Woman's skin 'trapped in vicious cycle' after extreme reaction to common cream
A woman's small rash snowballed into burning, flaking and weeping skin after she was repeatedly prescribed stronger doses of a commonly-used cream.
Francesca Tebbutt, 33, says her skin is ''constantly on fire'' because of Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW). She first noticed itchy, red marks on her arm in 2023 - and sought medical advice when they didn't seem to go away. Her GP believed she was suffering from psoriasis or eczema and prescribed her topical steroid creams, to be applied for a couple of weeks at a time. The breakout disappeared quickly - but returned and spread, only for her to be prescribed stronger steroid creams.
Francesca decided to stop the medication and see what happened but her skin began to burn, itch, and flake even more. For 18 months, the Pilates instructor from Clunderwen in Wales desperately sought information on her condition. Her skin now suffers burning, flaking, weeping, and swelling without warning.
At her worst, even moving her arms, putting on clothes, or stepping into the shower becomes unbearable. Each time the steroids would clear the rash, but come back multiplied and more aggressive. She said: "It all began in March 2023, when I got a few little round, red dots on the inside of my left elbow," said Francesca.
"They were a little bit itchy, little bit irritated - so when they didn't go away, I went to the doctors in May 2023, and that's when the doctor said it looked like it's psoriasis or eczema. He prescribed me steroids straight away for it.
"I used the topical steroids, and it did go - but then maybe a month later, it came back and it spread. I went back and I was prescribed stronger steroids, and and this went on for the rest of 2023, on and off.
"Every time I used them, it would go but then it would come back worse, and it would keep spreading. I was trapped in this vicious cycle: steroid cream, temporary relief, then a flare worse than before.'' In January 2024, after a year of using topical steroid creams and following her prescription instructions, she decided to stop - but her skin began to itch and swell.
After a trip to A&E, Francesca was told by doctors that they were unsure what was causing the condition - but prescribed more steroids. This flare-up lasted months before fading, but again, when stopping the use of steroid creams, returned with a vengeance.
Francesca says the constant pain was "unbearable," and after the patches spread to her face, she was once again prescribed more steroid creams by doctors.
"I couldn't relax - I was so uncomfortable in my own skin, and there was no comfort anywhere, apart from in a bath, because my skin was so bad," she said.
"I was constantly burning, but I was also really, really cold at the same time. I'd have ice packs on my arms where it would be burning, and then a hot water bottle on my belly to try and keep me warm. My partner couldn't sleep in the same bed as me for months because I had to keep moving and keep putting ice packs in places to stop the burning.
"After a few months of the steroids, things started to calm down - I wasn't as inflamed, but you could still see these almost red sleeves that cut off at the wrist.
"I started to get some patches around my lips, and I went to the doctor, and they advised me to put some steroid cream around my lips, so I did as I was told, thinking this will be the end of it."
After stopping a course of steroid cream in late 2024, her condition worsened again - with the skin on her face tightening and causing pain when she tried to eat, talk, or drink.
"Within three to four weeks, my face started to erupt. It started with a burning sensation, then it started to get all these little bubbles over it. They developed into this big red mass. I looked like my face had been in a fire, like I was burnt. I couldn't move my lips. Eating actually became very difficult. I remember, I used to eat an apple a day - but I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to eat an apple."
Feeling like her life had been taken over by research into skin conditions, Francesca felt like she was at breaking point.
In January this year, her research led her to an organisation spreading awareness of Topical Steroid Withdrawal - a condition that can occur after stopping high doses of steroids, and results in itchy, peeling skin.
Despite being estimated to affect 15% of steroid users, she says she was never warned about the risks, and believes the regular use of steroid creams has worsened her condition.
Francesca discovered Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) Therapy - a non-invasive therapy that reduces inflammation, kills harmful bacteria, and helps restore the skin barrier. She received a diagnosis of TSW after a consultation with a clinic offering the treatment - which is only available privately.
