Steven Johnson Syndrome - Essay Example

Steven Johnson Syndrome Steven Johnson Syndrome Stevens Johnson syndrome (SJS) is a disease that leads to severe complications amongst individuals. It damages the skin and causes prolonged irritation that compromises an individual’s performance capacity. It is indicated that, “Steven Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) are acute, severe, life threatening diseases with a mortality rate reaching 30 %” (Wolf, 2010, p. 154). The disorder is becoming prevalent in several settings due to medication complications. This is apparent in the increasing proportion of individuals who are reporting cases of skin and mucous membrane damage due to severe reactions to medication. Indeed, SJS is a serious disorder that individuals should not neglect based on its detrimental effects. They should identify symptoms and seek assistance promptly to guarantee individuals safety. The disorder’s main symptoms include flue like complications, painful red, blisters and purplish rash. The symptoms cause the top layer of skin to die or shed off. This paper discusses the effects of Stevens Johnson’s syndrome that causes immense damage on an individual’s skin layer. Characteristics SJS is a deadly skin disorder that damages individual’s skin layer and compromises the functional level of mucous membrane. The disorder results from the reactions that individuals experience when they take a certain type of medicine or injection (Fleisher & Ludwig, 2010). The body reacts to the medication due to the evident incompatibility or allergy. It compromises the functionality of individual’s skin layer causing irritation. “The rash evolves suddenly, characterised by wild spread blisters on an erythmatous or purpuric macular background” (Fleisher & Ludwig, 2010, p 330). It leads to psychological and mental complications since it presents severe effects that diminish an individual’s self-esteem. Individuals persistently receive advice concerning properly prescribed medicine to avert severe body damage due to reactions. They should understand the need for the acquisition of proper diagnosis to ensure that they receive quality medications that do not pose complications (Fleisher & Ludwig, 2010). Effects SJS presents severe effects that compromise individuals self esteem and performance levels. The effects are categorized as physical and non-physical disorders. Physical effects include damage of skin membrane, mouth wounds that cause pain, membrane rashes, genital complications and conjunctivitis that occurs in the victim’s eyes. These physical effects are detrimental to individuals since they limit their functional power. In particular, damage of skin membrane is an effect that has far-reaching complications to individuals. It hampers body operations and biological activities attributable to the skin layer. Fleisher & Ludwig (2010) indicates that skin is a significant body pigment that facilitates temperature regulation of individuals through systematic biological processes. The processes, for example, sweating that cools the body temperature can only be effective if the skin pigment is intact. This explains the reason why skins damage that SIS poses is detrimental to individual’s wellbeing. The development of mouth wounds is another effect that compromises individual’s communication capacity (Wolf, 2010). The wounds caused by the reactions cause immense pain to individuals. The pain hinders an individual’s ability to effectively communicate and consume food. Wounds are severe complication that individuals should not face or suffer from because they may lead to contraction of diseases that may lead to further deterioration of an individual’s health standards (Wolf, 2010). Medical officers assert that health is an asset that needs systematic nurturing through effective medication when complications occur. Consequently, the disorder compromises ones ability to eat and drink due to the pain. This happens since the reaction that results from the medication also erodes individual’s throat lining, leading to pain when consuming food. The disease also causes rashes around individuals face, arms, and legs (Wolf, 2010). This leads to low self-esteem that is a crucial factor to social growth. It is imperative to note that the disease also affect conjunctivitis of the eye especially for children, and compromises the functionality of genitals in individuals. The disorder presents non-physical effects that influence human functional power. The effects that include psychological instability, mental torture, damage of the immune system and ulcers are key complications that victims are likely to face. The disorder especially the psychological instability has been a major issue that disturbs the victims (Fleisher & Ludwig, 2010). This is a fundamental issue because the skin is the pigment that defines beauty. Its absence causes discriminatory perceptions and inferior feelings that are not viable for social or economic growth. The disease also damages the immune system of victims, affecting the flow of blood and food. This leads to insufficient transfer of nutrients in the body parts that are crucial for sustainability. This is detrimental since individuals cannot function optimally if the requisite nutrients that provide energy are not supplied adequately (Wolf, 2010). Indeed, the disease presents severe effects that demands effective mitigation measures once symptoms are eminent. This avoids spread and effects that are detrimental in nature. Conclusion Stevenson’s Jonson syndrome is a disorder that presents severe complications and effects to individuals. It requires proper mitigation measures to avert occurrence and spread. This calls for proper engagement between patients and health officials to ensure that individuals are given pertinent medication that is not reactive after proper diagnosis. Individuals have a tendency of taking medicine without proper prescription and understanding of reactive nature. This negligence exposes them to severe skin disorders that require huge resources for treatment. Therefore, individuals should adhere to medical guidelines to ensure that medicine is taken as prescribed. This avoids the detrimental effects that individuals experience based on poor medication. References Fleisher, G. R., & Ludwig, S. (2010). Textbook of paediatric emergency medicine. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Health Wolf, R. (2010). Emergency dermatology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Read More