Stevens-Johnson Syndrome: Houston woman loses 60% of her skin from rare condition

A woman living in Baton Rouge moved back to Houston for specialty healthcare. She has a dramatic story to share about a condition that affects millions of people each year, yet it's fairly unknown.

More than half of her skin sloughed off after she suffered an allergic reaction to medication. 

Latara Pennie has been through the unimaginable the past 14 months from an agonizing condition called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, or SJS.

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"When I woke up, I was unrecognizable. I must say the awful thing about the situation when I woke up is that I was unrecognizable. I wasn't able to feed, talk, or to walk. But the awe about the situation is that I'm alive now," says a very positive Latara.

Latara says it started in the emergency room, when she was prescribed a new medication she had never taken before. It's used to treat seizures and works as a mood stabilizer. She did not have a history of allergic reactions to any type of substance, but 11 days after taking the new medicine, she says her body felt like it was turning inside out.

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She had a form of the disease that is often fatal.

"I had the worst case of SJS. I had toxic epidermal necrolysis, which causes skin to burn off of the body, so wherever the mucus membrane travels, it burns," says Latara. 

It even affects her eyes.

"Right now, I have lenses that I use for scarring of the eyes. So when I actually woke up out of ICU, I didn't realize that I could barely see," explains Latara.

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The National Institutes of Health reports that 80% of SJS cases are caused by a severe reaction to medication, typically ranging from epilepsy medicines to antibiotics, but even over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicine or painkillers.

Latara lost 60% of her skin. Now, she's sharing her painful story so that everyone knows about the risks.

"We have to be really careful about what we take. Education is so important. Not just what your doctor says, sometimes we tend to believe exactly what the doctor says, and we definitely don't take it any further. And so, I think it's very, very important that you dig just a little bit more," says Latara.

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She has found a way to rely on her faith through it all and that helps her smile through the pain. Latara plans to begin laser treatments to help lessen her scars. 

For more information from the National Institute of Health, click here.