Desperate to return to normalcy, Francesca posted a video online, describing her experience with TSW - and launched a fundraiser to help get her life back.
Thankfully, within days, Francesca had received outpourings of support - and has been able to undergo the first three sessions of CAP treatments, after which she says she has already noticed improvements.
The fundraiser has not only allowed her to pay for treatments, but to afford things like new bandages to protect her irritated skin in between sessions, which she says has been a "huge relief."
The support has been overwhelming - and she has become determined to share her own story, to avoid anyone else feeling alone while suffering from TSW. I just cannot believe how generous people have been and are being for me - I am lost for words," she said.
A link to the fundraiser can be found here: Donate to Help me Heal TSW with CAP Therapy.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Gemma Atkinson's son, 2, rushed to hospital after terrifying incident
Gemma Atkinson has said her two-year-old son Thiago was rushed to the hospital after a 'scary' incident. The former Emmerdale actress took to social media to reveal that she'd had quite the traumatic weekend ahead of the christenings of her two children, Mia and Thiago. Both children had been scheduled to be christened over the weekend, but just hours before, Gemma and her partner Gorka Marquez were left worried over little Thiago, two. But despite the health scare, the family were able to enjoy the weekend and celebrations once Thiago returned home. Sharing a clip of herself working out at her home gym, Gemma opened up about her ordeal. She said: "We had such a busy weekend with a big build-up & lots of organising. A family birthday tea for Mia on Friday, her party for her school friends Saturday, both Mia & Thiago's christening on Sunday and on top of that a trip to A&E with Thiago sat night. "We were there until 1am Sunday morning and still somehow rocked up to church at 9.30. We were exhausted but we had the best day. He's absolutely fine! But it was a scary few hours and I wanted to say a massive thank you to Bolton hospital children's A&E department, and also the lovely paramedics who took us up there. God bless our NHS!" The actress went on to add: "On Sunday evening when we were home after all the chaos and fun of weekend my throat started to get sore which I knew was my body communicating with me. 'You're getting run down' with that in mind I dosed up on lemon & local honey, had a bath in magnesium salts and an early night." Gemma continued: "Monday morning, I did an ice bath before the nursery run, a long dog walk and the. headed into the gym to move in a way that was restoring, whilst relaxing. "I bounced into work Monday afternoon full of energy & feeling Great again. Small simple things to help me both physically and mentally. Movement is medicine, no matter how it's done, it all helps." Her post, which has been liked over 5,000 times was soon flooded with messages of support. One person said: "What a full on weekend! So glad to hear Thiago is okay." A second added: "Glad to hear Thiago is ok, nothing worse than when the kids get really unwell." "Glad Tiago is ok," commented a third. "Such a busy weekend! So glad Tiago is ok and you all enjoyed your family celebrations," said a fourth. The news comes after Gemma and Gorka's reality show, Life Behind The Lens, was axed after just two seasons. A spokesperson for UKTV said: "It's been a privilege to make two series of Gemma and Gorka: Life Behind the Lens with Two Rivers Media. "Gemma and Gorka are both very busy with other projects at the moment, so at this time, there are no current plans for another series, but we look forward to working with them again soon." But Gemma has kept herself busy, hosting the drivetime show on Hits Radio, which airs across the UK.
