Topical Steroid Withdrawal Syndrome awareness

Hi,

This year I'm going to be running a lot to raise money for and awareness of Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW) syndrome.

My current challenges are to run:

1. The Tissington Trail Marathon on 23rd April 2023.

2. 23 individual runs of at least half marathon distance across 2023.

3. 1000km over 2023.

Having had a friend suffer from TSW for around 4 years now and noticed many people still being prescribed topical steroids, I felt it was necessary to try to do something to help. TSW can be a debilitating condition which means sufferers consistently struggle to get out of bed for weeks, months or years. Please watch the video Skin on Fire to find out more.

Despite this, often Topical Steroids (topical corticosteroids) are regularly prescribed to both children and adults for eczema and other skin conditions. When people begin developing TSW, doctors will often misjudge this to be a worsening of eczema and prescribe stronger steroids or a higher dose, worsening the condition. Awareness of this condition and the side affects of the topical steroids needs to improve so people can make informed decisions and avoid this completely preventable condition from occurring.

Most people with the condition or people who avoid getting it, figure it out by stumbling across something on the internet. My hope is by putting the message out there more people will stumble across it and avoid TSW.

If anybody wants to talk about this condition then feel free to reach out and I will do my best to put you in touch with the right people.

Finally, all funds raised will be sent directly to ITSAN (International Topical Steroid Awareness Network) who do a lot of great work raising awareness across the world.