International Topical Steroid Awareness Network (ITSAN)

This nonprofit saved my son's skin and his life. I don't know what we would do without ITSAN. Thank you for being the voice of the patient.

I have been suffering from Topical Steroid Withdrawal Syndrome for over five years, and ITSAN has walked with me and has helped me understand and make sense of my suffering. They also advocate for patients and help spread the word to doctors that topical steroids are NOT safe and effective but in reality are DANGEROUS. Thank you ITSAN!

Because of ITSAN ive found a lively community that became my daily place to connect with for support and a deeper connection with people that experience the same symptons as me. Literally a life savor.

ITSAN has advocated for the TSW community like no other and validates us when medical professionals won’t. Without this organization I would have never discovered or been educated on what I am going through, and quite honestly without this information on the website might not be here anymore. I thank ITSAN for everything they have done and continue to do! Medically accurate information and a community can be found here!

I owe so much to Itsan and the support they give. I am so so so forever grateful I found them when doing some research about the painful, worsening rashes on my skin. Their helpful descriptions and links and symptoms lists all rang true for me and gave me the confidence to stop using steroids. My following symptoms were in line with their descriptions, and I have come out the other side with strong clear skin. The team are kind and thoughtful with their responses and the support group that they have set up on Facebook is an absolute lifeline during the horrendous withdrawal time.

If it wasn’t for ITSAN I would be at a complete loss. They have provided a safe, inclusive and collaborative space for sufferers. Pivotal to sharing information, resources, and connecting a community of support. We need this especially in light of how little recognition, research and genuine support there is out there for (T)SW. Thank you to ITSAN for SAVING so many lives.

This group was a lifesaver for me. I was a lifelong user of lots of different steroids (40+ years) I was at the end of my rope physically and mentally ( red all over, burning etc...) i went to a Dermatologist and he prescribed Clobetsol for my back. That really put me over the top and I got even worse. I found this group and then knew what really was going on for me. I didn't have severe eczema- I was in TSW already and then quit all my steroids cold turkey. This group is just the best group of understanding people. Thanks so, so much for everything!

ITSAN was the best thing that has ever happened to me. My whole life I was told “you’re complicated” and prescribed stronger steroids. As a result, my body became addicted and when I ran out of cream, my skin reacted worse than I had ever seen. It wasn’t until I found ITSAN that I finally got my answers. The pain, emotions, and unknown timeline of TSW is nothing short of horrific. However, every splash of ooze, piles of dead skin, sleepless nights due to scratch fits, and the depletion of energy, collagen, and self esteem was beyond worth it. Once I started to heal, my skin grew stronger and has been the healthiest I’ve ever experienced in my 23 years of life. 21 years of topical steroid use, 33 months (almost 3 years) TSW. Thank you ITSAN and the community that built my new family. This organization has truly saved my life and I have met people around the world who spark true inspiration.

ITSAN allowed me to confirm my suspicions I’d developed TSW and gave me the confidence to find a path towards healing. I’d be lost without them.

ITSAN was a life savior for me during my withdrawal from steroids. The information provided on their website is so informative and the ITSAN Facebook page helped me daily with my crazy, debilitating symptoms. Thank you ITSAN for being here for us!

Lorri and her Angel's were a blessing you have no clue. I was very very stressed about feeding my girls I'm in a rural area we have nothing here. She and her Angel's blessed me with food and house hold essentials for once it was nice waking up to make breakfast for my girls. Forever in my heart I am grateful they themselves will be blessed

They're doing what they can to prevent a preventable illness! As an unfortunate long time topical steroid user, ITSAN's website, facebook communities, and videos have been extremely helpful in learning about TSW. I've been trying to find information on my why my skin, food sensitivities and allergies have been getting increasingly worse. I knew there was an underlying reason and doctors (even specialists - I've seen many!) have always been dismissive. Finding ITSAN has answered a lot of the questions I had and alot of questions I didn't know I should have had as well. I still continue to learn from them and their facebook community. Overall, it's a great non profit that really is trying to help people and create awareness.

This organization saved my daughter from on-going immense suffering—something umpteen doctors couldn’t do. My daughter is living life to the fullest now, no longer prisoner in her own skin. Forever grateful for their dedication to helping others and raising awareness about Red Skin Syndrome caused by topical steroids. Their website is informative and support groups invaluable— a true life saver. Thank you!

The co-founders of this nonprofit literally saved my life!

SO, SO, SO grateful for the information that ITSAN provides! There are next to no doctors currently informing patients about the possibility of becoming dependent on topical steroid creams leading to a harrowing withdrawal and iatrogenic condition. After using these creams for over 20 years for my mild eczema, I started to develop a wide array of allergies. Discovering the correlation with long term topical steroid use, I weaned myself off of them - little did I know what was to ensue. I was bed-ridden for 1 1/2 years, lost my hair, developed a cataract, had horrible itching burning skin for years afterward. I am now doing amazing - have my life back and am just dealing with a few itchy spots on my knuckles and back of neck, which I believe will eventually heal as well. ITSAN was such a support through the worst of it - offering hope and guidance when no one else was.

ITSAN has been a lifeline for me and I could never thank this wonderful organization enough for everything it has done for me and all the TSW sufferers out there. The intention behind the foundation of ITSAN are completely pure and genuine and it’s reflected in everything they do.

The only reason that so many people become aware of exactly what has gone wrong with their skin after having used topical steroids, is ITSAN. This is an iatrogenic skin condition that is surprisingly devastating and semi-permanent. Many people are home-bound due to immobility and oozing skin - for months/ years at a time. Yet doctors do not acknowledge this condition - ITSAN is the single, unifying factor that supports patients, establishes ties to the medical community, and drives for research. A top notch organization.

This is an amazing organization that saved my skin. After years of full body eczema, and escalating use of topical steroids, I am now clear of eczema for the first time in my life. And medication free. The withdrawal process was horrible and long, but that is what the body must do to heal. The naysayers on these comments (1 star reviews) are like saying let a heroin addict stay in the medication, because withdrawal is too hard. These are confused parents that don't want to put their kids through what needs to be done before their healed. Down the line they will see the truth. This approach is back by many medical research articles and when they say it is not, they are lying. ITSAN is doing great work. Change is tough for most people. Leaders are often criticized. ITSAN is a leader in health recovery! Thank you ITSAN!

ITSAN saved me from a life of worsening "eczema" and constant suffering. Without ITSAN, I never would have learned how topical steroids were actually damaging and causing my unrelenting, spreading, and worsening eczema rather than treating it. The healing journey is long for many people (including myself), but the support from ITSAN somehow makes it more bearable.

