Woman's SJS Linked to Prescription Antibiotics

Dundas, ONHer name is Lisa and she is fighting Stevens Johnson Syndrome, known as SJS. Prescription medication is alleged to be the cause. It has been reported that upwards of 200 medications have been linked to SJS, including anti-seizure medication, ibuprofen and antibiotics.

It was the latter that served as the conduit to SJS, for Lisa. She was prescribed antibiotics after relatively minor surgery. And the emergence of her symptoms was not unlike those of other SJS suffers who have battled the rare, but life-threatening condition.

SJS often begins with a rash that evolves into a blister. Left untreated the skin begins to slough away in sheets. Eyes and mucous membranes do not escape the ravages of SJS either. There have been heartbreaking reports of ocular complications and vision loss—even in children.

Even though SJS sufferers have not suffered burns, treatment of SJS mirrors that required for victims of serious burns and is often carried out in the burn unit of hospitals.

Such was the case with Lisa. According to accounts provided by Mark Cripps, a newspaper editor and brother of the victim, Lisa was indeed moved into a burn unit where—despite the care and skill of highly trained and specialized staff—her condition worsened.

Lisa's blisters were reported to have multiplied, covering her face, her torso, her legs and arms. They were soon to scab over. Eating and drinking became an exercise in excruciating pain due to the blisters in the patient's mouth, throat and on her tongue.

If there was any good news, it was the fact that her eyes were deemed to have minimal damage, even though they were affected in some fashion.

However, there were fears her condition would worsen to encompass Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis.

"It took everything in my power to hold back the tears during the 30-minute visit," writes Mark Cripps, an editor with the Dundas Star News. "While I was torn up inside, I didn't want to show my sorrow for fear it would make her feel worse than she already did. I wanted to be strong for her."

Cripps also writes that this is a particularly cruel turn of events for a person who has always, it seems, faced battles throughout her life. As a child she contracted pneumonia and spent a month in hospital. To a child, such an extended stay would seem like a lifetime. Concurrent to all of that the child was reportedly raised by an abusive stepmother and as an adult was made to struggle through a difficult marriage.

And yet Lisa has raised two children and had found a successful career in real estate before a routine prescription for antibiotics following minor surgery left her with a debilitating condition that would reduce most people to complete despair.

Even while confronting a rare condition that in its severest forms can be fatal, Lisa is putting on a brave face and is fighting to keep her spirits up. The newspaper editor visited his sister as she lay in the burn unit covered by horrific blisters and rashes from head toe, all the while remaining hopeful.

"That's why she's my hero," Mark writes.

Numerous lawsuits have been launched against various drug manufacturers by SJS victims and their families, claiming that patients were not sufficiently briefed about the potential for SJS from the consumption of drugs such as prescription antibiotics, or even over-the-counter ibuprofen. If you have suffered from SJS symptoms, you may wish to pursue damages in order to help pay for medical bills. Consult a qualified SJS attorney for a thorough assessment of your case.