Daily Mirror
13 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
'I got a call from doctors at 7am asking if there was cancer in my family'
23-year-old Megan was given a frightening diagnosis after going to A&E with pain 'from walking' A 23-year-old woman needed half her hip removed after the pain she had initially blamed on walking was diagnosed as a rare cancer. Megan Skalska first noticed a problem in October last year. The pain was bone deep and bad enough to wake her in the night. When she developed a lump she went straight to hospital where she had an x-ray and was sent home in the early hours of the morning. At 7am, the hospital called. 'The first question they asked me was: 'Do you have any cancer in the family?'' Megan says. 'That's when I knew that something wasn't right, especially because they got back to me so quickly. I had my MRI, my CT scan, another X-ray, loads of blood tests, and originally they said it was a benign tumour, which put my mind at ease. 'But then I found out that they suspected it had a malignant transformation.' Megan, from Sittingbourne in Kent, went for a consultation at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore. She was told that doctors suspected the tumour was cancerous, but that they wouldn't know until they'd conducted a biopsy. 'By that point, everything felt surreal,' she says. 'It was unexplainable; I thought everything was against me. The doctor prepared me for the worst, but my doctor was really positive, which helped.' Megan then faced an anxious wait for surgery. Experts made a custom tool to remove the tumour - but by the time the operation took place, the mass had grown so much that it couldn't be used. The surgery on January 28 was long and complicated, but it was a success. 'At first, I was supposed to have a small operation, which would have only had a four-week-long recovery,' she says. 'But on the day of my operation, I found out that they just kind of went in and removed everything as they probably suspected the cancer was already there. The tumour was just growing so quickly at that point'. Being in hospital was harder than Megan thought it would be. She woke from the anaesthetic full of tubes and her recovery was exhausting and long. 'I thought I'd be in the hospital for three days max, but I ended up being in hospital for three weeks, and I had an epidural in my back for the first week, so I couldn't feel anything from the waist down and couldn't even move my toe, which was pretty scary,' she says. 'Even just sitting up in bed was really difficult. Luckily my mum Jo was by my side constantly, which really helped. And the nurses were super supportive in getting me everything I needed.' On Valentine's Day Megan was finally told she had stage 1 chondrosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer. Initially she felt numb. 'I thought that my mental health would really suffer throughout the cancer diagnosis,' she says. 'But oddly, I think the survivor mode just kicked in, and I persevered. I just thought there's no point in me asking 'why has this happened to me? 'I had to keep positive because being sad wasn't going to change anything. So I just kind of stayed strong for it all. I used to be a lot more emotional before my diagnosis, and I'd cry over nothing. But I think it made me realise that my worries previously weren't real worries at all. 'I stayed strong for me, my family, and my friends. It could have been a lot worse. I was also really worried about amputation. I googled chondrosarcoma and just saw lots of girls having their legs amputated. That was really scary and I was having panic attacks. It's frightening to think about losing part of your body.' Megan was able to go home three days after receiving the diagnosis without needing any further treatment. Despite having to learn to walk again, eager to move on from the traumatic illness and in desperate need of distraction, she started a new marketing job one week after surgery. 'Going through this has totally given me a new perspective on life,' she says. 'I worry less about the small things. I now realise I didn't really have any problems until I had a health problems. It was really scary looking at survival rates and the percentage chances of the cancer coming back.' Megan has been told that there is a 30% chance that the cancer will reoccur, so she is focussing on the fact that there is a 70% chance of her being well - and on enjoying life. As soon as she was pronounced fit to fly, she took her crutches and went to Barcelona and Morocco and had amazing holidays. Megan is very grateful that she went to A&E when she did and wants to encourage others to see the doctor when they suspect something is wrong. 'There's no point waiting – if I had waited, I could have lost my leg or even my life.' she says. 'If your body doesn't feel right, get it checked. 'It's just so important not to let doctors and your GP turn you away because you're young, because when something's not right, it's not right. You never think it's going to happen to you, but just because you're young, that doesn't mean you're immune. 'I am worried about it coming back. But I'm just super grateful to even have that fear. Because so many cancer patients don't have the positive outcome that I had. I'm still in physio and I have a huge scar on my hip, but I've just kind of accepted that. It's nothing to be embarrassed about and I was happy to wear my bikini in Barcelona and not give it another thought. 'It shows me who I am, what I've been through, and how strong I am. I'm still here, and that's something to appreciate. I appreciate everything these days.'