I'd be lost without the knowledge and support of ITSAN -- they have made a world of difference to helping me understand what is happening with my situation!!! Love them!

My experience with this group was not a good one sadly. I had bright red skin, flaking everywhere, couldn't sleep, the itch was terrible, life was terrible. This group told me it is definitely a steroid addiction? Really? I found a different way that treated the bacteria that gets into eczema prone skin and when I said that's what I'd done they deleted me? I really think they are telling people wrong information or perhaps they just don't understand? They don't allow open discussion about the topic as they fear it so much. Why? Perhaps it challenges their belief system too much? Who knows? Perhaps they've suffered for so long that don't want to believe it has all been in vain?
My red skin was cured in two days and now I don't need any topical steroid anymore except for a tiny spot I get on the back of my neck and on my left wrist. I can go weeks without needing to use it. I can't understand why anyone wanting to give up steroids (if that's what they really wanted) wouldn't start where I have and taper off slowly. Honestly if that's the end goal, why put yourself through the horrible suffering. ITSAN are missing a huge point here. They could promote this better way and then talk to their "people" about avoiding triggers for flare ups, it would be a much happier place instead of a sad, depressing world of suffering.

A steroid phobic community that encourages suffering. There are far less torturous ways to heal than this cold turkey method they encourage. ITSAN promote their way only and censor all other suggestions. I especially disagree with their ethos when it comes to babies and children.

Not a place I'd recommend because of the high censorship and deletion of any whiff of an easier way to heal.
I guess it must be hard for the admins to admit there could have been a better way, especially when you've suffered or allowed your children to suffer so much. This organisation thrives on it's own pity and if you're not suffering you must not be doing it right. it's very idealistic to believe by using everything natural you will heal. I guess there is some truth in that but in this situation most people need medical help. Children have died at the hands of ITSAN, not a responsible organisation.

Itsan was very discouraging to me when I posted about other available options for treating my skin eczema. I was considering topical steroids and on mentioning this, I was made to feel like I was a horrible person. The one statement they kept repeating was that I was "delaying the inevitable". They believe that everyone who uses topical steroids is addicted. I do not understand the group mentality that exists in their forum but I am no longer a part of it. I am now back on topical steroids for the treatment of my skin, under the care of my doctor, and doing splendidly well!

I think some mean well but there is clearly someone making money from behind the scenes. Why censor other ways to heal if there wasn't money to be made. Such a shame as people continue to suffer because of someone's greed.

This group saved my life. I was lost before and didnt really know whar to do when my eczema kept getting worst till i saw ITSAN and watched dr rappaport on you tube. Just knowing what i have and that i can be cured is an increfible and empowering feeling. Now im just looking forward to healing and maybe wearing a skirt w no stockings in summer. Thank you so much ITSAN.

I was a 3 year member of Itsan. You can still find many of my posts on the Itsan forum. I simply did not heal during this time. Even worse was that I spent several hours a day in the bathtub at the advice of those before me who were correct in telling me that this was the best way to find relief. I was completely out of touch with society. I had NO life at all. I was simply waiting around to be healed. It never happened.
Here's a great article that explains it much better. http://etsin.org/dr-aron-vs-topical-steroid-withdrawal-tsw/

This organization was key in helping a family fine and deal with red skin syndrome.

Thank you Itsan! My son's skin thanks you! So glad we found you

Itsan has been tremendous to a friend of mine going through the tough battle of TSW. Thank you!

Great organization! My wife is currently going through tsw and it has been a blessing having this organization out there for her to find spiritual support and guidance through. Knowing she is not alone in this struggle and that there are so many others who have suffered from this abundant medical malpractice and the over-prescription of corticosteroids.

It has helped a friend of mine!!





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Itsan has been a god send to me! Made me aware of the dangers steroids can do! I'm so glad I am with now where I am, and so much more happier in life! This needs to be spread so the world can stop the steroids and make adults and children stop suffering! Thank you itsan

anyone who claims to be a medical professional and says that topical steroid withdrawal doesn't exist is so misinformed. finding itsan saved my life and my skin, I'm 14 months off steroids and nearly completely healed. my skin has never looked better! everyone with eczema needs to take this message VERY seriously.

Itsan has really helped a friend - beautiful work they do!

They are helping me heal beautifully, and have helped many others. So glad I found ITSAN!

Good people, wonderful organisation. They deserve 7 stars! Thanks ☀️

To anyone claiming ITSAN isn't backed by science is wrong! It is FULLY backed by science AND experience. Dr Rapaport is the world leader on steroids and many more dermatologists out there are following the same path! It's the reason they tell you not to use steroids for more than a few days at a time! Thank you OTSAN for saving so many!

ITSAN has helped a friend of mine who is battling severs steroid withdrawal symptoms.

This has been a lifesaver for a friend of mine! Thank you itSan for giving her, her life back!! :)

Without ITSAN I never would have found out what is wrong with me, or gotten through withdrawal.

Thanks to Itsan I've found the answer after 10 years of using steroids, I was so depressed that my eczema was a lost cause.

It passed already a year since I've read all the information of Itsan, and I'm more than happy after all this I can be a really normal person, and Im really grateful with the forums, and facebooks groups for all the support, that helped me in all this process. I have to add, that Im from Guatemala, and I've known a lot of people all over the world that suffers from this! SO THANKS MANY THANKS ITSAN FOR PUTTING THE INFORMATION WERE ANYONE CAN SEE IT! THIS DESERVES MORE THAN FIVE STARS!

I don't know where I would be right now without the ITSAN. Oh wait, I do. I would still be miserably addicted to potent steroids. Thank you for opening my eyes to the truth and allowing my body to start the healing process after so many years of damage.

A little over a year ago, I was in a search for help after my doctor kept prescribing higher and higher dosages of topical steroids for my psoriasis on my scalp. The topicals would work at first but then my skin would get used to that and I was just getting worse. Thank God that I found ITSAN and another Facebook support group that shared the information about topical steroid addiction! It is a very real condition!!! If steroids are used over 2 weeks, you are setting yourself up! My doctor had prescribed the increasing dosages of steroids over many, many years. It was very difficult going through the withdrawal, but I am through the worst of it and doing so much better- without any steroid medications now!!! To those of us who have been through withdrawal, of course we want to shout from the rooftops when we have found what has helped us! Thank you ITSAN!!!

I wish I'd found ITSAN before I ever touched a tube of topical steroids. These drugs turned a very minor patch of eczema on one hand into a red raging hell on both of my hands, arms and legs. My doctor's recommendation: more and stronger steroids. Without the information and support on ITSAN I would not have made it through this last year. Topical steroid addiction and withdrawal is a very real and difficult process to go through. We need more awareness and support, not attacks by people who are still hooked on these dangerous drugs or promoting drug company interests.

