More Pictures of Healed and Healing People

Thanks my boy Isaiah for keepin' it real and showing us all that we CAN heal from TSW!!!

Isaiah and superheroes 1: Scratchy Monster 0.

Click to see topical steroid recovery photos.

Skin Update at 44 Months: Feeling Despondent (photos)

Hi people. I like to blog my progress regularly so that people can see how the TSW process affects the skin. I'm now 44 months into TSW and sadly, have to report than instead of my usual summer healing, my skin has been pretty miserable. I was meant to go to a lovely summer family event today, but have had to send my husband, with my apologies, while I stagnate in the house trying to maintain some level of comfort.

What really get to me is that if you look back through this blog to last year's posts, you will see that this time last year my skin was completely clear and normal, so to go backwards like this is heartbreaking. I spent a good chunk of yesterday crying and debating whether to just make a Faustian pact with the steroids and be done with this, even temporarily. And yes, I know that everyone will be telling me to hang in there because I've been off them so long and I don't want to undo my progress, but seriously, I have no quality of life right now.

I wonder if I will completely heal. I think that I have done too much damage. It seems very unlikely that my skin will ever completely return to normal. I read about people 7 and 8 years into withdrawals still suffering. Wow, just wow.

So here are my photos:

So here is the red face. Very red, very inflamed, burning and sore.

                                        Neck is weepy and scabby, with very dry skin.

 Hands are worst areas right now, with baggy, elephant skin. skin too big for my hand that feels like thick plastic.

 Skin at the back of my legs was previously clear but is starting to crack and scab again.

                                              Behind my ears is wet and weeping.


So sorry everyone for being such a let-down. Wish I could be posting healed photos instead of this, but those are the breaks.

I probably won't be posting any pictures in August, because the kids are off school, so I'll try and post in September. I hope it will be something more positive.

Sorry again. I feel like I've let all my blog readers down.

Shocking Statistic About the Likelihood of Steroid Cream Side Effects

There have been many lively debates about the prevalence of steroid addiction and chance of the skin becoming reliant on steroid creams. We know that not everyone gets addicted to the creams, and a lack of available scientific studies means that estimates can vary wildly. The general consensus in the forums at this present time is that at least 15% of steroid cream users become reliant on the creams and end up developing red skin syndrome.

HOWEVER, I just found an article that was published in the New York Times back in 1997. It quotes a Japanese dermatologist called Dr Masami Uehara. He states:

"Some side effects will occur in 60 percent to 80 percent of patients who use steroids for six months without proper care being taken."

Clearly, then, there is much to discover about the prevalence of topical steroid addiction. If, as this doctor suggests, 60-80% of  long term steroid cream users have side effects, then the amount of TSA cases as a proportion of eczema sufferers may possibly be higher than first estimated.

Either way, this underscores the need to use steroid creams sensibly and only for short periods of time.

Kids Using Steroid Cream at Risk of Glaucoma

I have mentioned before on this blog about the risk of eye complications with topical steroid usage. This was made painfully aware to me when a young teenage skin-friend had to have cataract surgery due to complications from using steroid creams for her eczema.

Despite this, I read of a case on the Itsan forum today where a patient asked their doctor about cataract risk and the doctor denied that steroids cause cataracts! Google "steroid induced cataracts" and you will find lots of evidence that can be printed off to show any GP or dermatologist that doesn't know about this.

Today I discovered an article online that shows that kids who use topical steroids are also at risk from glaucoma. Yes, it seems that as well as steroid-induced cataracts, we should also be worried about steroid-induced glaucoma too.

Eyesight is precious. If you know anyone who regularly uses steroid cream or has a child that uses steroid cream, encourage them to have regular eye check ups to ensure that their medication isn't causing any nasty side effects, especially if they use these creams around the eyes or on the face.

ITSAN on Instagram

For those of you that use Instragram, you can now access the dedicated Itsan Instagram site and follow, tag or share Itsan. The Instagram profile name is @itsan.nonprofit.

Many thanks to fellow blogger Heather for setting up the site. You can follow Heather on her eczemancipated blog and also on her guest spot at just glowing with health, where she is doing a raw vegan food challenge to raise awareness of TSW, as well as sharing some yummy healthy recipes!

Latest Scholarly Article about Children And Topical Steroid Withdrawal

Another resource for you to print out and share with doctors, dermatologists and medical professionals.

A Systematic Review of Topical Steroid Withdrawal in Children Diagnosed with Eczema


The article may be the first of its kind in methodology and subject matter and the results will hopefully make researchers and doctors want to work on more effective measures for prevention, early detection, and treatment of TSA/TSW in children and adults.  

Amazon Smile: An Easy Way to Donate to Itsan

I'd actually forgot about this, but a while ago, Itsan set up a link to Amazon Smile, which means that anyone registering with Amazon can select Itsan as a nominated charity and they can receive a small percentage from all purchases.

As far as I know, it only works with purchases from Amazon.com, so users outside of the U.S. will not be able to use it unless they are shipping items.

I hope this link can be used by blog readers, as it has the potential to help Itsan by users buying what they normally would anyway.

Please nominate Itsan as your chosen charity on Amazon Smile today. It won't cost you anything but it will really help Itsan reach more people and spread the word about TSW.