A 19-year-old California college student is fighting for her life after she took a friend’s antibiotic and had a severe reaction to the drug.
Yaasmeen Castanada was sick on Thanksgiving and
took her friend's antibiotic, ABC 7 reported, but 24 hours later she had broken out in blisters all over her body and was hospitalized on a ventilator.
“Heartbreaking, just unreal. Just watching your daughter burn in front of you, literally burn in front of you," Laura Corona, Castanada’s mother, told ABC.
Dr. Lawrence Matt told the station that the teenager, who has a 4-month-old daughter, had a severe allergic reaction called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.
“It can be considered a burn from the inside out because of mucosal involvement," Matt told ABC.
Castanada has open wounds over her body, and Martha Hughes, her aunt, said it’s been devastating to watch.
"It is heartbreaking, every day is a different look. Every day, she's like, shedding away. ... Overnight, it's a whole different person that you're looking at," Hughes told ABC.
Castanada’s condition has moved past the Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, which indicates 10 to 30 percent of the body’s skin is affected, to Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, which means more than 30 percent of her body is affected. It’s estimated that
65 percent of her skin and mucus membranes are now involved, CNN said.
Castanada faces a long recovery, but doctors told CNN her prognosis is good, even though the disease has a high mortality rate.
"Patients can experience problems with taste, swallowing, eyesight and sexual functions can be affected. In Yaasmeen's case, we are particularly concerned because her eyes have been affected. This can cause scarring of the corneas, which could lead to permanent blindness," Dr. Victor Joe told CNN. "We are trying to prevent that from happening."
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Go Fund Me site has been set up to help Castanada with medical costs.
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