A Scots mum says steroid creams damaged her skin so much that strangers take pictures when they think she's not looking.
Shop assistant Jade Scullion, from Dunfermline, suffered from severe eczema as a child and from just six months old was prescribed with a cream to combat the itchy rash.
But by her late twenties Jade, who also takes an immunosuppressant medication, realised her eczema was actually starting to get worse.
After researching her symptoms, Jade realised they matched those of topical steroid withdrawal.
In January 2021, the mum-of-two decided to withdraw from the cream, leading to some brutal side affects.
They include a constant feeling of being sunburnt, a stinging nettle sensation and skin so dry and thin it peels away at the slightest touch, leaving the flesh underneath exposed and oozing.
Despite finding support online through an awareness Instagram she runs, her experience in public has been anything but positive.
Jade said: "I have had a really good reaction from social media, everyone has been so supportive and it's great to help each other out as well as educating others who might be in the same situation.
“Unfortunately, the public are a different story - they stare, point and whisper.
“The worst was someone taking a picture of me over their shoulder in the queue at the chemist.
“Topical steroid withdrawal is not nice to look at but that was taking the biscuit.
"I try my best to see the positive side to this process and was told that my Instagram page keeps people going when they are having a bad day.
“That was the whole point in starting it so I'm glad it's doing its job.”
The cream had previously helped manage the now 37-year-old’s eczema flare ups throughout her childhood.
But Jade took the decision to stop using them as she and her dermatologist believe it will help her skin in the long run, even though it means suffering in the meantime.
Uncontrollable shakes, ‘bone deep’ itchiness and a build-up of fluid in her legs which has left her couchbound and unable to walk more than a few paces.
The side-effects are so bad Jade has had to require support from her family.
Daughter Jaimey, 12, and son Kaedyn, nine, help her to get dressed, while mother Caroline, 57, has moved in to help with household chores.
Jade is now speaking out about her ordeal in the hope more can be done to educate people and health professionals on topical steroid withdrawal.
She added: "It was just in February of this year that the NHS recognised steroids can cause this kind of reaction.
"But it is not a new condition and needs to be researched more.
“This has been the hardest thing I’ve ever gone through both physically and mentally.
“My future is going to be tough, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and that light is having a normal life where I’m not restricted due to my bad skin.”
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