Skin Reaction to Medicine Can Be Lethal

Q. Doctors sometimes ignore dangerous drug reactions. I recently ended up in the hospital after taking terbinafine pills. Three doctors called my reaction a rash, but it wasn’t. It was actually Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.
Too many doctors don’t know about Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. This drug reaction can kill you and I could have died if I hadn’t gone to the ER when I did.
I had bruise-like marks all over my body from head to toe. Three layers of skin died and all my skin came off, from my ears, nose, scalp and all the way down to the bottoms of my feet.
It’s been more than a month and it looks like it will take months more before I am fully recovered. One doctor out of the four I saw identified the problem so it could be treated.
A. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) can be lethal. It is far more serious than a simple drug rash.
Medications that can trigger SJS include anticonvulsants, antifungal medications like terbinafine and itraconazole, some antibiotics and even certain pain relievers.
Patients must be warned about symptoms of potentially life-threatening reactions. We provide a list of the common errors doctors may make when prescribing and critical questions patients should ask to avoid becoming a statistic. These can be found in our brand new book, Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them, available in libraries, bookstores and online at PeoplesPharmacy. We will personally autograph Top Screwups Doctors Make and How to Avoid Them and we are offering an early bird special 10% discount. We hope our new book will save lives…perhaps yours or someone you love.