, it doesn't seem to have prevented to rash/sores from returning.

I have also seen a few forum posts linking spongiotic dermatitis with celiac disease or saying that symptoms have improved after following gluten free diets? Does anyone have any experience of this?

Has anyone had any similar experiences or got any advice on what steps to take? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Marcie Mom]

Sorry to hear of the bad experience with the dermatologist.. I do think getting a patch test would be helpful... any chance you can secure an appointment for that? O.w., you can try eliminating the common irritants in skincare products, house dust mite, etc but it's not always easy to figure out.
Take care,
Mei

[NYC10016]

Hi Mattlambert87-

Hope you are finally feeling better and found the cause of your dermatitis. Your story sounds similar to mine and I would love to find out if you found the cause or a cure for your dermatitis. Hope to hear from you! Thanks.