
April 24, 2000
Other Illnesses
Question from Frankfurt, Germany:
Our son, 10 years old, diagnosed with Type 1 about 5 months ago, has developed scaly, patchy red skin on the palms of his hands. Is this connected with his recent higher numbers (200+ at least twice a day) and if so, how are the high numbers causing the skin problem?
Answer:
It would be the ultimate rashness to try to diagnose skin problems over the Internet; but what you describe is very unlikely indeed to be attributable to the rather modest increase in blood sugar that you describe. From a distance I would first wonder if this could be a contact dermatitis: it does not sound at all like Dermatitis Herpetiformis which is a skin problem that is another autoimmune condition that may be associated with diabetes and the celiac syndrome.
DOB