A WOMAN has been ravaged by a severe skin condition that leaves her oozing face stuck to the pillowcase.<\/p>\n
Sedi Khumalo said her skin is so itchy that it feels like I need to scratch down to my bones.<\/p>\n
4<\/p>\n
4<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old, from Worsley, Greater Manchester, says she's in constant pain after quitting oral steroids which helped treat her eczema.<\/p>\n
She suffers with a condition known as topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), when the skin becomes worse after stopping medication.<\/p>\n
TSW has had a devastating effect on Sedis mental health and even triggered thoughts of ending her own life.<\/p>\n
Sedi claims she was on medication for over seven years and initially thought the pills were a miracle treatment as they cleared her eczema.<\/p>\n
But she found that they made the condition worse over time. The flare-ups became more severe the more she took steroids.<\/p>\n
The bank worker decided to go cold turkey on the creams and pills in October 2020.<\/p>\n
She was stunned as she noticed her skin began to swell, crack and ooze as a result of the skin desperately needing the medication.<\/p>\n
Sedi said: \"Although this might look like eczema, it's not and it's important that people know that.<\/p>\n
\"Its addiction to prescription drugs and my body became so dependent on them and now it is learning to heal itself.<\/p>\n
\"I'm still trying to get my head around the condition.<\/p>\n
\"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.\"<\/p>\n
At times, the only relief was a scalding hot bath or shower which isn't good for your skin either.<\/p>\n
Sedi said she keeps going back to her GP who tries to treat her for eczema.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
They didn't realise the thing they were using to treat me was making me ill - it was really frustrating.\"<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Much is unknown about TSW, including how many people are affected and how much steroid medication use triggers it.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She added: \"Since I've been in withdrawal, I've had panic attacks and experienced depression which I used to take antidepressants for.<\/p>\n
\"I wanted to end my own life and had to call the Samaritans to try to get help to manage the situation.<\/p>\n
\"It got so bad that I had to drop out of my studies and stop my part time job which had a financial impact.<\/p>\n
\"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. \"<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.\"<\/p>\n
4<\/p>\n
4<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Go here to see the original: A WOMAN has been ravaged by a severe skin condition that leaves her oozing face stuck to the pillowcase. Continue reading
\nMy skin began to swell and ooze so much I woke up stuck to my pillowcase now my BONES itch... - The Sun<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"