My skin began to swell and ooze so much I woke up stuck to my pillowcase now my BONES itch… – The Sun

A WOMAN has been ravaged by a severe skin condition that leaves her oozing face stuck to the pillowcase.

Sedi Khumalo said her skin is so itchy that it feels like I need to scratch down to my bones.

4

4

The 28-year-old, from Worsley, Greater Manchester, says she's in constant pain after quitting oral steroids which helped treat her eczema.

She suffers with a condition known as topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), when the skin becomes worse after stopping medication.

TSW has had a devastating effect on Sedis mental health and even triggered thoughts of ending her own life.

Sedi claims she was on medication for over seven years and initially thought the pills were a miracle treatment as they cleared her eczema.

But she found that they made the condition worse over time. The flare-ups became more severe the more she took steroids.

The bank worker decided to go cold turkey on the creams and pills in October 2020.

She was stunned as she noticed her skin began to swell, crack and ooze as a result of the skin desperately needing the medication.

Sedi said: "Although this might look like eczema, it's not and it's important that people know that.

"Its addiction to prescription drugs and my body became so dependent on them and now it is learning to heal itself.

"I'm still trying to get my head around the condition.

"TSW gives me what is known as a 'bone itch' - my nerves are damaged from the steroids and when I'm itchy it can't be relieved and it feels like I need to scratch down to my bones."

At times, the only relief was a scalding hot bath or shower which isn't good for your skin either.

Sedi said she keeps going back to her GP who tries to treat her for eczema.

She said: "I was told by the GP it was severe eczema but I knew in myself it wasn't - I was quite scared because I thought my health in general was deteriorating.

They didn't realise the thing they were using to treat me was making me ill - it was really frustrating."

The National Eczema Association says that TSW is a serious potential side effect of topical steroid use that is not readily recognized by patients and providers.

Much is unknown about TSW, including how many people are affected and how much steroid medication use triggers it.

But it is clear that it occurs mostly with long-term use of the drugs, for example in people who have used creams to keep their eczema at bay since childhood.

Whilst her skin is in recovery mode, Sedi said that she couldn't leave her own home and the condition had a financial and severe mental impact on her daily life.

She added: "Since I've been in withdrawal, I've had panic attacks and experienced depression which I used to take antidepressants for.

"I wanted to end my own life and had to call the Samaritans to try to get help to manage the situation.

"It got so bad that I had to drop out of my studies and stop my part time job which had a financial impact.

"TSW can also mess with your hormones and cause insomnia - I was waking up several times in the night but I had no idea why. "

Now, Sedi is feeling slightly better and wants to raise awareness about TSW as she believes it is not a topic that is discussed enough.

She said: "Some people go through TSW for years - my body is healing from a steroid addiction and it needs to figure out how to heal itself again."

4

4

Go here to see the original:
My skin began to swell and ooze so much I woke up stuck to my pillowcase now my BONES itch... - The Sun