What Is Steven Johnson Syndrome?

The human skin covers the whole body and because it is exposed to the external environment is bound to be susceptible to many diseases. No doubt it is more hard and stronger than the others. However, this strong factor is also a negative when a person acquires a disease affecting it. The experience becomes painful and unbearable. Imagine what happens when you sustain an injury on your knees. You can't walk straight, can't sit or do any other activities that involve those muscles properly. SJS or Steven Johnson Syndrome is only worse because the problem does not affect the knees alone, but can spread on the complete body. Even parts like the nails, lips and teeth are not spared and the condition can be considered equivalent to full body burns.

The Stevens Johnson Syndrome is a direct result of an allergic reaction because of certain medications prescribed by the doctors and available in the market. It is also equated with certain bacteria and viruses. Drugs like Sulfadoxine are made available to the children if cases of diseases like malaria arise and are commonly available in the market. With a probability of one in a million, a child may get allergy and acquire this disease. In children, the males or the boys are more at risk while in adulthood, it is the females who are at risk. Unfortunately, the disease can be witnessed only about 2 weeks after consuming the medicines which is the main cause of worry. Further, the parents always tend to misread it as flu and delay a visit to the doctor even more.

Visiting the doctor becomes necessary when blisters and lesions start to appear. They start as spots and grow with time. This is followed by fever and uneasiness. These blisters and lesions appear at a very fast rate, one moment there are none and the next, there are many. In a couple of weeks, the tissues start dying and the skin start becoming pale. Itching may start soon with scars appearing on the body. Dead skin begins to peel off causing great discomfort. All this is still bearable until the lesions start reaching near mouth and eyes. Opening the eyes becomes a problem and eating becomes painful.

The interior of the eyes i.e. the cornea may get damaged which in extreme conditions may cause blinding. Swollen eyes will also affect the retina. Ulcers inside the mouth would debar the patient from talking properly and eating anything spicy would cause pain. While the adults may still be able to bare the pain, the children would really be tested for their patience. Many children avoid eating food which does not help matters any. Fatality is possible with Stevens Johnson Syndrome which is again an area of concern. Hospitalization of the patient becomes mandatory in some cases as the child has to be provided with intensive care. As known, the treatment process is similar to the burns and hence, the environment around the patient has to be sanitized and kept clean.