Topical Steroid Withdrawal. That is what I am going through right now. Topical steroid withdrawal is when you use topical (on the skin) steroids to help with eczema and when you try to get off them because they are bad for you, you flare up. The reason the skin flares up is because it is addicted to the steroids. I have been going through this withdrawal for months without realizing it. I knew I flared up when I got off of steroids but I didn't understand it fully. TCW is pretty rare in eczema patients. One of the more predominant areas of redness is in the face, which is my most red area of my body. According to dermnetz, all of the reported cases of TCW are over the age of 18 and mostly women. I am somewhat close to that age range and I am a woman so this makes a lot of sense.
With topical steroid withdrawal, the eczema can become worse than it was before because of how addicted it is to the steroids. Another symptom of this withdrawal is that only the places of your body where you put a lot of steroids on is where they flare up after you get off of the steroids. For example, I only used the topical steroid on my face and that is where I would flare up the worst right after I got off the steroids. I am working on hydrating my face more than once a day to reduce the dry skin. My natural doctor also said to try licorice root tea to apply to my face to reduce the swelling. You just boil water, put the root into the water and let it sit together. Then you let it sit in the fridge and apply it to your face with a towel. It works really well for me to help calm down my face.
As of right now, there is no treatment for topical steroid withdrawal besides just stopping the steroid. Even if the skin looks like it is getting back under control, it can take years to return to its normal condition. A lot of the time, doctors won't even recognize that there is withdrawal problem and they will try to put you on more steroids, which is what has happened to me multiple times. Dealing with topical steroid withdrawal isn't going to be easy because of the random flair ups and not being able to go places but it is worth it in the long run to not be addicted to something bad for you. God has been my rock through all of this. He is the only thing that is always there and will never leave. I have been working on giving my worries and stress to God because it does me no good to worry or stress about anything.
Here is the website I used for my information if you want to learn more about topical steroid withdrawal.
JATS