A woman says her skin looked like "acid was poured all over" after quitting ‘addictive’ steroid cream used to treat her eczema – leaving her in a "living nightmare"."

Jessie Kennedy, 24, had a small patch of eczema in her elbow from the age of nine and started to use a cream she found online.

She says it "worked amazingly" until aged 22 - when her arms got itchier and went completely red."

She went to her doctor and was prescribed steroid cream but her skin continued to get worse – leaving her with "burning" arms."

Doctors would continue to up her dosage but nothing helped.

After posting on an eczema Facebook page, Jessie believed she has topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) – which causes severe symptoms in prolonged steroid users.

Jessie discontinued the steroids in October 2022 but her skin continued to weep and scab, affecting her face and arms.

She was forced to stop working for four months due to the pain, but after starting an immunosuppressant - methotrexate – she has finally seen her skin start to clear up.

Jessie, a healthcare assistant, from Southampton, Hants., said: "My arms just felt like they were burning – like acid."

"It looked like acid was poured all over my arms. I had weeping coming out of my face."

"I had red sleeve – it’s like a tattooed sleeve but you’re red. My body was attacking itself."

"It’s a living nightmare."

Jessie’s eczema got worse when she turned 22 and she discovered the ‘herbal cream’ she had been using contained steroids.

When her eczema got "itchier" she went to the doctor and was prescribed steroid creams – and the dose continued to be put up when they didn’t work."

Jessie said: "Everyone said ‘what’s happening – your arms are bright red?’"

Desperate, she posted on an eczema Facebook page and a commenter suggested she might have TSW – although she has never been officially diagnosed.

She decided to discontinue the steroids in October 2022 but her skin got progressively worse.

She said: "My ears were splitting. The skin literally falls off."

Jessie struggled sleeping and had to stop working for three months from March 2023 when the pain got so bad.

She was left housebound and felt "shameful" and "disgusting"."

Jessie said: "You break as a person. It feels like your body is abusing itself."

"I just wanted to run away but I can’t run away from my body."

After refusing further steroid treatment, Jessie was prescribed methotrexate – a drug used to treat types of cancers and autoimmune conditions – in March 2023.

It took four months for Jessie to see an improvement but has now seen the redness go down and she was able to return to work in June 2023.

She still struggles with flare ups once a month – lasting a couple of weeks – and has still been left with "24/7 itchy skin"."

She said: "I’ve only been normal looking the last couple of months. I’ve still got itchy arms."