![\"Rosemary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_embedded11923497.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRosemary Hook was first given the cream as a baby and had used it for all her life<\/p>\n
Steven Smith Content Editor<\/p>\n
08:18, 14 Apr 2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rosemary believes she has topical steroid withdrawal(Image: PA Real Life)<\/p>\n
A woman said she was left bedbound with \u201coozing\u201d, elephant-like skin \u2013 so severe she was \u201cunrecognisable\u201d \u2013 after 28 years of using steroid creams for eczema, which she believes triggered topical steroid withdrawal. Rosemary Hook, 29, said she has been prescribed steroid creams for eczema since she was three months old, at increasing strengths, and claims the medication\u2019s information leaflets advise limiting use to one week at a time.<\/p>\n
After moving to London in 2016, she said her condition dramatically worsened \u2013 her skin turned red and inflamed across her entire body, she began losing clumps of hair and the pain left her immobile. Turning to social media, she became convinced she was caught in a \u201cvicious cycle\u201d of topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), believing the medication was worsening her symptoms while making her \u201cdependent\u201d on it.<\/p>\n
For a decade she said she endured \u201calien-looking\u201d skin, along with depression and anxiety and claims her GP dismissed her concerns, prescribing her immunosuppressants to help manage the symptoms, including a type of chemotherapy drug. When her condition deteriorated further in 2025, she flew to Thailand that December for plasma therapy \u2013 which she said has been \u201clife-changing\u201d and she can finally recognise herself again. At \u00a3200 per session, she now faces up to five years of ongoing treatment and has set up a fundraiser to ensure she can carry on having it.<\/p>\n
![\"Rosemary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_embedded11923494.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Rosemary has been bedbound on numerous occasions(Image: PA Real Life)<\/p>\n
Rosemary, a technician at the Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, told PA Real Life: \u201cMy skin became thickened in places, almost like an elephant skin texture, but at the same time incredibly fragile. I had deep cracks in areas, and even small movements could cause the skin to split or tear, so basic things like getting dressed were painful.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was also large, constant flaking and shedding throughout the day, and I was dealing with ongoing irritation, including areas that would ooze or bleed, which made it physically exhausting to manage. It changed my appearance so much that I didn\u2019t recognise my own face or body at times and that made me incredibly anxious about leaving the house or being seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosemary said she has been prescribed steroid cream for her full-body eczema since she was three months old. Over the years, she was given creams with increasing potency, but she said they did not seem to make \u201cmuch of a difference\u201d.<\/p>\n
When she moved to London in 2016, her skin had a \u201cbig flare up\u201d, becoming extremely red, painful and inflamed. Desperate for answers, she took matters into her own hands and found others on social media discussing topical steroid withdrawal \u2013 thought to be an extreme withdrawal response to the prolonged use of steroid creams.<\/p>\n
Rosemary thinks this is the cause of her symptoms, but said doctors have refused to officially diagnose her and instead prescribed immunosuppressants, including a type of chemotherapy drug. Her symptoms, such as red and inflamed skin all over her body, have continued for the past 10 years, and have caused severe pain, making her immobile at times.<\/p>\n
Before this, she said was \u201cactive and sporty\u201d, with no mobility issues. Over time, her hair has fallen out in clumps, and she has struggled to carry out basic tasks such as washing and cooking. She has been bedbound on numerous occasions and has had to stop working for weeks at a time.<\/p>\n
![\"Rosemary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_embedded11923490.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Rosemary is now having treatment in Thailand(Image: PA Real Life)<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cI\u2019ve struggled with anxiety and depression \u2013 I was isolating myself so much because of the way I looked and because I wasn\u2019t able to physically move, I was just in complete survival mode for a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she had tried stopping her medication to see how her skin would react, but it would \u201cinstantly\u201d worsen, which she believed indicated her skin was \u201ccompletely dependent\u201d on it.<\/p>\n
She explained: \u201cThe rebound effects, of my skin burning and being so red, made me give in and use them again, so it was like a vicious cycle until they stopped working entirely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the years, she has seen \u201ccountless\u201d specialist dermatologists in London, and said she was \u201cdismissed and laughed at\u201d for raising concerns that the steroid creams were causing more harm. \u201cOn the labels of my creams it says that they should only be used for the maximum of one week at a time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGPs have told me I\u2019m not looking after myself properly, and that I\u2019m deliberately trying to make myself unwell. People tend to look at me in public because of my skin, and it does look quite alien at times.\u201d<\/p>\n
More recently, Rosemary has joined support groups on social media and discovered TikTok accounts where others share their experiences under the TSW hashtag.<\/p>\n
![\"Rosemary](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_embedded11923492.jpg\")
<\/p>\n