Helped me get myself on the road to healing! Thank you!

ITSAN has been my saving grace. After suffering for over 2 years with severe dermatitis, my skin is looking the best it has looked in years by simply stopping the use of topical steroids. I had no idea that steroid creams could exacerbate and worsen skin conditions. I am regaining my life thanks to ITSAN!

ITSAN saved my face...and my sanity ! No one believed my symptoms or had a clue how to break the vicious cycle. That was, until I found ITSA>

Itsan helped a friend of mine going through TSP...

This group is so helpful and supportive! Thank you!

After years of dead ends and desperation, this organization helped my friend not only find answers, but help heal her child. I am thankful for their help.

This organization helped a friend's son overcome a debilitating condition.

We have been blessed by this organzation 10 fold. Our identical twin boys body was severely addicted to topical steroids. Anyone who says this doesn't exist truly has not experienced this. Their skin is beyond belief better and don't need any steroids at all.

Thank you so much for all of your information and support! Keep up the good work in raising awareness!

Thank you!! You have helped save my son. Without the education I have received my son would have continued to suffer.

Thank you. You've saved my child. This site gave a lot of good information.

My son would be extremely sick to this day if it wasn't for ITSAN. Thanks, ITSAN, for your work!
Amy

Thank you for getting the word out! This organization has helped my and cousin and her family through a difficult time. Great job!

So thankful to this organization. The information they have complied about Red Skin Syndrome changed my child's life. Without their support, I can't imagine what would have happened. Forever grateful!

Amazingly supportive charity, who did so much to support our family through a hideous time. Thanks to them I have have a happy and healthy son who is through withdrawal and has no skin issues, without having the information and papers that they freely offer, and the support this would never have been made possible. Thanks again.

Grossly misinforming people with improper medical advice when they are in need of help. This organization should be shut down.

My son is thriving thanks to information I found on ITSAN's website. I wish the organization the best of luck in spreading the word about TSW!

Thank you itsan! Without this organization, I would have never believe that my children were suffering from topical steroid overuse. My 2 children are healing and will have a normal life now. The last 3 years have been so difficult for them.

Finding ITSAN saved my young daughter from years of agony. I'm grateful everyday for ITSAN. I can't say enough about how much ITSAN has helped us. I'm truly thankful EVERYDAY!

I was lost until I found this group. Wondering why my daughters eczema was getting worse and worse. Doing what docs told me to do. Was anyone else going through the same thing? How can she be the only one with this problem? Thank you Itsan for showing me the light and a healing daughter.

Such a great nonprofit! Wouldn't have been able to get through TSW without all the wonderful information provided

ITSAN's tireless work is invaluable. Without this organization we might never have found out about the problems plaguing our daughter and the ultimate solution. It was viewing ITSAN's videos in the middle of the night that gave me the lightbulb moment that began our journey towards true healing instead of the iatrogenic nightmare we were coping with. Thank you ITSAN for all you do.

I cannot express the relief in finding ITSAN and the support and information from this pioneering group. Topical Steroid Addiction and withdrawal is intensely difficult and enduring. Without the excellent support found through ITSAN I, and many others would be continuing on a destructive path with our health. The knowledge gained here is invaluable to all.

ITSAN saved my sanity when I was not sure initially what was going on with my skin. Through the excellent articles that explained what was happening to me and the ongoing support of fellow members, I have learned how to deal with this horrific disease that the medical field barely recognizes. I now stand my ground when prescribed any steroids, whether they be topical or oral and firmly state that I want a non-steroidal alternative. Now the doctors and others have to work a little harder, but that is fine with me. I am at present 5 weeks and 1 day TSW. Thank you to all the supporters and organizers of this Life Saving non profit organization.

Because of ITSAN I finaly know what future I have. I know now that corticosteroids are the problem for me and making me red. Thanks to them I can show my familie, friends and doctor(s) what I'm going through and also have a lot more support thanks to this.

It is amazing that they have many researches and info on there site about RSS and topical steroid withdrawal. Thanks to them I look and feel a lot better then I was 1 year ago, when I still used TS. And don't forget there forum where we can share our stories, problems and tips.

If it were not for ITSAN I would still be covering myself every day with a medication that was essentially poisoning me. After twenty three years of battling an escalating skin condition and hundreds of dollars spent on specialists and the awful drugs they prescribed, I finally found an answer through ITSAN. While I have a long road ahead of me as I leave my steroid dependency behind, I would still be wandering in the dark without ITSAN. The knowledge and support I have found through ITSAN has changed my life. There are few things worse than facing a health crisis that the medical community does not acknowledge. You feel lost and helpless; defeated before the battle even begins. You feel desperate for answers and information. All you want is help. ITSAN is a gleaming ray of hope for the thousands - yes, THOUSANDS - of us that were mislead and misinformed about topical steroid use. You can't put a price on your health, and ITSAN doesn't either. Their help and advice has been 100% free of charge, and that's something not a single one of my doctors could say. THANK YOU ITSAN! From the bottom of my heart, thank you, thank you, thank you.

We experienced EXACTLY what was put forth by this group, before there was anyone to publicly identify the problem and the solution. We wished they were around when we went through the suffering. The public (and doctors!) needs to be educated about the harmful and devastating affects of cortico-steroids.

ITSAN has made me aware of the potential damage that can be caused by the over use of topical steroids. Thank you ITSAN :-)

ITSAN.org changed my life! When I needed answers and support through my illness with Red Skin Syndrome, it was a reliable and easy to read resource. The forum has helped me tremendously to connect with people all over the world.

How could dermatologist after dermatologist keep prescribing my daughter topical steroids? She was started on them at the young age of 2 the was told to use them non-stop for the last 5 years. At age 7 they stopped working all together and they wanted to start giving her stronger steroids and even a prednisone shot. HOW IS THIS A STANDARD OF CARE THAT IS APPROVED BY THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY? It is NOT. Yet, many, many dermatologists treat eczema patients this way. My daughter's health is moving in the right directness now that we have found ITSAN. What ITSAN does is offer and option that is not popular or easy. The medical community must change their ways. Thank you ITSAN for going against the tide and getting people to take responsibility for examining a system of treating eczema that has gone astray. As ITSAN grows more people will get help.

The information, pictures, and support provided by ITSAN showed us that my 11 year old son was not suffering from incurable eczema but from topical steroid-induced worsening of his eczema. We stopped topical steroids (TS,) went though 8 months of living hell that comes with the withdrawal process, and now at 14 months free of TS, he is gradually regaining his life again. ITSAN gave us hope and proof of healing from topical steroid addiction/withdrawal/red skin syndrome.

