Girl, 2, given Nurofen by locum GP could lose her sight after suffering horrific allergic reaction that left her with sores and blisters all over her face and neck

Macey Marsh was prescribed a child's dose of the drug last month

But within hours, her skin was covered in blisters and eyes full of mucus

Doctors diagnosed rare allergic reaction with medication or virus to blame

Called Stevens Johnson Syndrome, it kills around 40% of those who get it

Macey spent nine days fighting for her life but eventually pulled through

Her family still waiting to learn if she will suffer permanent sight damage

A toddler survived thanks only to a ‘miracle’ after suffering a severe allergic reaction to Nurofen, her parents said yesterday.

Macey Marsh’s face broke out in scores of agonising sores and blisters after being given a child’s dose of the painkiller on the recommendation of her GP.

She spent ten days in intensive care with her eyes glued together by mucus as doctors warned her terrified parents, Matt and Sarah, that even if she did live, she might lose her sight.

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Macey Marsh, pictured left before the incident, suffered a horrific allergic reaction to a dose of Nurofen for Children. Doctors warned her parents she was unlikely to survive after her entire body began to blister

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To her parents' relief, Macey pulled through after nine days, but may still have permanent damage to her sight 

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Macey's father said: 'There were times when we were unsure if our little girl would pull through at all, let alone with her eyesight intact'

But to their overwhelming relief, she recovered and reopened her eyes after nine days.

Now they must wait to discover if she has been left with permanent damage to her sight.

The youngster was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a sometimes fatal condition caused by a violent allergic reaction to a virus or a medication.

 

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Mr Marsh, 37, a photographer of Chertsey, Surrey, said: ‘The thought of  losing her was just unbearable. We hit rock bottom.

‘Doctors explained her eyes may have started attaching to the inside of her eyelids and her corneas could be so severely damaged she may never see again. It was terrifying.

‘It’s an awful condition, you’re lucky to survive it.

‘She was still blind and her skin was blistering all over her body.’

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Her parents Sarah and Matt (pictured before the incident) had taken her to the local GP surgery when she appeared unwell. There, a locum GP prescribed the Nurofen for Children

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After nine days of fighting for her life, Macey opened her eyes. A spokesperson for Nurofen said the reaction the toddler had suffered was extremely rare

SJS survivor Julie talks about Stevens Johnson Syndrome

The family’s nightmare began six weeks ago, when the couple took their daughter to their GP because she had a rash and puffy eyes.

A locum told them she was ‘run down’ and advised taking Nurofen alternated with Calpol.

When her parents checked on her the morning after giving the medicine, her eyes were stuck shut with mucus.

WHAT IS STEVENS JOHNSON SYNDROME?

Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a severe adverse reaction to a medication. It was named after two U.S paediatricians who described it in 1922.

The condition is incurable and 40 per cent of people who contract the condition do not survive.

It affects around two people per million and is more common among women.

Symptoms include skin rashes, blisters in the mouth, ears and nose and swelling of the eyelids.

If left untreated the condition can result in death. Possible complications include permanent blindness and lung damage.

Once diagnosed doctors will immediately stop the patient taking the offending drug.

Treatment includes IV fluids and high calorie formulas  to promote healing.

Antibiotics are given when necessary to prevent secondary infections such as sepsis.

Pain medications such as morphine can make the patient more comfortable.

They took her to A&E where scarlet fever was diagnosed and she was sent away with penicillin. The next morning, her face was covered in blisters that were starting to burst and she was in agony.

Her mother, a BA stewardess, called an ambulance and Macey was treated by infectious diseases experts at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, South London who diagnosed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome.

She was given morphine and moved to intensive care. Her parents said they were told it would be a miracle if she survived. Thankfully, she recovered after nine days. ‘Words cannot describe what that was like,’ Mrs Marsh told the Daily Mirror.

Mr Marsh said: ‘We’ve still got a very long road ahead of us and it could take another year for her face to heal properly. Luckily, she’s starting to act like her own bubbly self again.’

The condition, which affects one in 500,000 children and young adults, was named after two US paediatricians. SJS causes the cells in the top layer of the skin to die before shedding.

