A Scots woman says steroid cream has 'burned' her skin so badly she no longer recognises herself in the mirror.
Nicole Mackenzie, 26, from Glasgow started using topical steroid cream to treat her eczema just over a year ago and has re-apply moisturiser every 30 minutes, but says within six months the steroids had 'eaten away' her skin 'beyond repair' and she can barely move.
Her skin condition got so 'horrific' that in October last year she had to move out of her flat with her boyfriend to live at home with her mum, where she now describes her days as 'empty' and 'painful'.
The condition causes her body to feel 'hot and burning', with her skin 'weeping with fluid', meaning she is only able to wear pyjamas and has to take co-codamol and morphine to soothe the extreme pain.
Nicole had only turned to steroid creams as a last resort after avoiding them for eight years due to hearing how harsh they can be.
The 'heartbroken' girl is now unable to recognise herself in the mirror and deeply regrets her decision, which has left her in '10 times more pain' than she ever was with eczema.
She is now in so much pain that she can barely leave the house, has been on long-term sickness since October 31st from her job as an admin worker and spends her days applying cream and then having to just lie down - being forced to spend the last four months wearing only pyjamas.
Despite her struggles, Nicole has opened up online about her journey dealing with topical steroid withdrawal, where her videos have reached more than 400,000 views and 20,000 likes.
Upsetting footage shows Nicole reduced to tears as she is in so much pain from her visibly inflamed and weeping skin.
Wanting to raise awareness for how debilitating the skin condition can be, she hopes that sharing her content online will help others in similar situations who are suffering in silence.
Nicole said: "It's ten times more painful than eczema. Day to day it's so bad I can't walk. My skin's so tight I can't bend my legs, they're so stiff.
"I have to reapply moisturiser every half an hour. I wear clingfilm on my arms to help keep the moisture in.
"If I was just to put moisturiser on, it would just sit on top of my skin. The clingfilm lets it absorb more.
"My skin's hot and burning. I've got something called 'red skin syndrome' or 'red sleeve' which is where my full body is just bright red.
"It's not like a rash, it's like yellow weeping fluids coming out of my skin and causing it to crust all over.
"It's all over my body. Everywhere is awful, but my face is the worst.
"I ended up having to move out of the flat where I lived with my boyfriend and I moved in with my mum, she's basically my full-time carer now.
"I can't wear normal day to day clothing. I've been in pyjamas since October. Any clothing, like jeans and t-shirt, just hurts my skin. It's too sore.
"I've been off work since October because I couldn't start my day because of how bad my skin was.
"I couldn't shower because the pressure of the water against my skin would hurt. I was struggling to look after my personal hygiene.
"It is like a disability. It completely disables you from doing anything. You cannot live a normal life and that needs to be recognised.
"I've had my whole life taken away from me because of a cream and the damage it's done to me.
"If I'd have known the chance of this, I'd have chosen my eczema any day. I wouldn't have ever chosen steroids if I'd known the pain it could cause."
Not only has it affected her day-to-day life, but it's had a detrimental effect to her mental health too, leaving Nicole feeling like a 'burden' to those around here.
She said: "It's had such an affect on me to the point it's really made me suffer with my mental health.
"My days are very, very empty. I don't do anything. I wake up in the morning, I bathe, I do my creams, and then I lie back in bed.
"That's not the life I want to live. It has gotten so depressing.
"I feel like I'm a burden to myself and to other people. Someone else has to do everything for me.
"I've been in so much pain some days I've genuinely just not wanted to be here anymore. I've felt my skin is so damaged beyond repair that I just couldn't live my life like this forever.
"It's completely changed my personality, I'm not who I used to be.
"I was so outgoing and confident, and now I couldn't even imagine doing half the things I used to, like walking into a pub and doing karaoke, I just would never do that.
"When I look in the mirror I'm just heartbroken. It's just not me anymore. It's like I'm looking at another person. I don't think 'oh that's Nicole'.
"I look so different, my mindsets so different, I feel so different, there's nothing about me that's my old self."
Despite her struggles, Nicole finds support from her family and online, where she hopes to raise awareness of her skin condition.
She said: "So much more support is needed for people dealing with severe skin conditions.
"For anyone dealing with topical steroid withdrawal, it will have had a huge impact on their mental health. It needs to be recognised.
"There's so many people out there suffering. It's not just a rash or a bit of red skin. I would not wish this pain on my worst enemy.
"I'm so grateful to my mum for everything she's done for me because this doesn't just affect me, it affects others around me. The stress that I feel, my family feels because they're so helpless.
"My boyfriend has just had to sit and watch me suffer and become a completely different person because of it. There needs to be so much more support and so much more awareness for it.
"It's nice to know there's people out there like you, it gives you hope you can get better. I hope sharing my experiences will help educate others and hopefully avoid someone else down the road damaging their skin."
After several visits to the GP and referrals to the dermatologist, Nicole has now been prescribed an immunosuppressant drug.
While it isn't a cure, Nicole hopes it will stop her skin from flaring up as much and that by her brother's wedding in May, she will be well enough again to be a bridesmaid.
Nicole said: "I'm now on methotrexate, an immunosuppressant drug. The medication suppresses your immune system so it isn't as active and any toxins are being reduced and not going out of your skin and causing such a bad flare.
"The doctors say to give methotrexate at least six weeks before you start seeing any sort of difference, but that's basing off curing eczema, rather than topical steroid withdrawal, so it might take longer.
"My brother's getting married in May and I'm a bridesmaid so I'm just hoping that it'll work the same."
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