What is TSW?

Topical Steroids/Oral Steroids/Corticosteroids:

- Common medication (OTC or prescribed) used to treat skin conditions such as eczema.

- Prescribed to patients of all ages (ranging from newborns to the elderly).

- Strength of potency ranging from Class 1-7. Class 1 being the strongest.

- The medication is used to reduce inflammation (aka suppress the immune system).

Topical Steroid Addiction (TSA):

- After long-term continued use of topical steroids, the body obsessively relies the medication in order to function.

Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW):

- What happens once an addicted body stops receiving steroid medication.

Common Symptoms of TSW:

- The skin can burn bright red. Visually, it is bright red. Physically, it feels like it is burning.

- The skin can be very itchy.

- The skin can ooze

- The skin can form crusts

- The skin can get scaly, flakey, dry, powdery

- Thermoregulation issues: fluctuating between feeling cold chills and feeling sweaty and overheated

- Physical and mental fatigue

- Mental health issues as a byproduct of physical and social discomfort

- Withdrawal symptoms can last between 1 month to 5 years

Notes:

- Many doctors and dermatologists don't believe TSW is real. Most believe that the symptoms after stopping steroid usage are from the original reason the steroids were prescribed.

- Typically, TSW may affect areas that never had issues before steroids were applied.

- There are many different ways people cope with recovering from TSW. I chose to follow the NMT protocol.

- All the information here is a summary of my research and own thoughts.

- For a list of my tips and suggestions on how to ease into all this go to the Helpful Tips page.

For more information about TSW, check out the links in the Resources page.