Woman who had 'small rash' now 'looks like she's burnt' after reaction
Francesca Tebbutt said she had been through 'hell'
Francesca Tebbutt said her GP believed she was suffering from a psoriasis or eczema breakout and prescribed her topical steroid creams
(Image: Francesca Tebbutt/SWNS )
A woman who had a small rash now looks 'like a burns victim' - after she suffered an extreme reaction to a common cream. Francesca Tebbutt, 33, said her skin was ''constantly on fire'' because of Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW).
She first noticed itchy, red, marks on her arm in 2023 - and sought medical advice when they didn't seem to go away. Her GP believed she was suffering from psoriasis or eczema and prescribed her topical steroid creams, to be applied for a couple of weeks at a time.
The breakout disappeared quickly - but returned and spread, only for her to be prescribed stronger steroid creams. Francesca decided to stop the medication and see what happened, but her skin began to burn, itch, and flake even more.
For 18 months, the Pilates instructor from Clunderwen, Pembrokeshire, desperately sought information on her condition. Her skin now suffers burning, flaking, weeping and swelling without warning.
At her worst, even moving her arms, putting on clothes, or stepping into the shower becomes unbearable. Each time the steroids would clear the rash, but come back multiplied and more aggressive.
She said: "It all began in March 2023, when I got a few little round, red dots on the inside of my left elbow. They were a little bit itchy, a little bit irritated - so when they didn't go away, I went to the doctors in May 2023 and that's when the doctor said it looked like it's psoriasis or eczema.
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"He prescribed me steroids straight away for it. I remember actually asking him, 'how did this happen, and how can I stop it happening?'
"He said there's nothing I could do and this was the cure. I used the topical steroids, and it did go - but then maybe a month later, it came back and it spread.
"I went back and I was prescribed stronger steroids and this went on for the rest of 2023, on and off. Every time I used them, it would go, but then it would come back worse, and it would keep spreading. I was trapped in this vicious cycle: steroid cream, temporary relief, then a flare worse than before.''
Francesca Tebbutt first noticed itchy red marks on her arm in 2023
(Image: Francesca Tebbutt/SWNS )
In January 2024, after a year of using topical steroid creams and following her prescription instructions, she decided to stop - but her skin began to itch and swell. After a trip to A&E, Francesca was told by doctors that they were unsure what was causing the condition - but prescribed more steroids.
"When it got to January in 2024, I knew the steroids were a band aid," she said. "So I thought, 'I'm going to stop using them'.
"By the end of the month, my whole arm and hands were covered in an itchy rash. It was quite scary, because I didn't really know what was going on, and then I started swelling as well.
"It was difficult, because it was in winter, and because of my arms, I couldn't wear any clothing on them, so I was always in t-shirts. I just remember being so cold all the time because I couldn't physically put any clothing on my arms.
"My wrist swelled and my elbow swelled and I couldn't actually fully straighten my arms or bend my wrists. I didn't know what was going on and me and my partner decided it was best to go to A&E, and off we went.
"We saw the doctor and he said, 'I don't know what this is. I don't know if it's eczema. I don't know if it's psoriasis'. It was actually quite refreshing hearing someone say, 'I don't know' and that they'll seek advice somewhere else.
"I got a call from him the day after and he said that the dermatologist suspects that it is a form of eczema. They prescribed me more steroids that were stronger than what I'd had before. When I put these steroids on my skin, the burning and stinging of just applying them was unbearable."
Francesca Tebbutt said withdrawal symptoms controlled her life and put her 'through hell'
(Image: Francesca Tebbutt/SWNS )
This flare-up lasted months before fading, but again, when stopping the use of steroid creams, it returned with a vengeance. Francesca said the constant pain was "unbearable" and after the patches spread to her face, she was once again prescribed more steroid creams by doctors.
"I couldn't relax - I was so uncomfortable in my own skin and there was no comfort anywhere, apart from in a bath, because my skin was so bad," she said. "I was constantly burning, but I was also really, really, cold at the same time.
"I'd have ice packs on my arms where it would be burning and then a hot water bottle on my belly to try to keep me warm. My partner couldn't sleep in the same bed as me for months because I had to keep moving and keep putting ice packs in places to stop the burning.
"After a few months of the steroids, things started to calm down - I wasn't as inflamed, but you could still see these almost red sleeves that cut off at the wrist. I started to get some patches around my lips; I went to the doctor and they advised me to put some steroid cream around my lips, so I did as I was told, thinking this will be the end of it."
