Meet 17-year-old Leanne Howes, the girl who was just given 10% of survival after suffering an extremely rare allergic reaction to Zantac tablets. The horror condition covered her in tennis ball-sized blisters, according to the TheSun; in days, the skin on her face fell off, along with that on her chest, arms and back!
The fatal condition that left her fighting for her life is known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome and it a hold of her entire body causing her skin to burn up, scab over and fall off!
Leanne from Hoveton, Norwich who suffers from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) was given a prescription by her doctor to treat that condition and took a 150mg dose of Zantac Ranitidine that’s when her hell began. In September 2013 when she suddenly fell ill and the “illness” –that she thought it was a harmless heat rash –left her in hospital for weeks while it ran its devastating course. She describes her symptoms saying
‘I’d not felt very well at work, so I went to the chemist to pick up some tablets.
‘Once I got home, I was fine, but when I woke up the next morning, I was tired and nauseous.
‘And then when I looked in the mirror, I saw that I had a terrible rash.’
Overnight her “weird” condition rapidly worsened, you’ll see, Stevens-Johnson syndrome causes
blisters not only in the outside but in the inside of the body and that’s exactly what Leanne developed next. Blisters formed inside her throat and on her tongue and she woke up the next morning struggling to breathe. Recovery after Stevens-Johnson syndrome can take weeks to months, depending on the severity of the condition.
At that point she says she tried to ask for help, her mother Amanda Corley, 38 and boyfriend 25-year-old boyfriend Jake Round rushed her to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital. She completely transformed into someone different, her skin that began to fall off made her look like a different person. Her hair, nails, eyelashes and eyebrows fell out and at 5ft tall, her weight plummeted from 7st to a dangerous 5st 10lbs.
Back at home in October, she not only had to come to terms with her new appearance but her life has changed completely as Miss Howes suffers from dry, bumpy skin and has to take eye drops twice a day as the condition scarred her tear ducts, leaving her with watery eyes.
Stevens-Johnson syndrome is incurable and 40 per cent of people who contract the condition do not survive.
Leanne who we are happy to know is doing good and is on her way to becoming a hairdresser; is sharing her amazing survival story but is terrified to take any other medications.
Would you blame her?
Find Leanne on Facebook here.
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