They are working diligently to educate the medical and non-medical community about TS so that thousands of children will not grow up to be another generation of red skinners.

I am suffering from TSA/TSW and itsan has been an integral part of my healing process. It provides otherwise unavailable and invaluable support. I am very grateful for them.

Facebook suggested I join the "Eczema and Topical Steroid Withdrawal (Red Skin Syndrome) Support Group" group recently, and that's how I found out about ITSAN and what I've been through my whole life. Thank you, ITSAN, for making sense out of my life. I quit topical steroids on my own out of curiosity because I'd read somewhere online that they were bad to use long-term because they would thin your skin. I had no idea what else they could do to your skin / that they were the cause for basically all my skin problems until the Facebook support I came across and ITSAN. This is a wonderful, informative, and supportive organization, and one that I can easily respect. Thank you, ITSAN!

From 2006-2012 I had been in search of a prognosis that properly fit my condition. My symptoms continued to get worse and worse until I became disabled in January of 2012 and still did not know what was wrong. I had so many random problems in addition to my skin that it seemed physicians overlooked the obvious. My mother was desperately researching online for months to find answers to my health issues. I was pretty convinced I was suffering from something grim and fatal. In March 2012, not long after www.itsan.org established an online web presence, my mother stumbled onto the www.itsan.org main page that listed a host of symptoms and potential health history that all Topical Steroid Addicted patients would share. As she read each symptom and sample history she knew she had the answer to my struggle. After reviewing the material from the link she shared with me to www.itsan.org, I was about 75% sure I was a TSA patient. Therefore without even a proper medical diagnosis I discontinued Topical Corticosteroid use in May of 2012. However I needed to see Dr. Rapaport, the physician who help itsan.org cofounder Kelly Palace, myself and talk to him to feel fully convinced I was making the right decision as I realized I was headed on a road that would be long and arduous to travel. On June 28, 2012 I spent an hour with Dr. Rapaport in his Beverly Hills, CA, office where I relayed my story and he examined me. He officially diagnosed me with TSA and prepared and encouraged me for what lay ahead. My mother and I spent so much time on the original Google Forum that www.itsan.org developed and monitored. There in the forum our fears were allayed when I suffered through different symptoms, bed ridden for 6 months and almost fully house bound for another 12 months. I also could interact with others dealing with the same symptoms and we provided research, support, comfort and encouragement. I am now entering my 28th month and am about 75% recovered, with most likely another 12 months left before reaching full cure. I owe my recovery to www.itsan.org. Had it not been for the efforts made by the team of volunteers and contributors backing www.itsan.org, I do not know that I would have found a "cure" yet or whether I ever would have. And although this may seem a bit in the dramatic side, I think the daily use if Steroids would have ultimately led to an early death for me. By the time I found itsan.org not only were the physicians prescribing daily schmeering of head to toe compounded topical steroids after bathing in bleach, I was also receiving intramuscular injections of corticosteroids and oral prescriptions of corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are responsible for the deterioration of eye, heart and bone health, as well as Adrenal issues. How long can someone survive regularly using such a medication? www.itsan.org has saved my life.

ITSAN is a remarkable and life changing organisation. If only I had known about this wonderful organisation many years ago I would have been saved from severe skin atrophy, absolute hellish withdrawal symptoms and a life time of severe eczema. The medical profession realized when I reached five I had been over prescribed topical steroids, approximately 100% for five years from 3 months old which took away layers of my skin. I was taken off them and consequently suffered horrendous withdrawal symptoms, lasting until I was about 10 years old, not ideal for my primary school education. To add to this I suffered extreme bullying from school children which only compounded the withdrawal effects. I was put back on topical steroids in lower doses until my early 20's and told my skin thinning was due to continual scratching, I believed the medical professionals!! Due to the steroid damage I still suffer with severe eczema because my skin is very dry, tears easily and damages due to the slightest scratch. I do hope and pray the medical professionals start to understand the devastating effects these drugs have on people, both physically and physiologically. ITSAN is the most enlightening and God given organisation to help eczema sufferers in the last fifty years.

ITSAN is a wonderful organization. Their forums are full of such great information and support. None of my doctors have EVER talked about topical steroid addiction, and I've had eczema for 46 years and seen countless doctors. Even though the withdrawal is quite awful, with ITSAN I feel like I am on the right path. They are just SUCH a great resource!

This website acted like a life saving door that once I opened it, I finally felt like I had a future... I finally felt like maybe there was a cure to my eczema...stopping steroids!
Thank you to all who volunteer and donate to this cause!

Itsan was there when I was in the gutter and needed to know I wasn't alone. It is a great resource when you are stuck to the couch and want some clarity with what is happening to you. I don't feel like I have gained a ton from the information as I have a good doctor but, for those who don't have the same benefit as I, it is a great resource.

This organization is not trasnparent and if your views don't agree with theirs, you will either be banned or have your posts moderated. I'm sorry that I donated almost $400 to this sad thing called ITSAN. I also don't care for the way that you can't bash doctors on the forum. If you've been harmed, you should be able to but apparently ITSAN doesn't want that as they want to rub arms with the medical community. There's a new forum that has a hands-off approach and isn't closedminded like ITSAN is.

Without ITSAN I won't know where I would be today. They provided lots of support and information about topical steroid withdrawal. The community there are awesome and they really dedicated their time and energy to support each other.

Without the support and resources ITSAN provides, I don't know where or what I would be doing at this moment. I'm genuinely grateful.

Without this website I would still be suffering for a lifetime without a cure to the madness. Not only has it provided knowledge on this new condition, but it also provides emotional support to others who are suffering.

Thank you ITSAN for saving my life.

I have been using steroids for a year and a half due to mosquito bites from a holiday. The steroids got rid of the mosquito bites but I developed eczema instead, which had started spreading. Without ITSAN, I probably would have not stopped using the steroids. I am currently 4 months off steroids and already feel 80% healed. ITSAN has provided a wealth of information which has helped me immensely. Thank you ITSAN.

ITSAN is a great community that covers a major subject - topical steroid addiction and the SEVERE effects that affect a lot of those who use them, especially on cessation. Everyone is very supportive and offers great advice, I found it very useful ever since I got on their website, especially during my BAD days.

I wish all the best to ITSAN and their members!!!

Truth...ITSAN is a site that tells the truth about the dangers of topical steroids. I thank God that we have a place that documents TSW and allows for discussion so that we that are in this can be helped and respected. One day we will rejoice that TSW will be a thing of the past. That doctors and researchers will change the protocol . That steroid creams will not be doled out as a cure all with no conscious.

