Louise King writes for Balmonds about her exciting new strategy for beating topical steroid withdrawal: a centre in Singapore that's treating TSW patients! --- I remember the moment a TSW friend from L.A. messaged to say ‘have you heard about the clinic in Singapore?’ All Courtney had to mention was that they were treating TSW patients with regenerative laser and my mind was blown. I had heard of other TSW friendly doctors across the globe supporting sufferers – from Dr Rapaport with traditional methods such as emollients and immunosuppressants, to Dr Sato with Non-Moisture Treatment, but reg ..read more

Today's guest blog is by Holly Broome of Scratch That, an online campaign for Topical Steroid Addiction awareness in the UK. Holly explains just how important an online community can be for people going through TSW. --- Topical Steroid Withdrawal as a condition is not currently recognised or treated by doctors in the UK. Most of us are met with blank stares when we mention the condition to friends and family, and that’s expected. But imagine how we feel when we are met with the same expression from a doctor. We receive little to no support from the NHS, and unfortunately most of us have had v ..read more

We're very pleased to publish this guest blog by Harriet Hammond about how to cope if you're working through TSW. The image above is of Harriet on her first day back at work after being signed off during topical steroid withdrawal. --- If you are working (or studying) during TSW, there’s a good chance that you will experience some level of disruption if your symptoms get severe. When I started going through TSW I managed to keep working for the first 3.5 months, and to begin with I honestly wondered why others had have to stop work for this; I thought it’s uncomfortable and ugly but if I ..read more

If you’re going through topical steroid withdrawal, you’ll be all too familiar with how dramatically it can affect the face, and how very painful that can be. Symptoms of Topical Steroid Withdrawal Symptoms of TSW on the face include: flushed skin; swollen eyes; pustules or pimples around the mouth; rashes; extreme sensitivity; ‘elephant skin’, ie saggy, wrinkled skin; severe dryness; flaking or shedding skin; oozing or weeping; cracked or bleeding around corners of the mouth. So what can you do to ease your way through the rough times of TSW? Face-friendly products for TSW If you’re using emo ..read more

We’re very proud to announce that Balmonds is now sponsoring ITSAN! ITSAN is the world’s foremost charity for those living with topical steroid withdrawal syndrome (aka TSW), and provides a vital lifeline for thousands who might not otherwise have anywhere to turn for information and support. Based in the US but accessible to people across the globe, ITSAN’s work consists of advocating, educating, raising awareness, and providing support for those who live with eczema and TSW. ITSAN believes that people living with eczema are entitled to make informed decisions about the way they manage their ..read more

(Image: Holly Broome, who charts her NMT journey @tsw_hollybee) No Moisture Treatment is a specific regimen formulated by Dr Kenji Sato in Hannan Chuo Hospital in Osaka, Japan, to help his patients get through topical steroid withdrawal (TSW). It involves radically restricting the amount of moisture the body is given, whether by drinking it or by using emollients. His theory is that skin affected by TSW needs to dry out, and reducing the moisture supplied will speed the process. It’s worth noting that NMT, as it’s known, is carried out under strict conditions by Dr Sato, conditions that ..read more

TSW can be a long process, sometimes with frustratingly slow progress and disappointing waves of flares. In this blog we look at how long those flare-ups can last. What is TSW? TSW stands for topical steroid withdrawal. This is a process of recovering from the effects of topical corticosteroids, usually after using steroid creams to manage the symptoms of eczema or other skin conditions. Although it’s been long understood that using steroids on the skin can result in side-effects, with the skin, the adrenal system and the immune system all being affected by the way steroids dampen the body’s i ..read more

A guest article by writer & vlogger, Zainab Danjuma. Ever since I was little, my skin has always been a topic of discussion. I didn’t matter how much I tried to hide away, people always felt the need to offer their opinion on how best to cure me of my lifelong condition. I began to get used to the usual comments and questions of “Why’s your skin like that?” “Have you tried coconut oil?”, and the ever infuriating “Stop scratching!” I would brush it off most of the time but of course, it made me very self conscious about how I looked and how others saw me. I became quite reserved in ord ..read more

Today's guest post is from blogger Eden H Brown, who shares her journey through TSW, from having to live up to social media's expectations of a perfect life and perfect skin, to honest self-acceptance in a mutually supportive community. --- I often get told “your skin is so perfect!” when the irony is that my skin is very far from perfect. In reality, my Instagram (@edenhbrown) edits out a HUGE chunk of my life. I’ve had eczema for years now, but this past year my skin has been the most consistently angry it's ever been. I've laid low for months, filtering out my skin's reactions and fla ..read more

Lowri Hawkins tell us her eczema story, from steroids to a natural skincare routine! I have tried every cream in the book, or every prescription cream I should say, and I haven't used many that work for me. I've always thought natural skincare is the best way forward, but I never gave it a chance and just relied on the prescription medication and creams. In my experience, the dermatologist has only treated my skin for the short term, and I am now in a position where I want long term change. I believe there is a place for dermatologists as they are skin experts, but I also think that natural r ..read more