A spokesman for Nurofen said: ‘We are very sorry to hear about Macey Marsh’s condition and we wish her a swift and full recovery.

‘Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is an extremely rare but known reaction to a multitude of triggers such as infections, medications or illness.

‘The exact cause for the reaction is currently unknown and the reaction is unpredictable.’

She said that although ibuprofen, the active ingredient in Nurofen for Children, has been associated with rare cases of the syndrome, there is no confirmed causal link.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2721797/Nurofen-nearly-killed-daughter-Girl-2-lucky-alive-suffering-horrific-allergic-reaction-childrens-dose-drug.html#ixzz3A8lkIJ9x 
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Girl, 7, rushed to hospital with stomach pains stuns doctors when they discover a tumour the size of a GRAPEFRUIT on her ovary

Ellie-Louise Lewis was rushed to hospital with suspected stomach infection

Doctors shocked to find a grapefruit-sized tumour on one of her ovaries

Cancer removed in three-hour op. She will now have chemotherapy

 

A seven-year-old girl rushed to hospital with a suspected stomach infection stunned doctors when they discovered she had tumour the size of a grapefruit on her ovary. 

Ellie-Louise Lewis was rushed to hospital on January 18 by her mother Rachel, 25, after complaining of crippling stomach pains.

Doctors suspected gastroenteritis but quickly realised her swollen stomach was due to juvenile granulosa - a rare form of cancer.

Rachael Lewis rushed her daughter Ellie-Louise (right) to hospital after her stomach swelled and her skin turned grey. She was diagnosed with a rare ovary tumour (see X-ray left)

Ellie-Louise Lewis in hospital after having a three-hour operation to remove an ovary and the tumour

Four days later she underwent a three-hour operation to have the 4.7in (12cm) malignant tumour removed from her ovary.

Mrs Lewis, from Carlton, Nottinghamshire, first took her daughter to the GP who sent them straight to Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre.

The mother-of-two said: 'She was massive, if she wasn't seven, I would have thought she was pregnant.

'She had that grey colour that people have when they look like they're going to die.

'Everyone was shocked. You just don't expect this to happen to your daughter. I thought I was going to lose her - she was really ill.

 

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'We were waiting up in intensive care - I was just panicking. It was the longest three hours of my life.

'She usually does not stop, but she's very quiet at the moment. She's usually the loudest. She used to love swimming but she can't now. She's upset about that.

'She loves singing and dancing and loves One Direction - it does my head in.

'Hopefully nothing will come back, but it's still scary. The main thing is being there for her.'

Ellie-Louise now faces three months of chemotherapy, after having the life-threatening tumour removed

Ellie-Louise's grandfather said the weight of the tumour was affecting her breathing

Most patients with the tumours are adults, but five per cent are in the early stages of puberty or pre-pubescent.

The cancer originates in the granulosa cell in the sex cord - a tube that links to testes in males and ovarian follicles in women. 

Ellie-Louise had an ovary removed along with the tumour and will have four sessions of chemotherapy over three months with MRI scans every three months to check the cancer does not return.

Her grandfather Alex Lewis, 48, added: 'When we first saw her in hospital we didn't think she was going to make it. 

'The weight of it was stopping her breathing. If I could have taken it off her, I would. I'd have preferred it to be me.

'She looked like she had two footballs in her belly. It was terrifying but we are just so grateful she was diagnosed early.

'She still has to go through chemotherapy and we are hoping to send her to America for specialist treatment but we are trying to stay positive.'

Professor Richard Grundy, who is Ellie-Louise's consultant, said: 'The tumour was life-threatening.
We had to seek international guidance on how best to treat her. 

'We had plans to operate but she became increasingly unwell over the weekend. 

'It was a large tumour in a small girl. It's a relatively difficult operation and she came through it very well.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2285829/Girl-7-rushed-hospital-stomach-pains-stuns-doctors-discover-tumour-size-GRAPEFRUIT-ovary.html#ixzz2MDM4ZBTW 
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Girl, 14, 'died from heart attack after just two cans of Monster Energy drink' as FDnches probe into five deaths from popular beverage

Monster Beverage has been sued by the family of a 14-year-old girl who died after she had just two cans of the energy drink.