No words can really express how much ITSAN has helped our family. 18 years of hospitalizations, from All Children's, St. Pete FL , Scottish Rite at Children's Health Care of Atlanta and countless pediatric medical professionals throughout the Southeast. My husband and two children have been prescribed Topical Steroids since infancy. We were told since these products are FDA approved they were safe for everyday use. Not one physician or medical professional ever warn us of the dangers of topical steroids, nor did they ever mention the topical steroids were causing these chronic skin illnesses. In fact it was every medical professionals' preferred method of treatment. Little did we know these prescribed topical steroids were the sole contributor to the chronic and painful skin health of my beloved family. The quote below found on the ISTAN website began our healing journey.
"Addiction to (Topical) Steroids is a serious problem which reaches tragic proportions in some cases. It is more common than realized, sly and seductive and will be prevented only when the physician becomes as impressed with the capacity of the steroids to do harm as they are with their power to suppress, not cure, virtually any inflammatory disorder." -Dr. Albert M. Kligman and Dr. Peter J. Frosch, from their article called "Steroid Addiction", published in International Society of Topical Dermatology Journal, 1979
Thanks to ITSAN we found our current doctor, videos and a community of support! As of this review our family is on Day 21 of withdrawal by simply NOT using prescribed Topical Steroids. Currently they have NO infections, no sore, no lesions and the skin is beginning to heal for the first time ever. ITSAN has given us hope for our FUTURE. Thank you ITSAN for your faithfulness and perseverance. Thank you for facing the giants! Sincerely, The Fuller Family, Atlanta Georgia

ITSAN is the only organization I'm aware of that gives people information on the dangers of topical steroids. Many of the members have used steroids for years and are suffering horrific side effects. My son had adverse reactions to medications prescribed for eczema. ITSAN is working to spread information on such side effects. Without ITSAN, I'm not sure where we would be with my son. I'm greatful for the work and dedication of all people involved!

Without the help, support and advice offered by all the wonderful people in ITSAN I don't know how my son would have managed to get through the past 12 months. Extreme eczema can make you feel very isolated and this organisation has been a life-line to many and certainly to us as a family.

Have found encouragement, support, and information. This organization, and doctor Rapaport, have lead me in the direction to solve a 20 year battle that has puzzled my entire family.

Hi, I found ITSAN when I was searching online for some answers when I was no longer having any effective results from using topical cortisone and in fact it was making me much worse, though I was being treated by a dermatologist. I had been suffering from eczema all my life but I knew this was different. I was not getting any relief, the treatment was getting progressively stronger and including immunosuppressant drugs and I was getting sicker and sicker with my overall general health and had skin that felt like it was burning a lot of the time and spreading over me from head to toe. I decided to look online and do some research to find some answers because the medical profession seemed to have me on a merry go round of cortisone with no other solution, even though I knew this was not like any eczema I had experienced in the past.
I discovered ITSAN which was central to my understanding that this was something many other people were experiencing and led me to realise that indeed the cortisone was causing me and many others a lot of grief. It gave me courage knowing there were and are others going through the same thing and that there is a solution - STOP THE CORTISONE. I had tried before but with horrendous results. ITSAN provided me information, resources, support and connecting links to others which was a life saver for me when I was at my wits end. It gave me the information that led me to understand the withdrawal process that would occur when stopping cortisone use so that I could stick at this time because I knew that the withdrawal symptoms were a normal healing reaction of the body and I would get over them in time, whereas with using cortisone it was a never ending cycle with little to no relief and no end date with things continuing getting worse.
Thankyou ITSAN for being an advocate and central body that acknowledges and educates me, others like me and the broader community on something the general medical community currently for the most part do not.

Aside from my own personal journey through hell, made so much easier by having the ability to connect to other people in the same boat as me and feel the comradere, the love, and after that, the courage to go on... Aside from that, it is thanks to ITSAN there are now 3 GPs in cape town that have actually altered their attitude towards topical steroids and now endeavor to prescribe differently. This means that ITSAN has literally changed not only my life, but the lives of every eczema patient stepping into any one of their practices. Why? Because they never believed me until ITSAN. I used to rant about the evils of cortisone and even my own husband, also a GP, didn't believe me - he just thought i was an exceptional case, that my skin was behaving differently to everyone else's. Only after he watched the 2 videos on the website and went onto the forum and saw that literally hundreds of people were experiencing the same symptoms as me, did he experience an attitude shift. I needed that website to validate my experience, to confirm my suspicions, and to present my own argument to the medical profession in a scientific way, shifting their attitudes. The more doctors, especially dermatologists, that we can get to check out this website, the more people like me will be spared from months, sometimes years of hell during the withdrawal process or even worse, a lifetime of being a slave to cortisone, not even knowing there is way out.

Because of ITSAN, I am no longer shuffled from specialist to specialist, getting test after test. ITSAN saves money -- mine and the governments -- and my quality of life is improved since learning what I can do to help myself.

ITSAN does two things well: informing people of what their skin condition is and how to fix it, that is, "you have an addiction to your medication, stop using it, here's how"; and existing as a support group. Neither of which require the large sums of money they rudely insist they require, and that people naively donate to uncertain avail.

Until today the organization did not make transparent what they used the money for. This changed yesterday, after I posted a harsh criticism of this and other shortcomings on their forum, for which I was immediately IP banned from reading the site, let alone being able to post and respond to people. (I anticipated this. I'm not the first person to be banned for a petty reason.) Only today have more detailed accounts been made available on Guidestar of how money is being used, but, inconveniently enough, you must create an account to view it, and when you do the reports offered are insufficient and vague. Oddly, their transparency ratings were actually stellar for months before this point, but this can easily be explained by the emotional influence the organization has over its supporters - which I'll get to later - when they solicit them for positive ratings on 3rd party sites.

Otherwise, the organization has a history of offering insultingly poor reasons, if any, for needing money, such as:

~ "for forum maintenance" (which at the time was a FREE google group that was poorly maintained);
~ allusions to projects that don't exist, such as a "documentary" (no plan or production company was named, nor did it ever materialize), and "funding for research" (by whom and on what specifically?);
~ projects that are a poor use of money (such as trips for the board members to travel to eczema groups and hand out business cards, and poor quality teleconferences that very few would listen to, in an era when Skype is free);
~ "personally responding to your emails and phone calls" (yeah, that should be free if we don't also get an autograph, Ms. President);
~ bookkeeping and legal services (at the same time it says its funds are extremely low, such that they could probably do their bookkeeping themselves if any need be - it be not, and neither be legal services);
~ etc.

This list was up in one form or another for over a year, but no record has ever been offered of how funds have been used to these ends. Today, these reasons are no longer available for viewing on the donate page, and there was no attempt at offering an explanation for their abandonment.

