A woman who endured chronic pain for years thanks to a serious skin condition claims an over-the-counter £9 cream has created "life changing" results overnight.
Kimberly Reardon, 30, was bed bound for years with infections, in and out of hospital and unable to move without her skin weeping or peeling as she suffered from excruciating eczema.
But after trying a £8.99 cream in March, her skin cleared overnight, the Daily Record reports.
"I was exhausted and hopeless. It felt like it was never ending,” she said.
"I had spent nearly 10 years in chronic pain and it was an achievement for me to just get myself washed and dressed in the morning. I have tried so many creams that don't work, so when my mum suggested I tried this one, I was very sceptical about it working.”
"But, when I woke up the next day, my face was almost clear. It was unbelievable."
Kimberley tried using numerous steroid creams that only offered relief briefly before her skin would weep or peel again.
At one point the call centre operator had to sleep with a balaclava on at night to stop her skin from sticking to the pillow, and she had to change her bed sheet every few hours.
She told Daily Record that she was diagnosed with mild baby eczema, but the condition went away before coming back with a vengeance when she was in her early teenage years.
To ease the eczema, Kimberley was prescribed a steroid cream but when she hit 20, the creams seemed to stop working and during the next three years her condition intensified and spread to her face.
She believes stress was a “trigger” for the intensity, because she was studying at university, working part-time and caring for her grandad.
The eczema became worse when she was diagnosed with severe and widespread erythema at 23 - a rash caused by injured or inflamed blood capillaries, usually in response to a drug, disease or infection.
Kimberley said she was constantly wrapping herself in bandages, she felt exhausted, and her whole body felt like it was severely sunburned.
After years fighting eczema without success, Kimberley felt depressed, although she still tried to go out and have a normal life. She said: "I remember putting foundation on the top of my hands to try and cover the red patches.
"One time a woman saw my hand when I pushed the lift button at work and she said, 'Oh! Have you been burnt?' I felt so embarrassed."
In 2018 she was hospitalised and put on an IV drip because her skin was so thin that she could not regulate her temperature.
She claimed that 95 per cent of her body was covered in “red, swollen and burning skin”.
Kimberley was placed on immunosuppressants and five months of oral steroids, to try and tame her excruciating eczema. And when 2020 hit, she found herself completely bedbound.
At one point during the lockdown period her skin improved but she faced nasty side effects instead, such as vomiting and a loss of appetite.
She was hospitalised again in July 2020 and didn’t work for five months. She returned home on antibiotics and was bed bound once again.
Her boyfriend of 12 years had to help carry her to the bathroom or run a bath for her.
"My boyfriend had to care for me, I couldn't do anything. I spent my days in pain, just watching TV, or I sat in the bath for hours for some relief. The worst thing for me was feeling like such a burden."
She had three months of clear skin after being prescribed an injection which targets the gene that causes inflammation.
She could finally go out on a date with her boyfriend without being worried about what she looked like - but then she developed a fungal infection.
Just when she believed there was nothing else left to try, Kimberley's mum Janey Reardon discovered Balmonds Skin Salvation cream in March this year.
“I slathered it on and overnight and when I got up, my face was almost clear. I couldn't believe it,” Kimberley told Daily Record.
Using the cream every day, within one week, Kimberley was astounded to see that her skin was still amazingly clear. And for the first time since 2019, she felt confident enough about her appearance to go to a coffee shop alone.
She said: "I had a green tea in the coffee shop and for the first time in as long as I could remember, I wasn't worrying about people looking at my face. I had three date nights that week, one at the cinema and two foodie dates. Even just going for a walk again was amazing. "
While her skin has cleared, Kimberley also strongly believes she is suffering from topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) - something she is keen to raise awareness of.
She said: "Steroid creams do not work anymore for me. They would only give me 10 per cent relief for a day then the eczema would come back with a vengeance.
"There's no awareness of TSW for people using steroids and it was hugely detrimental for me. I wish I had known about more natural remedies like Balmonds. The difference it has made is incredible."
With her newfound confidence, Kimberley is now filling up her social diary. She said: "I have been out and about with my mum and dad and I have gone to yoga.
"It is such a relief to be comfortable again. There is still some eczema on my left hand and arm, but it isn't bad and the rest of me is clear. It is nothing short of a miracle. "
