Dilantin, an anti-seizure medication which is prescribed at times to very young children in cases like epilepsy, is connected to the painful and sometimes deadly Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS).

Some Dilantin victims and their loved ones have gone online to get advice and provide warnings that they say the makers of Dilantin opted to ignore. One user in an online help forum says, “Please be careful of Steven Johnson syndrome. This is a very severe skin rash that is associated to an allergic reation to medication, this happened to my husband from Dilantin. You may want to look into this as a possible problem because you don’t want it to get to that point. It put my husband in the ICU unit for a week, and we have enough going on without adding this to it.”

Another man warns fellow users of the Dilantin risks, adding, “Please make sure they are not treating any potential seizures with the drug Dilantin! My wife had whole brain radiation for breast cancer metastasis and ended up contracting Stevens Johnson Syndrome. Before they could figure the cause it became a full blown horror and basically blinding her. So please watch out for that.”

Since Dilantin SJS is still relatively rare, many doctors haven’t seen it in person and may mis-diagnosis it as a harmless rash. However, SJS rashes can turn to blisters in just a few hours. Once the rash covers over 30 percent of the skin, it becomes “skin death,” also known as Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN).

SJS is a severe allergic skin reaction that can happen to anyone at any time from a number of medications, although Dilantin has allegedly caused SJS so many times that a Dilantin class action lawsuit has been formed.

A person could take the same drug for years symptom-free and suddenly develop SJS, although it is much more common when someone has recently began taking the drug. There are cases of young children dying of Dilantin SJS overnight, particularly when physicians don’t properly diagnose and treat it.

There’s no cure for SJS, and sufferers are often treated in burn units where their bodies are cleansed, cared for, and pain is managed in the hopes that the body can heal itself infection-free. However, Dilantin survivors may look like they were in a fire and suffer blindness or vision problems since the blisters especially collect in moist areas like the eyes.

Many people don’t know what SJS is unless someone they know has experienced it. The core of the Dilantin class action lawsuit is the allegation that the makers of the drug knew about the risk of SJS but didn’t warn about it. Since it’s still relatively rare, that means users didn’t know what signs to watch for with SJS.

Some SJS survivors are unaware that Dilantin or another drug may have caused their adverse side effect, and they simply feel lucky to be alive. However, the medical bills, pain and suffering associated with SJS can be severe.

Joining a Dilantin class action lawsuit can help immensely financially. There are episodes of permanent blindness, disfigurement, and weeks in the ICU can lead to insurmountable debt.