Womans excruciating reaction to steroid cream withdrawal after eczema treatment – NEWS.com.au

A woman has warned eczema sufferers against overuse of steroid medication, sharing her painful journey through Topical Steroid Withdrawal, which left her with an excruciating lizard-like rash all over her face and body.

Megan Crome, a 25-year-old digital marketing assistant from London described showering as like having acid poured over her skin at the height of her reaction, revealing the horrendous experience absolutely shattered her quality of life.

Megan, who had to move back in with her parents for the three-month withdrawal period, was diagnosed with eczema when she was six-years-old, but her condition worsened through her final year of school.

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After years of navigating various steroid treatments for her condition, she developed a resistance known as Topical Steroid Addiction (TSA) which left her with red and swollen skin.

When she stopped using the medication, the pain only worsened, making it difficult to do everyday tasks and prompting her take to time off from her job.

I was suffering every second of the day for three months straight. I always had pain somewhere and couldnt make my own meals, go out or do simple tasks due to this, she said.

I didnt recognise myself in the mirror for months and my whole face was just damaged skin that was inflamed and falling off it was absolute hell and thinking back on it now, it is very upsetting as it was quite traumatic, she admitted.

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The traumatic ordeal had a massive impact on her mental health, she revealed.

TSW absolutely shattered my quality of life. I had to take time off work, stop seeing my friends and move back home. All I could do was lay in bed and try to find a position that was somewhat comfortable without any of my open wounds touching the bed.

My friends have been very understanding, but I have missed out on a lot of time with them and I do worry about how this will affect my relationship with them going forward.

Describing her long-term struggle with eczema, Megan said she was initially prescribed hydrocortisone, followed by a stronger cream called betnovate.

When the condition worsened in her teenage years, she was prescribed more steroid creams including elocon and protopic, neither of which had much of an effect.

Megan remembers eventually developing red sleeves, a common symptom of Topical Steroid Addiction (TSA), which left her skin swollen and arms hot to the touch.

Her skin began to weep and scab over due to her whole body being scratched red raw, where her face was engulfed in thick scabs which were continuously prone to infections.

I believe the steroids given to me absolutely exacerbated my skin problems without me even realising, Megan said, going on to add she sought advice from online support groups which told her to quit cold turkey but warned of the difficult journey ahead.

The short but brutal route meant she stopped using all moisturisers and creams to push the body to create its own natural oils, noticing the reaction almost instantly.

I had burning, hot skin, but felt freezing cold inside, extreme flaking which made me feel like a lizard shedding its skin, as well as insomnia where I wasnt able to lay still or relax for any longer than five seconds, she said.

Concluding her ordeal, she revealed she is speaking out in the hopes of raising awareness for others.

I feel so strongly that doctors need to be educated on the effects of steroids and stop handing them out for anything and everything.

Megan now helps her condition by eating healthily and has cut out dairy, wheat, and gluten, as well as taking vitamins and fish oil everyday.

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Womans excruciating reaction to steroid cream withdrawal after eczema treatment - NEWS.com.au