Latest news with #MooGoo
Perth Now
26-05-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
‘Pure hell': Eczema sufferer's battle with steroid cream
Eczema sufferers are calling for more research into treatments for the painful skin condition, raising the alarm about the long-term use of steroid creams. Most common in children and adolescents, eczema advocates have in recent years increased calls for a national strategy to deal with the condition, which according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics affects 1.6 per cent of all Australians. Eczema Support Australia claims that puts it in the top 10 chronic conditions, affecting 2.8 million people. The condition not only impacts people's skin, but adult sufferers are three times more likely to experience depression and one in five report they've contemplated suicide. Once the mainstay of eczema treatment, steroid creams can lead to a severe and often debilitating condition called topical steroid withdrawal for some people. For Tyrah Spencer, who was born with eczema, her skin flared up in 2020 when her body suddenly stopped responding to the steroid creams she had depended on for most of her life. The 24-year-old said it felt like there was 'no light at the end of the tunnel' when her skin worsened. Tyrah Spencer's skin when the topical steroids she used were no longer working for her eczema. Credit: Supplied Tyrah Spencer's skin when the topical steroids she used were no longer working for her eczema. Credit: Supplied 'Over time, I kept being prescribed stronger steroids. I would have to do these horrible wet wraps where you would put steroid creams on, then put a layer of Dermeze on and then cover myself like a mummy, head to toe in hot bandages,' she said. 'It was eight months of pure hell every single day. My skin would shed top to bottom, I would wake up and my eyes were almost completely closed because they were that swollen. 'I'm a very confident, extroverted person but I completely lost sense of who I was during that experience.' The only relief came when her dermatologist prescribed Cyclosporin, a short-term immunosuppressant, and later Dupixent, an injectable biologic medication. She now takes the medication Rinvoq to calm her eczema. Ms Spencer said she was happy to take medications to ease her symptoms but called for dermatologists and doctors to take a more holistic approach to healing the painful condition. 'My experience wasn't acknowledged. It was just like this medicine is not working let's give you another one and really not addressing the root cause,' she said. 'I would love my dermatologist to take a more holistic approach to my well-being. 'If I'm going to be a regular customer I want to know how to heal rather than just put a bandaid over it.' Melody Livingstone, Australian skin care brand MooGoo chief executive, said topical steroid withdrawal was increasingly being discussed among her customers. 'Sufferers say symptoms include redness, itching, flaking and dryness that just won't seem to go away, even when using the topical steroids,' she said. 'They tell us it can be frustrating, debilitating and disheartening for those experiencing it, as the symptoms can sometimes be even worse than the eczema itself.' Ms Spencer said she was happy to take medications to ease her symptoms but called for dermatologists and doctors to take a more holistic approach to healing the painful condition. Credit: Ross Swanborough / The West Australian Calls for more doctors to be aware of topical steroid withdrawal comes off the back of a recent report revealing more than 88 per cent of UK dermatologists agree withdrawal needs urgent study. But Australian dermatology and doctors groups have urged that topical steroid withdrawal was a very rare reaction and patients suffering from eczema should not be scared to try topical steroids. Dermatologist and Fellow of the Australasian College of Dermatologists Li Chuen Wong said topical steroids were still an effective mainstay treatment for most people with eczema. 'Steroid creams are safe and effective when used until the eczema has resolved, and re-started when there is a flare,' she said. 'If however your condition is severe and not improving with just topical treatments, discuss this with your dermatologist as there are a range of treatments available that are customised to the patient.' Lifeline: 13 11 14
Daily Mail
04-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
I bought 'fast fashion' clothes from overseas - but it came at an excruciating cost the moment I put on my new pants
Aussie shoppers are increasingly turning to ultra-fast fashion from Asia as they are drawn by affordable price tags and inexpensive runway-inspired styles. But mum Cath Matar is warning everyone to think twice before buying cheaply made clothes from overseas - after she and her teenage daughter Indigo developed what she claimed to be severe allergic reactions to their new outfits. 'My whole body and face flared up as soon as I opened the box - even before I took anything out of the packaging... the clothes were still in plastic,' Cath told FEMAIL. 'I came out in huge welts all over my arms. My eyelid swelled up and was so swollen it was half shut - I looked like I'd had a stroke.' At first, the 56-year-old didn't suspect her mass-produced clothes were to blame for the painful rashes and oozing wounds - but she claimed she knew something was seriously wrong the moment she slipped into her new trousers. 'My leg broke out in sores,' the mum said. She was distraught to see her 14-year-old daughter Indigo develop red, raised rashes on her skin - especially on her hands - after trying on her new outfits. 'It's heartbreaking,' Cath said of the moment she saw her little girl in pain. 'Flares are exhausting and Indigo's hands get it the worst. When Indigo flares like this, her face and hands are so wrinkled, she looks like a little old woman. 'People telling you to stop scratching is like telling you to stop breathing.' The mum and daughter have lived with eczema for most of their lives - but have always managed to keep it under control. However, Cath claimed that the recent fast fashion purchase triggered their sensitive skin, leaving them with intensely itchy rashes. 'Indigo and I suffer from head to toe, but our worst spots are our hands, which are ravaged,' she said. 'They're itchy and raw with deep cracks, oozing and bleeding with red hot inflamed lesions – sometimes right down to the bone - and it smells like your body is rotting from the inside, so you're even more self-conscious.' After realising their new clothes were wreaking havoc on their sensitive skin, they threw everything into the washing machine. 'But it didn't make any difference and took ages to get back under control,' Cath said. 'It's excruciating and incredibly hard to get the skin elasticity back as your face and body feel so tight.' The mum said she has since returned the items back to the retailer. 'I sent them back and told them exactly what happened,' she said. 'I'll never buy from them again... I'll stick to my usual cotton and linen from now on. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.' Cath claimed the only thing that helped reduce the inflammation and heal their skin was the $24.50 Pink Eczema Cream from Australian natural skincare brand MooGoo. 'It calmed both of our skin down straight away, took the heat out and now it's really healing,' the mum said. 'It took about a week for the swelling to go down, then we peeled from the dead skin the swelling caused, but now we're almost clear. 'It's an absolute gamechanger.' In May 2024, South Korean officials shockingly found some fast fashion clothes, bags and accessories contained high levels of toxic chemicals. Dermatologist, Professor Deshan Sebaratnam from The Skin Hospital Sydney, explained how some mass-produced clothes can cause allergic contact dermatitis in patients who are sensitised to them. 'Washing the clothes (when you receive them) is a good idea,' he said. 'But there are some products, like benzalkonium chloride which require dozens of washes to get rid of the product. 'Patients are often better off throwing out the clothes if they are having reactions to it.' Meanwhile, MooGoo CEO Melody Livingstone said the Gold Coast brand has seen a 25 per cent rise in sales of their eczema and psoriasis creams. 'We're now selling one of our psoriasis or eczema cream every one minute and 45 seconds,' she said. 'It's also been a hot summer, which seems to have flared people's skin issues. Even people who haven't had skin issues in the past, or only mild reactions, are blaming the dyes and chemicals used in manufacturing their clothes. Melody said as there is no proven cure for skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis, education and keeping symptoms under control is critical. 'The skin has a protective barrier and if it's broken that means it's susceptible to infection. It is important to start using a good quality moisturiser to maintain skin barrier function,' she said.
