HEALTH - TSW (Topical Steroid Withdrawal).

Damn, TSW. Topical steroid withdrawal has plagued my life for over two years now, although it feels like sooo much longer. If you are reading this like WTF is that - read this http://www.itsan.org/. 

I'm gonna try and explain what it is, in short and to the best accuracy I can. Topical steroids are prescribed to EVERYONE with eczema worldwide. They work by creating an immuno-suppresive reaction in your body which allows the the skin to heal, the redness to go away and you to forget about the patch of eczema. They are prescribed willy-nilly by doctors to children of all ages, and although recommended not to use long-term, it seems blindingly obvious that if you have eczema and have a cram in your house that gets rid of it (without any known side-effects told to you by the doctors) you are OBVIOUSLY going to use it.  

Topical steroids work in several ways: firstly, they constrict your blood vessels in your skin in order to effectively 'blanche' the area, removing the red-colour. Secondly, they suppress your adrenal system in order to bring the reaction down, removing the skin irritation. They also put pressure on the kidneys and liver. I almost can't bring myself to explain it all here, as there is so much. But essentially by putting topical steroids onto your skin for prolonged amounts of time, the toxins enter your blood stream and poison you from the inside out. Not everyone will get addicted to steroids, and there is no real explanation why some people do and other people don't. But unfortunately I was one of the unlucky ones. After using them on patches of eczema my entire life, and then being prescribed oral steroids twice in 2016 WHILST going through the most stressful breakup of my life, I stopped taking them and began going through withdrawal. 

My withdrawal was nowhere near as bad as some others, but it was still pretty horrifying. Once you stop giving your body the drug you immediately begin to go into withdrawal, which can last anywhere from 1-5 years, depending on the potency and length of usage of the steroid. You begin by going completely red, totally and utterly bright red, as your blood vessels can no longer constrict themselves and so all dialate. They slowly learn to constrict over time, but it took me about 4 months for the redness to go down, and even now i still suffer on my legs with redness. Your body also totally dehydrates, meaning your skin begins to crack and split ALL THE TIME, making moving and doing anything unbearable. Your skin begings to go through cycles of flaring, going bright burning red where your skin literally feels like it is on fire and you cant move, to then extreme shedding and flaking off of the skin and then the cycle restarts. Apparently it is your skin learning to be skin again. At the same time as this, it is very common to experience major thermoregulation issues (which i still suffer with) because the adrenals have been suppressed for so long. This results in me always being absolutely freezing and shivering, whilst also sweating. Hair thinning was a massive thing for me and so many others too, where your hair literally begins to fall out constantly. Edema is also common, where your body retains excess water because your so dehydrated, and so I experienced major swelling of my face and arms. It is honestly impossible to do anything because everything is so painful. All you can do is sit in the bath for hours. One of the grossest aspects of TSW was oozing, something I luckily only suffered with a bit. Oozing is the explained as - 'The ooze is lymphatic fluid. It is a gold color because of the enzymes and waste in it. What ever our bodies cannot flush out through urine and bowels it will flush out through the skin (and lungs with exhalation). The nitric oxide production in the skin which was once surpressed by the steroid now over produces and causes the skins water barrier breakdown, thus the lymph fluids spills out. As horrid as this process is it is a good thing. If it wasn't coming out your skin it would be collecting in your legs like a sac of liquid. As bizarre as it is for us, the body knows what it is doing and is slowly but surely correcting itself.'.  Its pretty disgusting, but something everyone who experiences TSW goes through.

The whole process takes years to go through, for your whole body to detoxify and the red skin syndrome to heal. It is better explained here -
 RSS or Red Skin Syndrome, also known as Topical Steroid Addiction (TSA) or Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW), is a debilitating condition that can arise from the use of topical steroids to treat a skin problem, such as eczema. RSS can also arise from topical steroid use in individuals with no prior skin condition; such as with cosmetic use for skin bleaching or to treat acne, or in the case of caregivers who neglect to wash their hands after applying topical steroids on someone else.

Topical steroids are also called topical corticosteroids, glucocorticosteroids, and cortisone. They come in many different preparations including creams, ointments, oils, gels, and lotions. Some are sold over-the-counter; others require a doctor’s prescription.

RSS is characterized by red, itchy, burning skin that can appear after ceasing topical steroid treatments, or even between treatments. In RSS, topical steroids are effective for a period of time to treat the skin condition. As time passes, however, applying topical steroids results in less and less clearing. The original problem escalates as it spreads to other areas of the body. In the case of eczema, this “progression” is often mistaken for worsening eczema.

RSS is an iatrogenic condition, which means it is a condition caused inadvertently by a medical treatment. Not everyone who uses topical steroids will develop RSS. It is unclear why some individuals experience RSS secondary to topical steroid therapy and why others do not.

If i could give anyone ANY ADVICE... STAY AWAY FROM TOPICAL AND ORAL STEROIDS UNLESS 100% REQUIRED FOR A SERIOUS MEDICAL CONDITION.

Love

Zoe