Antibiotic causes woman to lose skin

[Guest guest]

What about the tetanus shot she got??

Antibiotic causes woman to lose skin

Canwest News Service

Published: Friday, December 05, 2008

ST. JOHN'S, N.L. -A woman in Newfoundland is fighting for her life

after complications from a run-of-the-mill antibiotic caused her to

lose the outer layer of skin on nearly three-quarters of her body.

Kim Oake was diagnosed with a little-known condition, toxic epidermal

necrolysis, in which the upper layer of the skin essentially

separates from the body. Other effects include blindness, secondary

infections and organ failure. " It's devastating, absolutely

devastating, " said her sister, Oake. " They're giving her a 50-50

chance of pulling through. " While the disease is said to be rare, it

can be triggered by any number of innocuous prescription and over-the-

counter drugs, including ibuprofen, anti-convulsants and penicillin.

Ms. Oake, who works as an animal control officer, was given a tetanus

shot and antibiotics after a bite from a cat became infected.

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=1033835