Red Skin Syndrome happens to some unfortunates who have overused steroid creams, to the point that their skin has become addicted to the medicine. You can figure out if you have RSS upon stopping the creams, but a big hint while you're using steroid medication is if you keep getting prescribed a stronger and stronger type. This is what happened to me, which is when I began to question if the steroid creams I was using was safe or not.
Symptoms of Red Skin Syndrome
Those in green are symptoms I have or had.
-no pigment (patches of skin that are either very red or very white)
-hot, burning feeling (often at the beginning withdrawal stages)
-cigarette-paper-looking skin
-blotches of red, scaly skin (usually resembling eczema)
-chills
-fatty tissue lumps
-hot, sweaty feeling
-red patches spread in size and increments in parts/all over body (often at the biginning to middle withdrawal stages)
-skin cracks and bleeds
-swollen veins
-intense itching, especially at night and in the morning
-tight-feeling of skin, particularly upon movement
-frequent flares for weeks or months after stopping steroid cream
-chronic peeling and flaking
-dry eye syndrome/goopy eyes
-unusual pimples and acne-like breakouts at various stages
-adrenal and hormone dysfunction, including skin not producing moisture
-oppressed immune system
-depression
Okay I ended up making practically all of them green. I'm actually not sure what cigarette-paper-looking skin is so I may or may not have that. I do not have swollen veins, but my body is overall swollen, especially my face.
I also wanted to make 'intense itching, especially at night and in the morning' green multiple times...or greenER if that is possible. I literally pressed the colour button 10+ times...ITCHING SUCKS!!
You can check out the website on Red Skin Syndrome here, where I got the symptoms. They include a LOT of information as well as blogs and pictures of those suffering from this terrible side effect.
I am still not sure if I have RSS, or if my eczema is just really bad, or if there is a difference.
hmm…any thoughts?