Instead, when donations are solicited, they are routinely promoted as expected, wholly-deserved demonstrations of gratitude, with express astonishment that they aren't already showered in alms. Those who do not donate are implicated or explicitly described as ungrateful and parasitic. This guilt-tripping has been the standard mode of solicitation for several years.

What ITSAN did successfully for me is exist as an *informative website*, although it was only 10% of that which convinced me that I had the condition it was promoting. The other 90% was the unaffiliated blogs of similar people, and, more importantly, my own experience of years of skin problems, without which I would have immediately written off ITSAN as a bogus website, given its rather dubious presentation of the information that convinced me. I am not alone in this sentiment. Perhaps it was four years ago, but today, ITSAN is no longer the best or only source for information on topical steroid withdrawal.

ITSAN was co-founded by the current president and Dr. X (lol can't post proper names here) the far more important of the two being the latter, a veritable expert on steroid addiction in and out, having conducted research and successfully treated thousands of patients, and it was from him that came the informative content that gave and continues to give the website its original power. He has since cut his affiliation with the group, and wisely so, but it continues to benefit from his expertise.

As an *organization*, ITSAN has done very little extra, the most significant, making a forum available on which other patients can share their experience. Ninety percent of the value of a discussion forum, it cannot be argued, comes from the participants in the discussion, NOT from the people administrating it. In other words, the the useful aspects of the forum are not ITSAN original, and any single individual with the capital to start a simple vBulletin forum could do as well as them. As forum administrators ITSAN, an entire team of people, has done the minimum required while relying on donations from the participants. The forum itself is very poorly managed, but it is the only one that exists, and thus, it is where the people go.

ITSAN is primarily an emotionally fueled organization. Not information, not reason, not progress, not profit. Emotion is the major currency, that is clear from the way information is presented on the website, the rhetoric the administration uses to communicate its "need" for funds, the way it chooses to censor valuable information on the forum, and its general manner. Its supporters defend criticisms to the organization the way one defends one's mother. Their 501(c)(3) tax exemption is more honestly described as religious.

Emotion is by and large what is exchanged between ITSAN and those who support it as a brand and a name. Understandably, TSW is a very emotional process, and can cripple already-weak faculties of judgment. These people are very strongly invested in the forum as a source of emotional support, and seem to be persuaded by ITSAN that a donation functions as an expression of gratitude, rather than an investment in the promotion of an agenda. This agenda ought to be very simple: to promote awareness of topical steroid addiction, and to support those already aware.

I'm afraid people are still misguided in thinking they have to pay an "official" to do these things for them, instead of doing it themselves. Coincidentally, ITSAN has long promoted, and invested much of its efforts in, its superficial hallmarks of legitimacy, in overwrought acronyms, titles like President and CEO, "professionally published" children's books, crystal trophies, business cards, "professional videos", and the like, none of which can hold up its trappings in substance. Do not mistake this for meaning that they are a malicious, deliberately deceptive enterprise. I feel they absolutely believe in said trappings, and would buy into them from any other enterprise that touted the same. This does not mean anyone else should.

All this is to say that those who donate to ITSAN are under the mistaken impression that ITSAN is doing something that they cannot, as individuals, do themselves. You can start your own forum, you can promote others' blogs, you can share information related to TSA, you can host Skype teleconferences, you can contact Drs. Rapaport and Fukaya, you can start a facebook group, you can start a support group, you can make an informative video, you can publish a book, contact local news, write your own news article, and come up with your own official titles and banners and acronyms to decorate, and it all takes little effort and, except for the forum, costs next to nothing. Welcome to 2014.

This is not to say they don't have the best intentions, but money should not be blindly flung at an organization that is well-intentioned but incompetent. An organization, in the end, is just a group of people with a name. Yes, they're trying hard, but they're not savvy or smart enough, volunteer or not, for that work to pay off efficiently, let alone use money effectively.

I invite anyone unfamiliar with ITSAN to take a look at the forum, the website, the former google group, and affiliated resources, to substantiate my descriptions above. (Before they're all made unavailable for viewing, of course.)

--

Response to comment: The only "falsehood" in my review is that the trophy is actually acrylic. Pardon me. Otherwise, my review stands exactly as it is, and this is the last update I will make to it. Proof for my description of the former donation page can be viewed with the Wayback Machine. It was never my intention to make suggestions for improvement to ITSAN. Whether or not you welcome them anyway - that is, whether you care to improve for your own sake - is your concern, not mine. I made this explicit in the post I was banned for, a post that was well deserved for your shameless solicitation tactics and your failure to show anything for your donations other than what can be achieved for free. No one needs you. You need them. Your ability to make them believe otherwise is your only talent. Oh, and thank god my email is unrecognizable.

For years I struggled with what dermatologists told me was "full body, spreading eczema." I would lost sleep and struggle to stay awake at work. I would claw at my skin. My face would become beet red and burn like a horrible sunburn.

I felt hopeless and alone.

Then one sleepless night I found ITSAN. My life has been fundamentally altered for the better.

ITSAN does great work.

I have personally donated to ITSAN and will continue to contribute financially in some form for the years to come.

Without ITSAN, I would not be on my road to recovery. I was desperate for an answer and ITSAN had it. I'm so glad to know I'm not alone on this crazy journey and that I'm able to share thoughts and opinions as well as read others'.

The support and information our family has received from the other members on the forum, and the founding TSW warriors is beyond compare. It is so difficult to accurately communicate the gratitude I have for being a part of this community, I wish I could provide a rating higher than 5 stars! ITSAN saved our daughter's life, by giving us answers we could not find anywhere else, along with research and evidence to support all of the questions we had about TSA and TSW.
Because it is so misunderstood, going through TSW is painfully isolated and lonely. The ITSAN forum is the light at the end of the tunnel, beckoning us all home and giving us the strength and courage we need to conquer the insanity and heal. I shudder to think where we would be without it.

ITSAN changed my life, would not of gotten rid of this wretched disease without the support of them

Simply put, ITSAN saves lives. Words cannot express the gratitude I feel towards those who created the organization and website. I had no idea topical steroid addiction was the core reason for so many of my health issues throughout over 30 years of my life, until I found the organization's website. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for the amazing work they have done to help SO MANY people around the world. I know that one day the medical community will recognize this condition and have a much deeper respect for the affects of topical steroids because of this organization.

ITSAN is fantastic. No doubt about it. I went through eleven months of hellnot knowing what was wrong with me, why doctors weren't listening to me and I thought that I was going to die. The day that I found ITSAN's website changed everything. I suddenly saw all of these pictures of people that looked just like me. Without having found ITSAN I hate to think were I would be by now but it would be very likely to be back on topical steroids.