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
'Our world fell apart overnight when we woke up to find daughter stiff and blue'
The devastated parents of a 'loving and very cheeky' baby have spoken of the moment their 'world fell apart' when she tragically died unexpectedly in her sleep The heartbroken parents of a 14-month-old girl who died unexpectedly in her sleep have spoken of the harrowing moment their world completely collapsed. Enya Burgess, 29, and Scott Stanley, 28, have detailed their devastation after they went to wake their young daughter Lily-Anne. The couple, from Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, say their beloved baby was 'stiff' and 'blue' before they frantically called for an ambulance. Tragically, Lily-Anne was sadly pronounced dead, with the cause later determined as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood, leaving her parents with 'no answers'. After Lily-Anne was taken to a local hospital for further checks, Enya, who works as a customer service advisor, and Scott, an asbestos consultant, claim they were left sitting in a busy A&E waiting room while processing the news of their loss, which was 'mayhem'. The experience was even more traumatic for the couple, together for more than three years, after they claim they were not offered any ongoing counselling or support from the hospital and there was no dedicated room onsite where they could grieve. Without the kindness of two hospital staff members, Enya and Scott felt they would have had 'nothing' – prompting them to launch a GoFundMe page to raise money to improve bereavement services at the site as a way of helping other families through the 'unthinkable'. 'Tomorrow isn't guaranteed, cherish every moment you can,' Enya told PA Real Life. 'It was just a normal Tuesday for us, and the next day our world fell apart, just overnight. We want to make these changes to create a lasting legacy for Lily-Anne and to help other parents and families when they are going through the unthinkable.' Scott added: 'Every hospital should have these services on offer for when you lose a child. You need help and support to process the news, and a private place to do so.' Enya and Scott described their daughter, Lily-Anne, who had no previous health issues, as 'very loving and very cheeky'. 'She was very caring and she liked to share a lot, she had a big heart,' Scott said. He said it was a morning like any other on May 7 when he got up for work. "I went downstairs, made (Lily-Anne's) milk and I went to get her up and ready for nursery… she was stiff on her front and she was blue,' Scott said, becoming emotional. The couple called an ambulance while Enya said she ran out of the house to shout for help. One of their neighbours, an off-duty police officer, was able to start administering CPR to Lily-Anne. Enya said it was 'craziness' as both police officers and an ambulance arrived at once, before the couple were told it was confirmed Lily-Anne had died in her sleep, aged one day under 14 months. Lily-Anne was taken to King's Mill Hospital in Nottinghamshire for further checks while Enya and Scott followed behind – but they claim they had to sit in the A&E waiting room following their very recent loss. 'It was mayhem – we were sat there for a good half-hour, sitting around other people, wondering what the hell is happening,' Enya said. The couple said they were then met by doctors before being taken into a side room and questioned about Lily-Anne's health. 'They did some initial checks on her and confirmed there were no signs of struggle, that there was no obvious reason as to why she had passed,' Enya said. From there, Enya claims she and Scott were moved to another room located 'right next to' the children's A&E waiting room. 'It was literally just a dingy, dark room behind some toilets, and we could hear everything going on,' Enya said. 'We were in shock, it was triggering in a way considering what we were going through.' The couple claim they were not offered any counselling or support from a dedicated bereavement team and there was not a specific area onsite where they could process their loss privately. They also claim that while bereavement support is on offer at the hospital, it is only for those where a child has died under a certain age – and Lily-Anne was too old for them to receive this service. On May 19, Lily-Anne was transported to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London where a post-mortem examination was conducted. On June 23, Enya said her daughter's death was officially ruled as Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood (SUDC). Around 40 children are affected every year by SUDC in the UK, often going to sleep and never waking up, according to SUDC UK, a charity dedicated to research and support. Enya, Scott and their loved ones held a funeral for Lily-Anne on June 6 – although they say they have not processed her death. "It's hard because we don't have an answer, there was no reason why she died,' Enya said. Motivated by their experience, Enya and Scott have launched a GoFundMe page with the aim of enlisting a bereavement support team for all at King's Mill Hospital, as well as creating a dedicated bereavement suite at the site – raising over £2,000 so far with a target of £10,000. 'My goal is to get this support in place to help other families in the future,' Enya said.
