Toddler left ‘looking like a burns victim’ after horrific allergic reaction to antibiotics

August 1, 2016

Kai Kehm’s skin peeled off just days after he started taking antibiotics
Diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome – a rare reaction to medication
Doctors removed layers of his skin every 2 days while in intensive care
But Kai managed to walk away from the hospital without a single scar
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

Stephen Matthews For Mailonline

Published:
03:49 EST, 1 August 2016

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Updated:
07:55 EST, 1 August 2016

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A three-year-old boy was left fighting for his life after suffering a rare allergic reaction to antibiotics.

Kai Kehm’s skin peeled off just days after he started taking the medication for an ear infection which doctors turned out to be potentially deadly superbug MRSA.

He was left critically ill in intensive care from the antibiotic sulfamethoxazolem as his skin broke out in blisters and his eyes were swollen.

Kai Kehm, from Houston, was left critically ill in intensive care from the antibiotic sulfamethoxazolem. His skin broke out in blisters but when he left hospital, he didn’t have any scars

Kai was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome – a rare reaction to a medication, thought to affect one in a million people. He was in hospital for four weeks and every two days doctors had to remove layers of skin

Doctors thought it was an allergic reaction at first and gave him an antihistamine.

But 12 hours later, Kai was rocking himself backwards and forwards in pain and was rushed to accident and emergency.

A few hours later, he couldn’t even open his eyes, had blisters in his mouth and was screaming in pain.

That’s when doctors diagnosed him with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome – a rare reaction to a medication, thought to affect one in a million people.

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He was in hospital for four weeks because every two days doctors had to remove layers of skin which were so badly affected by the reaction.

Doctors sedated Kai and put him in an induced coma for 10 days to help him deal with the pain while they treated him.

His mother Julie, 42, of Houston, Texas, USA, said Kai, now seven, looked like he had been burnt in a house fire.

But now both she and her husband Cameron, 37, live in constant fear any medication could cause a flare up.

And they both read the ingredients list on medication religiously, as a precaution.

His mother Julie, 42, said Kai looked like he had been burnt in a house fire. She said: ‘Our poor little boy looked like a burns victim, like he’d been in a really bad house fire. It was so heart-breaking to see him like that’

Doctors thought it was an allergic reaction at first and gave him an antihistamine. But they then sedated Kai and put him in an induced coma for 10 days to help him deal with the pain while they treated him

But now both his parents live in constant fear any medication could cause a flare up. They both read the ingredients list on medication religiously, as a precaution (pictured with father Cameron)

Despite having no scars, Kai has been diagnosed with toxic epidermal necrolysis, a progression of the same life-threatening skin disease

Releasing shocking pictures of her son’s condition, the mother-of-four said: ‘It was an agonizing time.

‘Skin started peeling off his face, coming off in sheets, and his eyes were sealed shut.

‘Our poor little boy looked like a burns victim, like he’d been in a really bad house fire. It was so heart-breaking to see him like that.

WHAT IS STEVENS-JOHNSON SYNDROME?

Stevens-Johnson Sydrome (SJS) is a rare disorder that begins with flu-like symptoms.

These are followed by a painful red or purplish rash that spreads and blisters. Then the top layer of the affected skin dies and sheds.

The illness, which is a form of Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis, is typically a reaction to a drug or an infection, and can prove fatal.

Treatment focuses on eliminating the underlying cause, controlling symptoms and minimizing complications.

Patient recovery can take weeks to months, depending on the severity of the syndrome.

Source: Mayo Clinic

‘I’ve heard it feels like your body is burning from the inside out. I can’t even imagine how he felt.’

‘Although Kai hasn’t had as bad a reaction since 2012, we know it could happen at any time. We have to be so careful with what tablets we give him.’

Kai was born with Down’s Syndrome in November 2008 and suffered with heart problems, which are common with the condition.

After Kai was discharged from hospital on July 2, 2012, Mrs Kehm was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder because of the disturbing memories she has of her son.

Miraculously, the young boy walked away without a single scar, although he has been diagnosed with toxic epidermal necrolysis, a progression of the same life-threatening skin disease.

But because his Down’s Syndrome means he does not speak yet, Mrs Kehm doesn’t know if her boy remembers the terrible month he went through.

She said: ‘He survived. Kai is a little fighter and I know that.’

For support visit: www.sjsupport.org