Without ITSAN and the research of some great Doctors includding Dr Rappaport and Fukaya, the information on Topical steroid addiction would not be accessible, when I was hospitalised all doctors ridiculed me for even saying it was the creams and for saying it felt like my body was addicted,but ITSAN helped me find support from thousands of others going through this, some healed, and more and more only just starting this terrible journey. Its about time the medical community started doing more to stop this from happening. Far too quick to treat people with a quick solution rather than looking into the reasons and background as to why this is happening.

If it wasn't for ITSAN, I would have committed suicide.

I had been driven insane about my skin's condition. From birth to the present, my skin always had some disorder. It was always dry, cracked and itchy. It was bearable, then it reached a point where the prescription creams were not working. Only increases in the potency of the topical corticosteroids would solve my burning and itching sensation.

I thought I was alone, some freak anomaly of the human genome. I thought my life was going to be like this forever. Completely intolerable of the warmth and sun, stinging during each shower, itching and scratching non stop all over my body continually throughout the day - and of course, attempting to tolerate the ripped flesh and raw skin caused by excessive itching.

Out of desperation, I searched up my symptoms. I searched for anything that could lead me to understand this condition. Even if I were the 1 in 1,000,000 - there would be at least a few thousand cases like me. I found it, and it turns out, my condition is more common than I initially thought. Many people suffered, but concealed their problems with ever increasing potency of Topical Steroids.

I found blogs, I found pictures, I found information and they all had one thing in common, they referred to itsan as having all the answers. Initially I was skeptical, many people in the past have referred such miracles and cure-it-all to me, but none worked.

ITSAN is not a cure, not a cream, but information to explain what we are enduring, why, the symptoms, process and is a forum to rant and ask questions. It is truly a life saver. Just when I thought my life would just lead down a dark tunnel, which would simply mean torture to the ends of my days, death was the only way out - I had found ITSAN.

Without this organisation, the collation of its information and active participation of its founders - sufferers around the world would not be able to end their cycle of dependency upon topical steroid creams, thus, continuing down their dark tunnel of depression, despair, pain and suffering.

One night I was sat at home fed up and feeling down because my skin was flaring yet again and I couldnt punpoint why that was the most frustrating thing, ten years after having a pregnancy rash (treated with steroids) I was still suffering even though allergy tests shown no allergies, then in my search page itsan.org come up and I have a look and couldn't believe what I was reading but it all made sense at last I knew what was wrong I was addicted to the very cream I had been using I joined up and read through the posts saw the pics and left no doubt what so ever as to wether it applied to me it 100 % did. Withdrawal isnt easy but with the support, advice and tips you get from the itsan.org site it makes it mor bearable. Its just such ashame its not more widely supported and that more people are going through this and not realising the problem because of this. Itsan.org needs all the help it can get to spread the word x thank you itsan for all your helpx

Itsan gave my daughter her life back! She was addicted to topical steroids and they stopped working for her. Oral steroids didn't work either. Her face was swollen all of the time, she had eye issues, and more skin and health issues than I care to list. When she stopped steroids she went through a horrible withdrawal period and the only support we had was this organization. Now she is in her 11th month off of steroids and she is doing so much better than she ever has on them and she has her life back! I cannot express how much gratitude I have for this organization! They saved my child's life and gave me knowledge and support to get through the worst of it! She is so much better now and is able to go to school and will start college in the fall!!

They helped better the life of our child and thereby changed all our lives. Thank you!!

I was at my wits end when my eczema was just getting worse despite using prescribed steroid creams more and more. I came across the Itsan Website by searching the internet. I have been steroid free since the middle of December 2013. I am prepared for the battle but it is totally exhausting ridding my body of the poisons I feel are inside me. Thank goodness the Itsan Website it makes me realize I'm not alone in my suffering and that it will get better eventually.
thank you for your continued amazing work.

ITSAN is a wonderful organization that provides much-needed support to individuals in desperate situations.

I don't even want to know where I would be had I not found ITSAN in early fall 2013. Like many others, I was at a loss for my "out of control eczema". I was desperate & paranoid about everything I ate, touched, came in contact with, etc - not knowing what was making my skin worse & worse. After finding some blogs of people that were going through TSW, I knew right away what my problem was. Every blogger mentioned ITSAN & the rest is history.
ITSAN has been a remarkable support system. It is so comforting knowing there are others out there that understand completely what I am going through & offer support, helpful tips, improvement pictures & encouragement. I don't know where I would be today without ITSAN. They saved me. I can't thank everyone enough.

I recently discovered the itsan site via a friend and knew straight away that I had steroid induced eczema. I am so glad I found this website and even though going cold turkey is so hard and difficult I am now seeing major improvements. If I had not found this site I would not have known what was wrong we me and why my skin was getting worse. I have had all the initial symptoms and all the into is on the site. Thank you itsan and i know in a few months time I will have normal skin.

Without Itsan, I would not have the courage to quit using topical steroid.

For 4 years my husband, now 78 years old, has suffered a skin malady. We have tried to trace the origin but no one could give us a definite diagnosis. He was told it was 'winter itch', then a dermatologist told him it looked like 'some kind of bite'. Then he was treated for scabies - all the treatments included topical steroids as well as some other potent drugs. During the time since then he has seen 5 dermatologists, 2 allergists, 2 naturopaths, an arthritis clinic, National Jewish Hospital and tried acupuncture. With one or two exceptions, they all told him to continue the topical steroids.
We spent many hours on the internet trying to find our own answer and finally, last spring, through ITSAN, we found pictures of red skin, thick and ugly, that looked forever like what he was dealing with. And we found Dr. Rapaport. At that particular time my husband had been scheduled - we already had our plane tickets - to go to Mayo's in Rochester, MN. But he was in such great misery he simply could not have made the trip to MN, or California for that matter. So I sent pictures to Dr. Rapaport and he confirmed that Bill was suffering Red Skin Syndrome. And, he prepared us for the long recovery time after completely stopping steroids.
It has not been an easy 10 months, there were many times we faltered, unsure we were taking the right path, but with the support of others connected to ITSAN we can see (or at least hope for) a light at the end of this long tunnel. I can only thank Heaven that ITSAN had that site and we were able to finally have hope that he may again have some good years left.

I thank my lucky stars for Itsan. After using over the counter cortisone irresponsibly for over a year, (wih the blessing of my doctor), I could not understand why I would get worse whenever I tried to get off it. Itsan was so informative. Its members were so supportive and reading their stories got me through so many dark days. Thank you, thank you, thank you! People, never forget the power of numbers. Keep your attention focused on this topic and spread the word!

