Bride, 24, with severe eczema woke up a week before her wedding with her eyes swollen shut
Bride, 24, with severe eczema woke up a week before her wedding with her eyes swollen shut because she was WITHDRAWING from her skin cream
- Gemma Day, from Australia, has suffered with eczema for her whole life
- She took steroid creams for years but when she stopped her skin became worse
- An extreme reaction before her hen do meant she had to start the drugs again
- She has now ditched the meds but has to moisturise her body four times a day
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A bride who suffers from severe eczema has revealed the horror she felt when she woke up a week before her wedding to find her eyes were swollen shut.
Gemma Day, from Toowoomba in Queensland, Australia, suffered the extreme reaction as a withdrawal symptom from her steroid skin cream.
The 24-year-old has suffered from eczema – which causes skin to become dry, itchy and raw – since she was a child, and used steroid cream to keep it under control.
But when Mrs Day ditched the ointment, she discovered her skin had become addicted the medication and her eczema became worse than ever.
She became unable to open her eyes and her skin felt dry and like it was burning, meaning she had to cave in and return to using the cream to make it through her hen party, wedding day and honeymoon.
Mrs Day admits ‘eczema dictates all the big events in my life, which doesn’t seem fair,’ and said her skin condition even influenced the dress she wore.
Now living without the steroid cream, but having to drink three litres of water and moisturise four times a day, Mrs Day hopes sharing her story will help others.
Gemma Day, 24, was prescribed steroid cream to control her lifelong eczema but her skin became so addicted that when she stopped using the cream her eyes swelled up and her skin got worse (left), but after making it through initial withdrawals her skin has improved (right)
Born with eczema – a common condition thought to affect around a million Australians, 15 million Brits and 35 million Americans – Mrs Day had it under control as a young child, but things changed when she hit 13.
What had begun as small patches of dry skin spread gradually until it covered the office administrator’s entire body.
When she visited a doctor in her teens, they suspected her condition had worsened because of school stress and prescribed her steroid cream to help.
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But she found that as soon as she stopped using the creams, her skin went into what she later discovered was topical steroid withdrawal – leaving it dry, red and burning, with the redness spreading even more.
The withdrawal symptoms happen when skin becomes so used to receiving a drug that when the medicine is removed it reacts badly.
And, just seven days before tying-the-knot with her lawyer fiancée Brenton Day, 25, on April 14 this year, the effects were so extreme she could not open her eyes and was forced to have another steroid ‘fix.’
Mrs Day, who had been trying to stop using the creams her skin had become dependent on, had to ‘cave’ and use them again to look good for her wedding to now-husband, Brenton (pictured)
Mrs Day said: ‘After using the cream so much over the years, unwittingly I became addicted,’ she said.
‘I’d get flare-ups of sore and cracked skin every time I tried to wean myself off the steroid creams.
‘Now only my feet, a small part of my chest and my palms are clear, but the rest of me is coated.
‘Sometimes I feel like a monster – I try to keep as much of my skin covered as I can. I have even asked my boss if I could work somewhere where no one could see me.
Mrs Day said when her eczema flares up she feels ‘like a monster’ and even asked her boss at work if she could sit where nobody can see her
The eczema started off in small patches when she was young but during her teenage years Mrs Day’s condition spread across her entire body, leaving only her palms, feet and part of her chest clear of the dry skin
Mrs Day is so affected by eczema that she tries to cover as much of her body as possible with clothing, and even planned her wedding for a time she knew her skin would be clearest, as well as choosing a dress which covered her arms
Mrs Day’s eczema became so bad she was hospitalised but she has now managed to stop using the steroid creams and has to moisturise four times a day and drink at least three litres of water
‘I had to cave in and use more steroid cream to calm everything down before my wedding.
‘Eczema dictates all the big events in my life, which doesn’t seem fair.
‘I can’t even wear make-up. I’ve only used it 10 times in the past five years, but did manage to wear it on my wedding day.’
WHAT IS TOPICAL STEROID ADDICTION?
Topical steroid addiction arises from the use of such creams to treat conditions like eczema.
First described in 1979 in the International Journal of Dermatology, the theory is, over time, the skin becomes ‘addicted’ to the steroids. But it is not widely accepted among the medical community.
It occurs when steroids have been discontinued after a prolonged or inappropriate length of administration.
Topical steroid addiction has not been reported with correct drug use.
Symptoms include:
- Redness, particularly on the face, genitals and area where the steroids were applied
- Thickened skin
- Burning or stinging
- Dryness
- Skin sensitivity and intolerance to moisturisers
Excessive sweating and itching is a sign of recovery.
Many sufferers also develop insomnia.
Treatment focuses on anxiety support, sleep aids, itch management, infection prevention and immunosuppressants.
Doctors should advise patients to avoid long term or high dose steroid use.
Source: DermNet NZ
Her withdrawals had become so extreme she could not open her eyes – causing her to panic just days before her hen do and not long until the big day and honeymoon.
‘I woke up and couldn’t open my eyes because they were so swollen,’ Mrs Day said.
‘It’s a common side effect of withdrawal from steroid creams and I was freaking out.
‘With my hen do the next day and my big day not long after, I was devastated to think everything could be ruined.’
Visiting her GP, Mrs Day was given steroid creams again to get her through her wedding and honeymoon to the UK.
Even before this happened, she had planned her big day around her eczema.
‘Autumn is the best time of year for my eczema,’ she explained. ‘So there was no question – we would be getting married in the Australian Autumn season, which is March to May.
‘We picked April, but then there was the question of my wedding dress.
‘I had always suffered with the eczema on my arms, so knew I could never choose a short-sleeved wedding dress and opted for a long-sleeved one.’
When the pair, who met online, tied the knot on April 14, Mrs Day says it was the best day of her life but regrets the hold her eczema had over her.
Hospitalised by the condition only last week, she has now given up the steroid cream, but has to moisturise four times a day, drink at least three litres of water and, most importantly – try not to scratch.
Mrs Day added: ‘It was only after my wedding that I realised I had been addicted to steroid cream because of how much my skin flared up when I wasn’t using the treatment.
‘Now, I want other people with eczema to know they are not alone and hope that sharing my story will help them.’
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