(Image: Holly Broome, who charts her NMT journey @tsw_hollybee)

No Moisture Treatment is a specific regimen formulated by Dr Kenji Sato in Hannan Chuo Hospital in Osaka, Japan, to help his patients get through topical steroid withdrawal (TSW).

It involves radically restricting the amount of moisture the body is given, whether by drinking it or by using emollients. His theory is that skin affected by TSW needs to dry out, and reducing the moisture supplied will speed the process.

It’s worth noting that NMT, as it’s known, is carried out under strict conditions by Dr Sato, conditions that may not be replicated elsewhere. He ensures that patients are carefully monitored; they are often admitted into hospital for the duration of the treatment and their diet, exercise and wellbeing are closely supervised.

Image: Dr Kenji Sato

For more information about NMT, see our article NMT: No Moisture Treatment Guide For Topical Steroid Withdrawal. If you need personal support from Dr Sato, then contact him directly or refer to the website of his assistant Tokuko Kemada.

For support through TSW, go to the ITSAN website.

Hashtags to follow for peer-to-peer support: #thisisnoteczema #tsw #ScratchThat

Current medical advice is not to use daily topical steroids continuously for more than two to four weeks; then the frequency should be tapered to twice weekly use.

 

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Not everyone who goes through TSW finds it necessary to avoid moisturisers: it’s an individual journey and you need to do what’s right for you and your skin.

Many people have found that water-free balms like Skin Salvation work well to keep their skin moisturised through their TSW journey. Skin Salvation is a safe, effective, non-steroidal, intensively hydrating emollient that works in four crucial ways to help you manage your TSW or chronically dry skin:

• It is free from the preservatives, perfumes, parabens, essential oils, coconut oils, nut oils, soya, petrochemicals and other common irritants that can hurt so much when applied to such sore, sensitive skin.

• It nourishes depleted skin with the essential fatty acids, vitamins and other nutrients that the epidermis needs to repair and regenerate.

• It uses beeswax to protect broken or raw areas by providing a fine, protective barrier over the skin - like a sticking plaster over a wound - reducing itchiness and stinging.

• It hydrates, softens and conditions severely dry, flaking or shedding skin, locking in essential moisture and softening rough or scaly skin.

Recommended products:

Skin Salvation balm with hemp seed, beeswax and calendula, from £7.99 for 30ml

Balmonds Intensive Facial Oil with rosehip, calendula & lavender, £22 for 30ml