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Woman loses eyesight due to deadly drug reaction

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Kalyan resident Heena Khan, 28, who is admitted in private-run Saifee Hospital at Charni Road due to an adverse drug reaction (ADR) that gripped her after she popped antibiotics for cough and cold, has lost her eyesight.

Loss of vision is a severe side effect of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome (TENS), a condition that afflicted Heena on November 21 after a local doctor prescribed her penicillin-based antibiotics Mox 250, anti-spasmodic tablets Cyclopam and paracetemol Metacin for her illness.

Two days ago, doctors told Heena's husband Mustaqeem that she was not being able to see from her left eye. Dr Quresh Maskati, opthalmologist at Saifee Hospital, said, "During a routine eye-check up, we noticed that the cornea which is the protective covering of the eye, had melted and peeled off due to the reaction."

Heena will be wheeled in for an eye surgery on Thursday to prevent infection from festering. Doctors are planning to salvage the content of the left eye by implanting a newborn baby's placenta over it. "The human amniotic membrane or the placenta is stored in eye banks. It is used in eye surgeries, in the way of sticking them with a special glue in place of the cornea to prevent external infection from setting in the eye and preventing content from inside of the eye to ooze out," explained Dr Maskati.

Doctors are trying to mitigate Heena's condition with the surgery, however, she has lost her eyesight and chances of her regaining it are very dim. "After close to a year, after her reaction wears off, she can undergo a cornea replacement surgery. But it is difficult to predict if that will be successful," Dr Maskati told.

What's TENS
* Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis Syndrome (TENS) is a severe allergic drug reaction.
* It is a rare disorder with incidence rate of one in 1,00,000
* Causes painful blistering of the skin and internal organs lined with mucous membrane to burn from inside out
* In many cases it is preceded with flu like symptoms and high fever. As it evolves the skin literally sloughs off
* Severe conjunctivitis and loss of vision can also occur as it affects the cornea of the eyes adversely
* Almost any drug can cause TENS, including over the counter drugs
* Mostly caused due to adverse effect of anti-epileptic drugs or anti-convulsants, HIV drugs, penicillins, corticosteroids among others
 

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