‘A CHANCE to live a normal life’ is the hope of a young Rugby man who is raising money to help him overcome a painful and life-altering skin condition.
George Palmer is suffering from Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW) as a result of using high-potency steroid creams, which were prescribed to him from birth to manage his chronic eczema.
Having built up a tolerance to the second most potent steroid cream, the 25-year-old said he was scared his skin would become even more damaged if the same happened with the strongest one.
So he chose to stop using them in favour of a treatment called Cold Atmospheric Plasma (CAP) therapy – which uses ionized gas to kill bacteria, reduce inflammation and stimulate cell repair, and has proven successful in healing skin conditions.
So he headed to a clinic in Thailand which offers CAP – but before treatment could begin he had to stop using steroid creams for two months, which sent his skin ‘into shock’ with severe burning, oozing and shedding.
The former Bilton Primary and Lawrence Sheriff student said: “For around two months I was bed-bound, unable to sleep, eat, clean myself, or wash clothes. I had bacterial infections on my skin and fungal infections on my skin and nails.”
It is estimated George will need around five years of CAP therapy to fully heal – but, having spent £26,000 to cover ten months of treatment in Thailand, George now needs to raise a further £23,000 to buy his own CAP machine which would allow him to return home.
He said: “It will enable me to return to life and work, while managing my skin without relying on steroid creams – but it is simply out of reach financially.
“If I were to return to the UK without a machine, my skin would regress to the point where I wouldn’t be able to work, sleep, eat or enjoy any activity someone with normal skin can do.
“With the machine, I would be able to play sports, attend events, wear shorts – everything I couldn’t do because of my condition.
“It would give me a chance to live a normal life for the first time.”
Visit https://tinyurl.com/yc44ywah for George’s Instagram page, where he is sharing his journey and information about his condition.
Visit https://tinyurl.com/4ezf6pf5 to donate to his fund-raising campaign.
