'I used cream for 28 years and it left me with alien skin'

'I used cream for 28 years and it left me with alien skin'Rosemary Hook, 29, from London, was first prescribed it at three months oldCommentsNewsSteven Smith Content Editor08:27, 14 Apr 2026Updated 08:34, 14 Apr 2026View 4 ImagesRosemary has been bedbound on numerous occasions(Image: PA Real Life)A woman says she was left bedbound with "oozing", elephant-like skin – so severe she was "unrecognisable". It came after 28 years of using steroid creams for eczema, which she believes triggered topical steroid withdrawal.‌Rosemary Hook, 29, says she has been prescribed steroid creams for eczema since she was three months old, at increasing strengths, and claims the medication's information leaflets advise limiting use to one week at a time.‌After relocating to London in 2016, her condition dramatically deteriorated – her skin turned red and inflamed across her entire body, she started losing clumps of hair and the pain left her unable to move. Turning to social media for answers, she became convinced she was trapped in a "vicious cycle" of topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), believing the medication was aggravating her symptoms while making her "dependent" on it.‌For a decade she endured "alien-looking" skin, alongside depression and anxiety, and claims her GP dismissed her concerns, prescribing immunosuppressants to help manage her symptoms, including a type of chemotherapy drug. When her condition worsened further in 2025, she travelled to Thailand that December for plasma therapy – which she describes as "life-changing", saying she can finally recognise herself once more.At £200 per session, she now faces up to five years of continuing treatment and has launched a fundraiser to ensure she can keep receiving it.View 4 ImagesRosemary believes she has topical steroid withdrawal(Image: PA Real Life)‌Rosemary, a technician at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, said: "My...