Our skin is falling off and no-one can tell us why

What’s Happening

Listen up: People sharing pictures and accounts on socials of red, inflamed skin have triggered the first UK research into TSW.

Our skin is falling off and no-one can tell us why 1 day ago Save Ruth Clegg Health and wellbeing reporter Save Bethany Gamble Bethanys whole body became inflamed, her skin cracked and the itch was “bone deep” Bethany Gamble was given steroid creams from the age of two to help manage her eczema. They worked - for years her skin condition was just a small part of her life. (shocking, we know)

And then, suddenly it wasnt.

The Details

At the age of 18, Bethany began to notice the small patches of eczema in the creases of her elbows and behind her knees were spreading. “My skin was hot, so inflamed and red.

It began to crack and ooze, and the itch was bone deep. It consumed my whole body, and then it began to consume my whole life.

Why This Matters

” she turned 20, Bethany was in so much pain she could not get out of bed. She couldnt feed herself and her mum had to take time off work to nurse her. But the worst part, Bethany says, was not being believed.

Health experts are weighing in on what this means for people.

Key Takeaways

• “I was constantly gaslit by doctors,” the 21-year-old from Birmingham says.
• “They kept telling me it was just my eczema and offering me more steroids.
• “Ive had eczema my whole life - this was different.

The Bottom Line

There are the experts who believe it is a debilitating reaction to steroid creams - the first-line treatment for many of the eight million people who have eczema in the UK. Others believe it is itself a severe flare-up of eczema, or other specific skin conditions, and are not convinced it exists at all.

How do you feel about this development?