One minute, life was going along as normal, and Teresa and her husband Andrew were going about their everyday lives as a young couple.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, their lives changed forever as he developed Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS), a rare drug reaction.

Andrew, 31, had just begun taking an new medication and then he went to his doctor on Sept. 9 with what he thought was a case of pink eye. Less than 24-hours from the time he had visited the doctor, he was rushed to the local hospital with his eyes nearly swollen shut.

Fortunately, the hospital figured out that evening that Andrew’s reaction was due to his new medication. However, even in a few short hours, his reaction had spread very quickly and began to affect more and more of his body. A few days later, he was transferred to another hospital to provide further treatment.

Teresa took off two weeks to be with her husband until she had to return to work. She visited him daily but had to stop seeing him for a while because she became sick and was unable to visit him with her illness. Even with a minor illness she could have posed a threat to him. A minor infection could have potentially fatal consequences for a patient with Stevens Johnson Syndrome.

Andrew’s condition worsened and his condition turned into Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), a more severe form of Stevens Johnson Syndrome that affected more of his body.

In SJS, less than 30% of a person’s body is affected, but as it develops into TEN, it affects 30% or more of a person’s body and the mortality rate increases. For SJS, approximately 5-10% of cases are fatal, and with TEN, 25-35% of cases are fatal.

Teresa could only be close to her husband for weeks as he remained in the ICU without much response. He had to be heavily sedated with pain medication and could only move a bit in his bed, nod or shake his head, and squeeze Teresa’s hand. He was unable to speak, and she was left feeling helpless.

Andrew owned a computer business and Teresa had to max out credit cards to pay their employees their wages while the business closed its doors while Andrew recovered. Teresa has been working to pay what she can and a close friend set up a GoFundMe account to help the couple pay for expenses while Andrew remained in the hospital.

Andrew’s GoFundMe page shows him finally home two months after his admission to the hospital. As Teresa explained, the illness came on quickly and got very serious very fast.

Stevens Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis

Any individual at any time can experience a severe drug reaction like SJS or TEN after taking a pharmaceutical medication or over the counter medication. It is usually a surprising reaction that seemingly appears out of nowhere and quickly becomes quite severe.

At first, SJS symptoms start off like the flu, with sore throat, fever and aches. It is easy to dismiss the nonspecific symptoms until the characteristic SJS rash sets in later. SJS and TEN cause the skin and mucous membranes to blister, and then the skin sloughs off in sheets, exposing the layers below. Those affected by SJS or TEN often look like burn victims.

While any drug can potentially cause the reaction, there are some more likely than others. Among them: over the counter pain relievers such as acetaminophen (Tylenol, others), ibuproben (Advil, others) and naproxen sodium (Aleve), antibiotics (penicillin, others), drugs to treat seizures and psychosis, and radiation therapy.

Around the fall and winter months with the flu season in full swing, Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) is commonly prescribed antiviral to treat influenza. Tamiflu has been linked to SJS, with this risk specifically spelled out in the drug’s labeling.

Since the early signs of SJS look like the illness Tamiflu is meant to treat, it can be hard to distinguish the signs of SJS from the flu and SJS is not discovered until it has progressed.

Stevens Johnson Syndrome Lawsuits

If you or a loved one developed Stevens Johnson Syndrome as a result of taking Tamiflu or any other medication, you may have a legal claim. An attorney can provide you with a free case review and can help you decide if filing an SJS lawsuit is right for you.