Overview Of Possible Causes And Risk Factors For Stevens-Johnson Syndrome

Stevens-Johnson syndrome may cause a painful rash with blisters. This rash seems to affect most of the patient's body. Other possible symptoms may include a sore throat, cough, red eyes, and severe itching. They appear to deal with a sensitivity to light and flu-like symptoms too. Doctors may need a skin biopsy and a history of the patient's medication use to diagnose this condition.

If patients are in pain, they may want to try cool compresses for blisters. Some patients seem to benefit from antibiotics for Stevens-Johnson syndrome. However, when medications for Stevens-Johnson syndrome are used, they may need to be chosen with care and taken sparingly. Patients seem to be unable to take any nonessential medications. Stevens-Johnson syndrome treatment may be affected by what caused it for each patient. Thus, doctors may want patients to understand the possible risk factors first.

Pneumonia

Pneumonia seems to be the most common infectious cause of Stevens-Johnson syndrome. The type of pneumonia that may trigger this condition the most appears to be the one caused by the M. pneumoniae bacteria. Individuals who have Stevens-Johnson syndrome due to pneumonia may need intensive treatment. This may be due to the fact that eye complications can occur more frequently in these patients. These eye complications may include blistering of the eyes.

Although medications may cause Stevens-Johnson syndrome more often, patients still need to watch for pneumonia. Symptoms may include a productive cough and fever. Mucous membrane swelling also seems to be common. These signs may appear one week before the skin blistering and rash.

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Anticonvulsants

Anticonvulsants seem to be common medications for preventing seizures. They also appear to treat epilepsy. However, this type of medication may also be a fairly common cause of Stevens-Johnson syndrome. Patients may need their doctor to examine their medication history if they deal with skin blistering. Other warning signs of this condition may also merit this action.

This may be especially important with anticonvulsants, as certain ones seem to cause this condition more often than others. Gabapentin appears to trigger this condition quite frequently. However, it may not be the anticonvulsant that has the highest risk of Stevens-Johnson syndrome. That medication may be phenytoin, according to research. Other high-risk medicines in this class seem to be diazepam and carbamazepine. Unfortunately, research does not appear to have discovered a clear reason why anticonvulsants may cause this condition. Some, however, seem to believe it is due to the drug's metabolites left in the patient's body.

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