I have eczema and after reading a number of posts and articles I am now free of eczema for 2 months. Will never use topical steroids again. Thanks to ITSAN

Without ITSAN.org, I will still be in the dark dealing with my eczema. Everything makes sense to me now, and I truly appreciate the people and effort from ITSAN. The words have to be spread wider so that less people will suffer from the topical steroid cream addiction. Thank You!

My college age daughter is on day 48 of TSW. The only way we have been able to forge ahead is thanks to the excellent ITSAN information provided by Dr Rappaport, along with the encouraging testimonies of those who have blazed this healing trail. We tried radical diets, expensive creams, trigger eliminations, and several supplements. My daughter was at the end of her rope when eczema blogs pointed us to the ITSAN site. When we saw Dr Rappaport's interview we knew our searching was over, and we knew that with time she will heal. I can honestly say that the information we've learned here has been life changing. I will be forever grateful for the solid medical information and promise of healing ITSAN provides.

My son found this site when he was desperately searching for answers to his constant skin problems. He has been on steroid creams since he was a young child, and now in his early 20's , his skin was getting worse and worse. We saw doctors, dermatologists, no one could help. He began to read Red Skin Syndrome and steroid addiction online. The testimonials he read gave him the courage to go off steroids completely. He has been off for a year and 3 months, and his skin is so beautiful. I am so grateful for this site and their insistence that folks pay attention to what is happening with steroids. So many people are suffering, ashamed of their skin, in pain. It is criminal. Thank you ITSAN you are doing important and necessary work.

I found this organization when I was in such dire need for answers after reaching to the point where my topical steroids weren't working for my diagnosed eczema anymore. The doctors wanted to prescribe me either oral steroids or methotrexate (low dose chemotherapy). Internally I knew something wasn't right. Imagine my relief and surprise when I found ITSAN only to realize my condition could have been steroid induced!

I began the mental preparation for about 3 months learning everything I possibly could with the scientific research articles provided and teleconference files with Dr. Marvin Rappaport who has cured hundreds of people with this condition.

In Jan 2012 I stopped all my topical steroids and began the horrific journey of withdrawal, having to leave school and work for a period of time due to what my skin and general health was going through, Without having the support of community members from ITSAN who have already been through this through connecting with them from all around the world through the forums, I don't think I would have had the courage and strength to get through my healing and withdrawal journey.

I am now thankfully and humbly excited to report at 14 months my skin has healed so much and looks better than even when it was on topical steroids! I am certain I will be fully healed eczema free in the near future.

We need grass-root initiatives like this to help spread the word and bring more awareness to such an under recognized condition. Even medical doctors are unaware of this phenomenon regardless of the immense amount of research and medical literature ITSAN has been able to gather that talks about steroid addiction!

I have been given a second chance of living my life to its full potential and ITSAN has provided me the hope, support and information I needed in order to help me heal and re-contribute back to society.

Finding this group on the internet was a stroke of luck for me. I was suffering with an outbreak of atopic dermatitis far worse than anything I had ever experienced. I searched the internet for red skin and steroid cream addiction and there I found ITSAN, a group of caring and kind individuals who were going through the same thing. They offered advice, information, support, and most of all hope that this would be healed someday. I'm not there yet, but joining ITSAN has made the journey more bearable.

As the caregiver of a child going through topical steroid withdrawal, this organization has been immensely helpful. They offer tips for comfort, they offer moral support, they offer an opportunity to learn from others who are on the same unfortunate journey. Without the information and support received from this organization I don't know how we would manage.

This organization is helping me to heal and to get my life back. It has been invaluable as a support mechanism for all of us going through this condition!

For most of my life, I struggled with increasingly worse eczema -- what started as a few patches on my hands as a child had spread into a full-body rash by the time I was in college. The doctors I saw just said it was "genetic" and there was nothing I could do except use topical steroids. ITSAN's website on topical steroid addiction provided a source of information I wasn't able to find elsewhere. I was able to read through all of the relevant medical research from many different journals in one place and for free. When I made the decision to go off topical steroids, I also found ITSAN to be a great source of community and comfort. Topical steroid withdrawal is a very difficult, painful, long, itchy time and ITSAN allowed me to connect to others around the world who were going through the same thing. Without ITSAN, I would have never heard of topical steroid addiction and would still have an increasingly spreading terribly rash for seemingly no reason. I have donated to this organization and I would definitely recommend it to others.

My partner suffered from what doctors called 'eczema' for over 12 years. He was given increasingly potent doses of cortisone ointments which never controlled the problem. It actually kept getting worse and worse. We found ITSAN by googling and that discovery changed his life. He went through the grueling withdrawal from the topical steroids, and wouldn't have made it if not for the support we found through ITSAN. I, as his caretaker, was also supported by being able to connect with others going through this. I am very grateful for ITSAN. Today, my partner has nearly normal skin and has resumed a regular life, after being restricted from that for the years he was on steroids, and the increasing side effects of those drugs.

I am so grateful to ITSAN for making my daughter and I aware of Topical Steroid Addiction and for their work in increasing awareness of the damage topical steroids can do to our bodies, both externally and internally. She is now going through a withdrawal period from the steroids and for the first time, she feels she will be free of her skin problems for the rest of her life and I am so grateful to ITSAN for that.

This website (and organization) has been a godsend for me. It has helped me to discover the reason for years of suffering with skin issues. Not only is it highly informative, but the people on the forum are extremely hands on. There is always someone there to help answer questions and give insightful information. I am so thankful for this wonderful site!

ITSAN is the only organisation that helps to increase awareness of Topical steroid Addiction/Red Skin Syndrome. After suffering with what I thought was Atopic Dermatitis for 27 years, I found ITSAN and realised my life didn't have to be dominated by my reliance on topical steroids and that I could be free from them. ITSAN gave me a light when I was feeling lost and hopeless. I feel they saved my life.

My son suffered with a horrendous withdrawal from steroids, and without the support of ITSAN I am not sure where we would be. So grateful to them.

I am forever grateful to ITSAN who saved my daughter's life. I was searching for an answer to my daughter's out of control eczema for 2 years when I finally found ITSAN. The pictures above speaks for itself. I am extremely grateful for ITSAN saving my daughter from using these toxic drugs for a lifetime as the doctors suggested. Thank you ITSAN.

ITSAN saved my son's life. He was on an escalating potency and amount of topicals for eczema and was told next he would be given oral and systemic steriods. His eczema kept getting worse. This went on for years! Aren't steroids only supposed to be used for weeks?! Then we did as the ITSAN resource articles explain and now my son's skin is the best it has ever been. Thank you itsan!!