How is dermatitis herpetiformis treated?

Treatment includes strict adherence to a gluten-free diet and the use of either dapsone (diaminodiphenylsulfone) or sulfapyridine. Dapsone is the more effective of the two. Be sure to check G6PD levels and complete blood count prior to starting dapsone. The condition is lifelong with only rare periods of brief remission. Approximately 1% of patients will develop enteropathy-associated B-cell or less commonly T-cell lymphomas. These patients have a history of poor adherence to a gluten-free diet.

Patricio P, Ferreira C, Gomes MM, Filipe P: Autoimmune bullous dermatoses: a review, Ann N Y Acad Sci 1173:203–210, 2009.