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After spending a lifetime covered in cream, this brave eczema sufferer decided enough was enough

It was time to make a drastic change
Claire's story of living with atopic eczema
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Remi Tsunashima, 24, from Sydney, NSW shares her story with Take 5โ€™s Mitchell Jordan:

I handed my teacher a pile of clothes and tried to ignore the worsening heat filling the room.

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โ€œIโ€™ll need these later,โ€ I said, starting to itch.

It was summer, which always made life harder than usual for me.

Diagnosed with eczema as a baby, Iโ€™d been put on steroid cream to keep it under control since I was six months old.

But this was only a band-aid solution โ€“ my bodyโ€™s tolerance to the steroids increased and I was later put on a stronger prescription cream.

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Remi (right) with her dad and sister (Image: supplied)

At school, Iโ€™d received a few mean comments from kids who glimpsed my flaky skin.

โ€œYour hands look like my grandmaโ€™s,โ€ one of them said.

But I still managed to make friends and was never really bullied.

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For me, the worst part was the day-to-day difficulties that living with eczema posed.

Iโ€™d need to get changed into new clothes several times a day at school because once I started to sweat, Iโ€™d begin to itch and before I knew it, I couldnโ€™t concentrate on a thing.

Dry clothes calmed the irritation.

Remi learned that dry clothes calmed the irritation (Image: supplied)

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My family was all very supportive and Mum accompanied me to countless visits to the dermatologist, but continuing steroids morning and night remained my only option.

In 2019, I met a great guy named Iori.

Like me, heโ€™s Japanese and we had lots in common.

There was just one problem: the cream had kept my skin under control, but I knew it wouldnโ€™t be long until he saw how red and flaky it could get.

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โ€œMy eczema gets really bad,โ€ I told him.

But he reassured me it wasnโ€™t a problem and weโ€™ve been together ever since.

With Iori (Image: supplied)

In January this year, I decided enough was enough.

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I was 24 and had spent my whole life being covered in cream.

This canโ€™t be good for me, I thought.

As a teacher, I was surrounded by kids every day and longed to become a mother one day myself.

But using steroids could complicate my pregnancy as it may pose a danger to a babyโ€™s health.

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I started to cut back my usage but after four agonising days, I couldnโ€™t last much longer.

Remi during a flare-up (Image: supplied)

A painful burning sensation raged through every part of my body and it was impossible for me to get comfortable.

My skin was peeling and swelling uncontrollably.

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Turning to the internet, I learnt I had topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), which wasnโ€™t well understood or easy to manage.

On social media, I saw other younger women dealing with it through limiting their water intake and only showering every three to four days to prevent a build-up of moisture โ€“ my body had stopped making its own from all the moisturiser in the steroids Iโ€™d applied for more than two decades.

I also changed my diet to gluten and dairy-free, and avoided processed foods or refined sugar, as these are all inflammatory foods.

Iori (left) has been a great support (Image: supplied)

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Many people with eczema tend to have poor gut health, which causes flare-ups.

By cutting out certain foods, it may restore the gut lining and hopefully improve my eczema.

Itโ€™s been hard seeing my skin constantly flaky, but Iโ€™m hoping that with time, it will heal and I wonโ€™t have to take steroids again.

So far, Iโ€™ve been off them for seven months.

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Healing is not a linear process (Image: supplied)

Iori has been my rock.

โ€œYouโ€™ll always be beautiful to me,โ€ he told me.

Healing isnโ€™t a linear process: there are hard days and Iโ€™m still learning to accept my situation as best I can.

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But I want women to know that weโ€™re all unique and beautiful in different ways, and no matter what happens, Iโ€™m determined to embrace the skin Iโ€™m in.

Aggressive Eczema Is Ruining His Life
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