After stopping a course of steroid cream in late 2024, her condition worsened again - with the skin on her face tightening and causing pain when she tried to eat, talk, or drink.
"After doing the course of steroids that I was prescribed, I stopped," she said. "Within three to four weeks, my face started to erupt.
"It started with a burning sensation, then it started to get all these little bubbles over it. They developed into this big red mass.
"I looked like my face had been in a fire, like I was burned. I couldn't move my lips. Eating actually became very difficult.
"I remember, I used to eat an apple a day - but I couldn't open my mouth wide enough to eat an apple. I went back to the doctors with my face like this, to find out what was going on. The doctor told me he was quite puzzled.
"Again, they gave me stronger steroids and told me to put them over my face. It reduced it and it slowly went away. Then, in December 2024, my wrists started to erupt again and that red sleeve started to come back.
"Driving home from work, sometimes I'd be crying. With TSW, your skin flakes and I would drive home just unbearably scratching.
"My car was covered in skin flakes - everywhere was covered in skin flakes. I would vacuum my bed every single day - I would vacuum every time I took my clothes off, because my skin would just fly everywhere.
"It was about two months where I couldn't write - I couldn't use a pen. I've never been so sick in my life - I've never had skin issues in my entire life."
Francesca's hand
(Image: Francesca Tebbutt/SWNS )
Feeling like her life had been taken over by research into skin conditions, Francesca felt like she was at breaking point. In January this year, her research led her to an organisation spreading awareness of Topical Steroid Withdrawal - a condition that can occur after stopping high doses of steroids and results in itchy, peeling, skin.
Despite being estimated to affect 15% of steroid users, she said she was never warned about the risks and believes the regular use of steroid creams has worsened her condition.
"All I've been doing for the past year is researching -researching eczema, researching psoriasis, researching all the different types, trying to find information," she said. "At the end of January, I came across an organisation that campaigns for Topical Steroid Withdrawal.
"I remember that day that I found out - everything clicked. The red sleeves, the red face, the peeling, the oozing, the inflammation, the burning - everything finally made sense and I saw photos of people who looked like me.
"I cannot believe that for the 18 months that I'd been going to and from the doctors, with all the symptoms of Topical Steroid Withdrawal and not once it was mentioned or queried. No one had mentioned it at all - and my life had become skin.
"I couldn't do the things I normally do and I hid away. I had no idea it even existed."
Francesca discovered Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) Therapy - a non-invasive therapy that reduces inflammation, kills harmful bacteria and helps restore the skin barrier. She received a diagnosis of TSW after a consultation with a clinic offering the treatment - which is only available privately.
Desperate to return to normalcy, Francesca posted a video online, describing her experience with TSW - and launched a fundraiser to help get her life back.
"When I heard back from the UK clinic, at first I was overjoyed, but then pretty quickly I had no idea how I was going to afford it," she said.
"I remember I actually emailed them and I said 'I'm really nervous, I don't know if I can fund it; I don't know if I can commit to it. I very much am that glass half full person, but this condition that has taken me into places so dark, I can't believe I've been there.
"I've had very dark thoughts, very dark moments, and felt really at the bottom of a pit. You lose your confidence; people look at you differently.
"People judge you and all you can do is seek help - but there is no help out there. The mental side was tough, but I just knew I needed to try - and that's why the GoFundMe page was started. I just felt like I was bearing my soul and bearing what happens behind closed doors - I was very nervous."
Thankfully, within days, Francesca had received outpourings of support - and has been able to undergo the first three sessions of CAP treatments, after which she says she has already noticed improvements. The fundraiser has not only allowed her to pay for treatments, but to afford things like new bandages to protect her irritated skin in between sessions, which she says has been a "huge relief."
The support has been overwhelming - and she has become determined to share her own story, to avoid anyone else feeling alone while suffering from TSW.
"I just cannot believe how generous people have been and are being for me - I am lost for words," she said. "I have to bandage myself every night and then during the day if I'm going somewhere that there could be a possible irritant.
"These little things have made a huge, huge difference to my day-to-day life. I'm eternally grateful for that, and still very blown away
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"In the hell that I've been living, this has just been such a light for me. Prior to putting it out there, I was at my lowest I've ever been. People know now what's going on and there's no more hiding."
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