It is no secret that taking a holiday is good for your overall well-being. But did you know it can also be good for your skin?
Josie North has been suffering with a severe skin condition for 16 months. It all started in December 2021, when she was given steroid treatment to help with mild eczema.
“I was asked to use it in total for a month,” North told Newsweek. “First two weeks morning and night and second two weeks to taper off.
“When I began tapering off after the first two weeks, my eczema came back but this time all over my body AND my face,” she said. “As I never knew I had TSW (topical steroid withdrawal) and was repeatedly given more and more steroids, I didn’t actually cease using steroids until summer 2022.”
@josienorth988/TikTok
Topical steroid treatments contain molecules called corticosteroids that reduce inflammation and are used to treat many different inflammatory skin conditions, including eczema. However, for some people, coming off the steroids can result in a rash more severe and painful than the eczema it was originally used to treat.
“When I first started going through withdrawal—unbeknown to me at the time—the flare ups felt like somebody rubbing glass into my body and the itch was only comparable to physical torture,” North said. “My body would also swell, especially my face, during the worst flare ups, and there would be a LOT of weeping and my skin would stick to my clothes.”
Weeping is a complication of eczema that results in fluid-filled blisters on the skin. According to Healthline, weeping eczema is often caused by an infection, which can result from scratching and cracking of the skin.
“The worst part for me is the weeping, I find that really distressing,” North said.
Relatively little research has been carried out on the causes of TSW and possible cures.
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North said that changing to natural laundry detergents has helped reduce the rash on her skin, but the rash on her face has been harder to treat.
“I have to keep my hair tied up 24/7. If I let it touch my face it triggers me badly,” she said.
She has, however, found one thing that helps clear her condition, albeit temporarily: the sun and the sea.
After three days on holiday in Fuerteventura in Spain, North said that her skin had 90 percent healed.
“I had a HUGE scab on the side of my face and I just couldn’t envisage it going,” she said.
North shared the before and after results on her TikTok page, @josienorth988, in a video that has been viewed more than 950,000 times.
“Wow the big difference sun and a different environment can do,” said one user.
“Insane the goodness we can get from the sun! So so chuffed for you!” said another.
However, on her return to the U.K., her symptoms started to flare up again. But, inspired by her “healing holiday,” she decided to experiment with a new type of treatment.
“I have found something that seems to be keeping it at a good level: Dead Sea salts,” she said. “I have been bathing my face in a bowl of water and Dead Sea salts every day and at the moment 90 percent of my face looks glowing.
“However, I don’t want to get too excited as this condition is VERY temperamental.”
By sharing her experiences on TikTok, North hopes to spread awareness about her painful and upsetting condition and provide support for her fellow-TSW sufferers.
“Although I know I’m definitely not ‘healed’ now, I know I am getting closer and closer to that moment and I want to use my journey to positively impact others going through the excruciatingly distressing condition,” she said. “Hopefully giving them relatable content on TikTok that will also give them strength to keep fighting their way through.
“Having TSW tears you to the ground, makes you a shell of a person but for me now, I’m focusing on how I rebuild myself into someone so much stronger than I ever dreamed I could be.
“And finally, I’d like to say, anyone suffering with eczema…PLEASE, consider every avenue before you turn to steroids.”