What is Topical Steroid Withdrawal? Aka. Topical Steroid Addiction
This is not eczema. In fact in the words of my five year old- it’s a zillion times worse plus a few. Topical steroid withdrawal is the bodies response to the cessation of what was supposed to be therapeutic, a prescribed ointment that was initially effective, until it wasn't.
Picture this, you go to your doctor for help with eczema and during the treatment process everything gets worse not better, so you are prescribed a stronger more potent steroid and told your eczema is just so “bad” there is no alternative.
Shouldn’t there be a warning that topical steroids can cause a worse reaction?
There are warnings directly on the topical steroid packaging that warn not to use longer than two weeks, and yet some have used them for 20 years....so why is this?
Oh right, because if your Doctor says it is okay to use it longer, then it totally negates the warning because a medical professional said so. Right? If this lower potency steroid starts to lose its effect then they can always try a higher potency topical steroid and eventually as a last resort an oral steroid, aka. Prednisone. That certainly doesn’t have any risks.
In the case of the pictures at the start of this blog post, Jess was prescribed without ever being seen (over the phone) Clobetasol for eczema. Clobetasol is the most potent topical steroid on market (600x stronger than the least potent). Later a dermatologist in hospital looked at her very briefly and STILL did not admit she had topical steroid withdrawal syndrome.
Despite clear evidence of red sleeve syndrome, which if you search pictures is very distinct from eczema.
Who is supposed to keep doctors in check for over prescribing?
As a nurse I am quite aware that it is supposed to be pharmacists. We all know how well that has gone with benzos and opiates though- not bleeping well.
So then who is keeping these doctors in check or regulating these prescriptions?
They are not just going over the recommended duration by a few weeks, but rather allowing patients to use the steroids for years and even decades?
What exactly is the point then of the warning on the box?
Someone knew something when that warning was written, long before topical steroid withdrawal was acknowledged as “real”. It would be difficult to determine if the steroid was making things worse or if the skin condition was poorly managed, and doctors could just claim a more potent steroid was necessary.
Thus the truth is often not discovered until the patient or patients parent figures out the steroids are the cause of the skin getting worse and NOT a solution.
Subsequently stopping the treatment results in a horrible flood of symptoms that are drastically worse than the initial condition.
What can we all do to learn more about this and help?
You can follow a number of Instagram accounts to see what those symptoms and experiences of suffering are, you can share these accounts and help bring more awareness. Often there is a part of this journey where people use NMT as a treatment, this stands for no moisture treatment.
Follow These Instagram Accounts To Learn More
@smileyj_tsw_journey
@tsw.journey.with.evianne
@tswjourney.rena
@tswbella
The Following are Great Links to Look into and Share With Loved Ones!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuaBbsL1qKA