Sensitive Skin, Eczema, Atopic Dermatitis - Oh My!
Posted on March 27 2013
Sensitive Skin, Eczema, Atopic Dermatitis – Apparently, I’ve had it all since the day I was born. I’ve struggled with dry, itchy skin, rashes, and redness my whole life, but six weeks ago, before I had my 3rd daughter, my eczema flared up like never before. My face and most of my body were red and blistery and unbearably itchy and dry. After I had the baby, Mark Cuban invited us to do an appearance with him on The View, so for vanity reasons, I called my dermatologist, who gave me a potent steroid cream to use for 3 days only. My skin cleared up almost instantaneously, just in time to look eczema-free on the show. I stopped using the steroid cream the morning of the taping, and twelve hours later, my eczema went into overdrive. I had never seen my skin look that bad.
To make a long story, short, I'm convinced my skin is addicted to topical steroid creams. I used them on and off throughout my life when my eczema would flare, but who knew you could become addicted to skin creams? I am under the care of a dermatologist, who says the only remedy is to "withdraw" from the steroids. The upside is that he says by withdrawing or stopping the use of all steroid creams, steroid injections, and oral steroids, I will be completely cured of eczema. The downside is that I will look like a burn victim and have intense eczema flares for at least 6 months to as long as 2 years!!! Since one's skin is the largest organ of the body, it may take a long time to recover from this “addiction.” Another thing that makes it difficult is that I need to stay out of the sun and keep my body cool for the time being. This should be quite a feat considering I live in Southern California!
I have consulted many dermatologists over the years and thought long and hard about what to do about my persistent eczema, and I’ve decided that going through this God-awful withdrawal is my only option. Right now, I look like I have 3rd degree burns all over my face and body, and it goes through a different phase daily - red, oozing, burning, extremely dry, etc. Everyday is so unpredictable. I go between getting chills and sweating profusely and it's uncomfortable to wear clothes, so I have not left my house except to see doctors. Thankfully, Lollacup headquarters is in my home, so I am able to work and I have a precious newborn to love and care for, so that has been my saving grace. It is going to be a long year, but I'm hopeful that this doctor is right and my eczema will be gone after the whole withdrawal process is said and done.
I know that this is just temporary, and I am so very thankful that I am healthy otherwise, but I feel compelled to write about my condition to alert those of you with eczema or children with eczema to be very cautious of steroid use. I am not an expert or a physician, so I’m not saying that all steroids are bad, but I think it’s important to know that one’s skin can become addicted to topical steroids and the side effects of these creams are quite scary.
FYI, this is the non-profit organization (itsan.org) that is trying to get the word out about topical steroid addiction. It wasn't until I stumbled upon this website that I realized what was happening to me.
84 comments
I just read your product and experience last night and all is very encouraging. I am a Chinese and my baby suffered eczema in his body and private area last year. Using steroid to cool it down, I have been using a China product to maintain it so far so good. If you have friends coming from China, ask them to bring you many tubes of this. http://tradearchive.taobao.com/trade/detail/tradeSnap.htm?spm=a1z09.2.9.33.s0H1sn&tradeID=135187280545975
no steroid and key ingredients are traditional herbs. Take good care and congrats on the newborn!
Hi I have a 5 month old he has severe eczema so bad since he has been 3 weeks old started with a pimple then spread to blustery patches on his face!I have had him to 5 doctors they all say bleach baths!Steriod creams it all seems to much for a 5 month old is there anything herbal or natraul that can help!
Hi there. I am by no means a dermatologist, but I’ve battled many an eczema patch on me and my daughters. I’ve actually done bleach baths and while they keep an infections at bay, they do dry out my skin. It’s not as horrific as it sounds. It’s essentially like bathing in a chlorinated pool. I would recommend it only if you’re worried about infection. After my whole ordeal, I’ve tossed all my daughters’ steroid creams. My 5 year old recently had a stubborn eczema patch near her underarm. I decided I was only going to moisturize the spot with aquaphor, eucerin, or episcencial’s calming cream. It took 2 months, but the spot is completely clear now. My personal take on eczema is that with a great deal of patience, it goes away, but it’s really difficult to have a rash for weeks/months on end so we cave and use steroids for a quick fix. I have no idea if this helps, but I hope your son clears up soon.
My 5 year old grandson has suffered for 4 1/2 years with severe ezcema. After being on strong steroids and the most recent cellcept (a dangerous drug for a four year old ) we discovered SOOTHE, a product from two of the top dermatologist in the world, Rodan and Fields , the creators of Pro-Active. Results were immediate and he is now off of all meds. Not only did the meds have serious side effects, the cellcept was $165.00 a month after insurance. I am so impressed with all of their skin care (not make up) products that I signed myself and all three of my daughter’s up as consultants. The products are all about repairing skin and the awful problems people suffer from. These doctors sold Pro-Active and are concentrating on ALL skin issues, not just acne. Their products are all 60 day, empty bottle, money back guarantee. How can you lose? Their products are geared to last for 60 days. The Soothe regimen is for psoriasis, ezcema and rosacea. Check it out on my website joberry19.myrandf.com I am on a mission to help those little (and big) babies who have suffered from these awful skin problems. There are also products for cystic acne, Sun damage, and aging of the skin prevention. Contact me if you have any questions. My grandson left last week after a visit, and didn’t bring any medicines….a first! I also spent days where I didn’t witness any itching.
