'If my partner so much as moved the duvet, I was screaming in agony'

MAN SHARING HIS STORY TO RAISE AWARENESS OF SEVERE SKIN CONDITION

- By DEBORAH HALL

Callum's limbs went 'a weird purple'

AN east Hull dad left unable to cuddle his newborn baby daughter because of a severe skin condition is hoping to raise awareness by sharing his story.

Callum Hobson, 25, says he has “more or less lost” the past two years of his young life because of the effects of TSW, or Topical Steroid Withdrawal.

The poorly recognised condition can occur after the long-term or frequent use of prescribed steroid creams, or topical corticosteroids, is ended. It can cause severe skin symptoms like burning, redness, intense itching and oozing after the medication is stopped.

Flaking skin and open sores can develop, even away from the site that was originally being treated, and can last for months or years.

Callum, partner to Liv Tweddell and father to their seven-month-old, Maddison, says at the height of the onset of TSW, he could be “screaming in agony”.

"I looked like I had been dipped in a vat of acid," he said. "If my partner so much as moved the duvet or opened a door that meant I felt a draught of air on my skin, I was screaming in agony.

"It was absolutely appalling. There is this burning sensation; you feel like your whole body has been nettled."

Callum said scratching brought a “tiny bit of relief” but his skin had broken down to such an extent that his clothes and his bed would be covered in blood. “I’ve lost count of the number of T-shirts, joggers and sets of bedding I’ve been through.”