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Treating a skin condition like eczema takes intense management, often at the cost of time and energy.
But what happens when you’ve been using a steroidal cream for years, and suddenly it doesn’t work anymore?
That’s what happened to Laura Stageman, who has been managing her eczema for as long as she could remember. She’s been using the same steroidal cream to treat it since she was a toddler.
“I’d been using topical steroids ever since I was a child to treat my severe eczema and never knew about the dangers. I was being given stronger and stronger doses over the years, which wasn’t really helping my eczema, and I was never warned of the side effects.”
She stopped using the steroid cream in August of last year, due to her body’s immunity to the cream.
But almost immediately, her body cried out for help. She began shedding skin, so much that she had to vacuum up to seven times a day to clean it up.
“A week after I stopped using steroid creams, My skin went red with sores like a rash all over my body. Then my skin started falling off,” said Laura. “For two months I was stuck in bed with blankets wrapped around me, shivering non-stop, as my skin peeled off…I was left with this foul-smelling ooze all over my body, it was really disgusting.”
The only way she could get relief was to stay in a bath for most of the day.
She was diagnosed with Topical Steroid Withdrawal, or Red Skin Syndrome—a severe reaction triggered when she stopped using the topical creams her body had become used to over 27 years.
It continues to take a toll on her—even now, over a year later, she’s still suffering.
The symptoms began to let up in January of this year, but they came back just months later. She is still suffering.
“Some days it’s so painful that I wish I was dead. All I can do is wait for the symptoms to subside.”
Once a TV producer, the disease has made Laura’s work difficult and has caused her to move back home with her mother, so she can be Laura’s carer.
“The only known cure for this is time, so I’m having to ride it out. It’s detrimental to my life. I’ve lost my confidence, self-esteem, suffered from depression, and even contemplated suicide.”
“It really worries me because people are still treated with topical steroids—my reaction to giving them up is extreme but it could happen to anyone as the skin can get addicted to steroids very quickly.”
If you’re using steroidal cream and are worried about withdrawal symptoms, talk to your doctor as soon as you can.
