Zachary’s Rashes Turned Out To Be More Serious Than What They Initially Thought

Bringing her child to the hospital is every mother’s nightmare especially if it is for something bad. But seeing her little one suffering is much worse which is why mothers more often than not decide to go on that dreaded trip to the medical facility if only to be able to know that her baby will be okay. But that is far from what Mandy Suzanne Smith experienced when she brought her son Zachary for a check up.

In an ordinary day, Mandy pushes through with her usual routine which ends with a drive topick up Zachary at his preschool. Upon her arrival, she was surprised to find him complaining about rashes on his feet and itchy eyes. Thinking it was just some skin irritation, the family shrugged it off. But it wasn’t until the next day that they regretted that decision after they found out that the little boy’s body is already covered in rashes.

Zachary Suffers from Rashes

Source: Mandy Suzanne Smith / Facebook

Mandy later discovered that Zachary is running a fever. Though the symptoms appear to be those of an ordinary flu, Mandy knew better than to wait especially since her son appears to be getting worse by the minute.

Zachary with Mommy Mandy

Source: Mandy Suzanne Smith/Facebook

She rushed her son to the nearest hospital where he was given medication for infection. Unfortunately, that did not work and Zachary’s condition took a turn for the worse.

Zachary is admitted to a hospital

Source: Mandy Suzanne Smith/Facebook

After conducting more tests, the doctors found out that Zachary is suffering from a rare condition known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome or SJS. According to WebMD, SJS is a rare but serious medical condition that occurs when an individual experiences a severe reaction from medicine.

Symptoms include red or purple rashes, blistering in the skin as well as inside mucus membranes like inside the mouth, nose, and genitals which makes necessary tasks like eating, swallowing, and peeing very difficult and painful.

WebMD also listed down that some of the most common medications that causes SJS are those for treatment of gout particularly allopurinol (Aloprim or Zyloprim); medicine for pain relief like ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), acetaminophen (Tylenol), and naproxen sodium (Aleve); Sulfa antibiotics like Bactrim and Septra; and medicines for seizures or mental illnesses. No detail on which of these drugs sparked Zachary’s SJS.

To save his life, Mandy decided to have Zachary put into a medically-induced coma. While he was under, doctors conducted a procedure to remove the top layer of Zachary’s skin in order to prevent the infection from spreading further. After that, they wrapped him in a plastic-like material called biobrane that will help new skin form underneath.