A dental nurse who feels 'like a zombie' since ditching steroid creams has to vacuum her bed ever morning because her skin sheds throughout the night.

Laura Barnett, 45, was first prescribed the creams nine years ago, for what doctors believed was eczema - but was actually found to be an allergy to dust mites. 

She threw them out 18 months ago when her skin grew resistant to their effects - but was left suffering with symptoms known as topical steroid withdrawal (TSW). 

Her 'peeling, itching and oozing' skin made it so difficult to sleep that she would have baths at four in the morning to relieve her skin.

Stressed and anxious, Ms Barnett, of Battersea, London, feared she would lose her job because she was so tired from not sleeping.

And never did she expect it to take a toll on her relationship with partner, Matthew, 44, or keep her from spending time with her son, Beau, seven.

Ms Barnett said: 'My partner has had to move out of our bed as he's a very light sleeper and I was lying awake scratching all night. 

'Plus, the skin sheds and bleeds in the night so it's horrendous. I have to vacuum my bed every morning and I don't know any relationship that wouldn't suffer from having to sleep apart.

'My son has suffered because I have to spend so much time managing my TSW with regular baths that, instead of spending time with him before and after school, I am dealing with this, and his dad has had to step in.

'I was stressed, anxious and not sleeping and so I was like a zombie at work.' 

Ms Barnett was given steroid creams for the first time nine years ago to treat sore skin around her eyes.

She said doctors may have mistaken her symptoms for eczema, as she found out through a blood test with a dermatologist in January 2018 that she had a dust mite allergy.

A few months before, she had decided to ditch the creams that she had used for years because she felt like they were no longer working whenever she had a skin flare-up.

She said: 'I didn't know any of this at the start, but what I know now is that the longer you use steroid creams, the stronger the cream needs to be to get the same relief.

'And when, 18 months ago, I stopped using them, within five days I started to see the withdrawal symptoms - which was something doctors never warned me about.

'I got out of the bath one morning and the skin on my face had flared up. It was like a butterfly effect, spreading right across the middle of my face. It looked inflamed and felt very sore.

'The irony is that, until this happened, I'd thought my skin was my best asset.'

The stress of managing her TSW took a huge emotional toll on both Ms Barnett's relationship with Matthew, a car sales manager, her son and work life.

She said she has suffered from anxiety as a result of the changes to the skin on her face, arms, breasts and hands, which she feels not only look unsightly, but are sore and hard to manage.

She said: 'I had just started a new job when I stopped using the steroid creams and was scared I would lose it because my symptoms were so bad, especially at night.

'I wasn't sleeping and so I wasn't as focused at work as I should have been.

'I would have to get up at 4am every night to take a lukewarm bath and try to soothe the itching, which was so bad I would scratch until the skin - which is very fragile as a result of this condition - would bleed.  

'Thankfully, when I finally told my boss what was happening, he was very understanding, but this has been hard on my partner and my son, too.'

Ms Barnett first discovered TSW when she stumbled across a Facebook group while searching her symptoms online. 

Despite thousands of people claiming they have it, it is not, according to Ms Barnett, properly recognised by doctors.

She said: 'There are now 9,900 members of the online group from around the world, all posting and answering questions about this condition, so finally, I had people who understood.

'They were the only support who could relate to me and my condition, which I have had throughout this horrible journey and I don't know what I would have done without them.'

Ms Barnett is now managing her symptoms better, having fewer flare ups that are less severe and do not last as long.

She believes her skin reactions are because she ditched the steroid creams, but she has also tried to reduce her exposure to dust mites in her home by using mattress covers and regularly steaming her carpets.  

While her journey to be rid of steroid creams has caused her suffering, and may do for five years in total - according to support groups - she has never once been tempted to go back to using them.  

She said: 'I'd be terrified to even come into contact with a jar of those creams, because what I know now is that if you have to use them long term, they stop the skin from behaving normally and can cause steroid-induced eczema which is what I have suffered with. 

'Doctors need to see that TSW is very real. It certainly feels real when you're suffering with it.' 

Source: dailymail.co.uk