A former Bamberg, North Carolina law enforcement officer suffered from Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN), a life-threatening allergic reaction, and survived.

The former officer, Franklin Bamberg Jr., has suffered from a number of severe toxic epidermal necrolysis symptoms, including blistering skin, bleeding gums, bloodshot eyes, and inflamed stomach tissue. The condition was the result of a medication he was taking, a combination of amoxicillin and meloxicam, The Times and Democrat reports.

These two drugs were reportedly given to Bamberg by two separate doctors. The toxic epidermal necrolysis symptoms started slowly, as Stevens Johnson Syndrome usually does.  “At first, my eyes just got bloodshot and then I developed a fever. My lips started peeling and, of course, I was going to the doctor. They just thought I had pink eye and the fever was a part of it,” said Bamberg.

The condition nearly became fatal.  Bamberg was forced to spend nearly three months in the intensive care at a burn center in Georgia, the Joseph M. Still Burn Center. For around two months of that hospital stay, Bamberg says, he was “out of it,” and got his awareness back in only the last couple of weeks.

Treatment of the toxic epidermal necrolysis is usually very similar to burn treatment, hence why Bamberg was taken to the burn center in Georgia. He underwent surgery to remove the dead and peeling skin caused by toxic epidermal necrolysis and was subsequently wrapped almost entirely up with gauze. He was also placed on a ventilator for weeks.

Many patients who suffer from toxic epidermal necrolysis do not survive the condition, often as a result of sepsis and multi-organ system failure.

What is Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis?

Toxic epidermal necrolysis, or TEN, is a more severe form of the slightly more common and less dangerous Stevens Johnson Syndrome. Stevens Johnson Syndrome (also known as SJS) is a skin condition affecting the outer skin and mucous membrane.

The difference between SJS and TEN is classified by how much of a patient’s skin is affected. If less than 30 percent of the skin is affected, a patient is suffering from Stevens Johnson Syndrome. If 30 percent or more is affected, the condition has progressed to toxic epidermal necrolysis and should be considered more severe, as it results in more fatalities.

The rare conditions Stevens Johnson Syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis are most often caused by taking medication, especially an anticonvulsant, an anti-inflammatory, or certain antibiotics.

Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Lawsuits

Many people taking drugs linked with Stevens Johnson Syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis are not aware of the serious and even life-threatening side effects which, though unlikely, do occur.

If you or someone you know has experienced either toxic epidermal necrolysis or SJS from use of a drug and believe you were not adequately warned about the potentially severe side effects, you may have cause for filing a toxic epidermal necrolysis lawsuit for medical and financial damages.