› $150,000,000 verdict in personal injury case
When he was not quite 2 years old, James Lumasag was diagnosed with a rare but life threatening skin condition after receiving a round of antibiotics to treat a cough and fever. The toddler fought for his life in the intensive care unit of a hospital, where he received 22 bags of plasma as his skin peeled away from his body. “His whole body, except his head, looked totally burnt,” his mother Merlyn said. “James suffered too much.”
Good news for Canadian resident Lisa, the little sister of Dundas Star News managing editor Mark Cripps. The woman was diagnosed with Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) two-plus weeks ago after taking antibiotics that had been prescribed to her following minor surgery. She suffered a rare but life-threatening severe adverse reaction to the antibiotics, SJS, which resulted in rashes all over her body that blistered over and caused her skin to peel off in sheets. After a two-week stay in the hospital, where she was treated as if she had suffered serious burns, the woman was able to go home.
The FDA has approved a new treatment to reduce the risk of cancer returning in patients with gastrointestinal stomal tumors, a disease also known as GIST, however the medication has been linked to Stevens Johnson Syndrome, or SJS.
If you or a family member has suffered from the rare but life-threatening adverse reaction to medication known as Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), or its most severe form, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), you already may be aware of the value information available at the Stevens Johnson Syndrome Foundation site (www.sjssupport.org). Unless you study the site, you may not be away of all the resources available.
Gary Beatham had been blamed for her death. He couldn’t understand why.
Beatham’s girlfriend of two years, Louise Armstrong, came down with flu-like symptoms in late December. The morning of New Year’s Eve, Beatham woke in their Penrith, Australia, home to find his partner gravely ill with blisters covering her body. He called the ambulance, but it was too late. Armstrong had died.
Kim Oake’s voice on the phone is strong. It is hard to believe she is the same woman I first wrote about less than a month ago. Then, she was in the hospital and fighting for her life. Seventy percent of her skin had blistered and peeled away, and she was put into a drug-induced coma to shield her from pain and help her fight infection.
Kim had suffered a severe adverse reaction to a common antibiotic she received after being bitten by a feral cat. She was diagnosed with toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), the most severe form of Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS).
Rachel, known as SpunkyRachel online, says she was caught off guard by friends – both old and new – who had seen her videos on YouTube. She had posted several of them these past few months – some with her bald head uncovered and her dark skin blotched with white patches.
Rachel was looking for others like her – people who had taken common medication, like ibuprofen from the super market, and had a severe adverse reaction called Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) or its most severe form toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN).
Last week, after weeks of alarming medical symptoms, Backstreet Boys band member Brian Littrell finally has a diagnosis for his ailing 6-year-old son Baylee – Kawasaki Disease, according to the singer’s Web page. Kawasaki Disease, or KD, is a serious illness that involves the skin, mouth and lymph nodes. If symptoms are recognized early, a full recovery can be expected. If left untreated, it can cause serious heart complications.
Last month when Kim Oake was bitten by a feral cat while working as an animal control officer in Canada, she was given Clavulin, a common antibiotic to ward off infection. The antibiotic nearly killed her. Her family wants to know why people aren’t told about the serious, life-threatening reaction that could occur by taking common drugs, according to CBC News.
A Chinese dermatologist believes he may have found a human protein that can lead to treatment for the severe and progressive skin disease, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), according to the Taipei Times.