Have you tried Shep’s Wool Dryer Balls from WoolDryerBalls.com for your eczema? The mom who started Shep’s had done so because of the fabric softeners irritating his skin’s eczema. She created Shep’s wool dryer balls so they did not need any fabric softeners anymore in their dryer. The wool dryer balls soften without chemicals! We bought ours 4 years ago from Shep’s and they are still working in our dryer. Love them!
Look up THE SKIN CURE DIET book by Kathleen Waterford.
The best approach to clean eczema from inside out.
I did her diet after dealing with horrible eczema for years and I have been doing so much better since then.
Good read and great research!
Good luck,
Mildred
How are you doing with your withdrawal? I am 4 months without steroids myself. Some days are just God-awful. You are doing the right thing for your skin. You will heal.
I’m doing ok. Some decent days, but mostly pretty rough. I’m now approaching the 6-month-mark. I still can’t believe all this happened after stopping these creams!
Thanks for the tip!
Hi. My mom is going through steroid withdrawal. It is a nightmare. I am so scared and worried for her. I don’t recognize her at times. She has it over her entire face. Her eyes are swollen shut. She is also very swollen (like 3 times her size) on her face. The swelling comes and goes and so does the weeping. I am praying that it doesn’t spread anywhere else. She keeps lots of ice on it. She never could figure out why her eczema was getting worse and worse. She cleared up her food intollerances (which helped in other areas) and we got rid of all chemicals, changed water filters etc.. It was driving us crazy. My mom honestly only would use steroid creams when her flares got really bad because she knew they were not good for her. She was prescribed prednisose for 2 years for an auto immune condition which she was able to actually fully heel from when she changed her diet. I think from being on steroids for so long her body was so sensitive to them and she easily became addicted. I am so happy you have shared your story because it helps my mom know there is hope and that others have had to go through the same experience. She is in the first stages of this. I was hoping I could ask some questions that might give her more comfort and insight. She is having a phone consultation with dr. rapaport soon. I just don’t know what creams to give her to keep her face from becoming raw. I also was wondering will the flares every die down a little bit? If so how long did your first red flare last? I am praying that if she keeps her body healthy and if she helps to detox her body fast that she will heal faster. I would love it if you could email me any advice that I could pass along to her. Thanks so much!
Don’t know if you’ve looked into this, but the Wellness Mama has some suggestions for battling eczema. My newborn just developed it and we used steroid creams like our doctor told us to and it went away in a few days. But after reading about your experience I don’t want to use them again! In fact since her eczema flair, I’ve been researching natural ways to deal with eczema. I’m beginning to think that it is a gut microbe related issue. So I’ve started my daughter on probiotics and I’m hoping it will help. They’re not expensive and it won’t hurt anything to try, so maybe give them a try? Here’s a link to WM’s post on eczema:
http://wellnessmama.com/12065/7-natural-remedies-eczema/
We use probiotics from Klaire Labs for my daughter and my husband and I take BioKult.
We love your cup and are planning to purchase soon!
Thank you for the tip. I don’t think steroids are bad for everyone, but I do think it’s wise to be cautious. Good luck. My 6-month-old also has eczema so I really appreciate your sharing this info.
I will email you now.
Found your articles very interesting and informative. Will have to keep coming back for more as my grand-daughter has a severe case of eczema and I try to keep up to date as much as possible.
The worst thing one can do during tsw is to moisturize the skin.
http://topicalsteroidsurvivor.blogspot.com/
I went through a similar all over red, violently itchy skin condition many years ago, where i could not sleep, wear clothes or leave the house. Sleep deprivation adds to the stress, strain and pain of the condition. Three things helped me over the years. A tibetan doctor (very rare in the UK – I don’t know how to find one in the states), meditation with a coach (the only way I could get any sleep), and lastly the best, acupuncture – which I believe combined with the Tibetan medicine to eradicate the skin condition for two years. It did come back, but in such a mild form that it has been manageable for years. Every now and then I go back for acupuncture to keep it in check. At onset, it was the most painful experience of my life, and my heart goes out to you. I hope that you are feeling better now, as this post is an older one.
I’m sorry you are suffering! Is it getting better now? I’ve been off steroids for 3 months and have 3 small kids and it’s very hard!! I’ve tried epiceram and ceraVe and it seems be helping together with vanicream. And today I just saw this on amazon – Lingon Emusion – that people are raving about.
By the way, why did you do the bleach soaks? were you getting infected? because my hands did get infected and I had to go on antibiotics twice recently and I’m scared for it to happen again. I haven’t heard of these bleach soaks. Did it prevent infection for you?
Wishing you good health very soon!!!
Hi Deborah,
I’m definitely getting better. I’m not 100% but getting better so I’m happy about that. I’ve done bleach soaks in the past, but they were super drying. I’ve found that epsom salt baths and dead sea salts have kept infections at bay for me. Wishing you good health as well!
We figured out what works for my little boy. I have detailed it in my blog, just incase it might just help another…
www.atopicdermatitisnaturecure.blogspot.de
Happy to see the recognition of the dangers of topical steroids in your journey for better skin health! Am a fellow eczema and topical steroid withdrawal sufferer (about 10 months off TS) and have recovered very nicely with a holistic healthcare method.
Wishing you good health and good skin!
Rgds,
Leslie Chua
Founder of http://eczemag.com
Personal blog at http://saynototopicalsteroids.com