8 year old daughter diagnosed

Hi Kim,

I am 53 years old and I have had generalized grannuloma annulare for 3 years. The type I have will most likely be with me for years. Your daughter most likely has the localized version which is common in kids. The good news is that type almost always goes away completely on its own in a few months but less than 2 years.

I tried everything under the sun to get rid of my GA. Nothing works! So, I was desperate and talking to my pharmacist who takes plaquenil for lupus. She assured me it would clear up the GA. Doctor said no so I went to another doctor who said no. Then I went to a rheumatologist who prescribes plaquenil all the time for lupus and RA and SHE spoke to the doctor (who didn't know how to prescribe it) and I got some! My GA is under control, not gone completely but not spreading like wildfire anymore.

Do some research about plaquenil as I don't know if it's okay for kids. You need to weigh out the psychological effects the GA is having on your child and the effects a short term course of plaquenil would have and talk to an expert on that medication.

Again the good news for you guys is that she most likely has a very temporary version of GA. Good luck and tell your daughter to hang in there.

After having it for 15 years, a cortisone shot in my behind cleared it up. It cleared up about 4 months after the shot. It's been cleared up for about 6 months now.

Good luck!

It is my experience that the dermatologists (I've been to 3 because of moving) have all said after biopsy, "It's Granuloma Annulare and we don't know what causes it or how to make it go away but is usually does in about 2 years."  As many of us know, it doesn't.

Anyway after about 3 years, I ended up getting an intolerance test.  there were about 5 foods on the list that I ate all the time so I eliminated all that were on the list.  None of these were on the "elimination" diets that I had already tried but they are also a good place to start - especially eliminating wheat & dairy for 30 days to see if there is any difference.  When I elimated the foods on my list, within about 2 weeks, I no longer had any new ones popping out.  This was a slow process but in another month, I could see that they were fading.  It took a little over a year for them to be completely gone except for some very faded coloring that you really have to look to see.  I am a believer that food or other intolerances are the most likely cause.  If you have insurance for allergy testing, that would be a step I would take.  I didn't so found a company in the UK that was very reasonable.

If you want more intormation, let me know.

Patty

Hi Kim, I'm Sabrina. So sorry to hear your daughter has GA. But there is hope. Like many others on this forum, which is where I found my answers. My breakout coincided with a tick bite which caused me to become allergic to red meat. I found this out from allergist. They could not however do anything for my GA that I felt was taking over my body. It's been over a year now. But I read on this site about eliminating GLUTEN! I did and it has faded almost completely away. I forgot and ate some gluten during the holidays and it began to show up again. I resumed the cream and stopped gluten and it is now back under control. Almost faded to nothing! So try gluten free. You can find GF foods in the natural food section of your grocery store. Especially a big one like Kroger. I found Food Lion does not have many GF items. Try that first. Give it some time. If that doesn't work then I would go for the DNA intolerance test. You can find it online fir $105. Kim, I will pray for your daughter. Hope my advise helps!