SJS survivor hopes more doctors will learn about rare allergic reaction
August 16th, 2010 by Jennifer Walker-Journey
Kisandra said she felt like a lab rat the day a team of doctors studied the blisters that had sprung up all over her body and pored through thick medical books trying to find what had made her sick. She had just been given Biaxin, an antibiotic, to treat a stomach ulcer. Shortly after starting the medication she developed a fever and blisters on her face, arms, torso and hands.
“I had problems focusing and staying awake. My chest hurt so bad like my insides were on fire,” Kisandra wrote on the Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) Foundation support group forum. The then-16-year-old went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with herpes. Luckily, the next day Kisandra ran into her regular doctor while picking up her refill for Biaxin. He noticed the blisters on her body and “he suddenly grabbed me by the arm and dragged me to the office of an allergist who had a team of medical students in his office. My doctor begged the allergist to just look at me,” she said. “As soon as he brought me into the office the allergist gasped like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. … I sat there in the chair crying as they lifted my shirt and looked all over me.
Kisandra finally got a true diagnosis. She was suffering from SJS, a rare but life threatening allergic reaction to medication. The condition causes a rash on the skin that blisters over causing the skin to peel off in sheets. Eyes, internal organs and genitals can also be affected. For some, the condition can be fatal. More than 2,000 medications have been associated with SJS, in particular antibiotics.
“To end my story I fully recovered after two months with no permanent damage, well physical anyway. I have to say I came out of this very lucky,” Kisandra said. “My only wish is that more doctors know what this syndrome is because if they did they would probably save more lives.”