The Food and Drug Administration announced today it was investigating reports of five deaths associated with the drink and one non-fatal heart attack, prompting the company's shares to fall 14 per cent.

Anais Fournier, died on December 23, 2011 from a heart attack brought on by 'caffeine toxicity' after drinking two 24-ounce Monster cans within 24 hours. 

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Toxic: The parents of Anais Fournier, who died from caffeine toxicity after two cans of Monster energy drink, have filed a lawsuit

The FDA reported people had adverse reactions after they consumed Monster Energy Drink, which comes in 24-ounce cans and contain 240 milligrams of caffeine - or seven times the amount of the caffeine in a 12-ounce cola.

The wrongful death suit, filed in California Superior Court in Riverside, said that after drinking two 24-ounce cans of Monster Energy on consecutive days, Anais went into cardiac arrest.

An autopsy revealed the teenager, from Hagerstown, Maryland, died of cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity that impeded her heart's ability to pump blood.

 

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The medical examiner also found that she had an inherited disorder that can weaken blood vessels.

Miss Fournier's parents Wendy Crossland and Richard Fournier claim Monster failed to warn about the risks of drinking its products.

Ms Crossland told the Record Herald: 'I was shocked to learn the FDA can regulate caffeine in a can of soda, but not these huge energy drinks. 

'With their bright colors and names like Monster, Rockstar, and Full Throttle, these drinks are targeting teenagers with no oversight or accountability. These drinks are death traps for young, developing girls and boys, like my daughter, Anais.'

Monster is the leading U.S. energy drink by volume with nearly 39 per cent of the market, but Austria's Red Bull has the highest share by revenue due to its premium price.

The company touts Monster Energy Drink on its website as a 'killer energy brew' and 'the meanest energy supplement on the planet'.

The cans bear labels stating that the drinks are not recommended for children and people who are sensitive to caffeine.

Health concerns: The FDA said it was investigating reports of five deaths and a non-fatal heart attack linked to highly caffeinated Monster Energy Drinks

Although the FDA is investigating the allegations, which date back to 2004, the agency said the reports don't necessarily prove that the drinks caused the deaths or injuries.

'As with any reports of a death or injury the agency receives, we take them very seriously and investigate diligently,' Shelly Burgess said in a statement.

Monster Beverage Corp said it does not believe its drinks are 'in any way responsible' for Miss Fournier's death.

'Monster is unaware of any fatality anywhere that has been caused by its drinks,' the company said in a statement. It said it intends to vigorously defend itself in the suit.

Monster's shares plunged $7.59, or 14.2 percent, to close at $45.73 in trading on Monday.

Tragic: Miss Fournier died following a cardiac arrest on December 23, 2011

Energy drinks are a tiny part of the carbonated soft drink market, representing about 3 per cent of sales volume, according to a recent report by industry tracker Beverage Digest. Last year, sales volume for energy drinks rose by nearly 17 per cent.

The increased sales have brought heightened scrutiny from state and federal authorities.

In August, New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued subpoenas to energy drink makers, including Monster, as part of the state's investigation of the industry.

In September, Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., asked the FDA to take another look at the effect that caffeine and other ingredients in energy drinks have on children and adolescents.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221554/Monster-drink-company-sued-14-year-old-Anais-Fourniers-family-died-following-energy-drink.html#ixzz2A4v3318R 
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Girl, 10, has life-saving vein transplant using a blood vessel grown from her own stem cells

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The pioneering technique successfully restored the girl's blood flow

A 10-year-old girl has been given a vein transplant using a blood vessel grown from her own stem cells.

It is the first time such an operation has been undertaken, marking a milestone in tissue engineering.

Similar techniques may in future offer hope for at-risk patients undergoing bypass surgery.

The girl had a blocked hepatic portal vein, which drains blood from the gut and spleen to the liver.

Without treatment, the condition can lead to serious complications including internal bleeding, spleen enlargement and even death.

Traditionally bypass surgery has been used to restore portal blood flow, using sections of vein taken from other parts of the body. This can cause other problems and is not always successful.

The new technique involved growing a new section of portal vein from the girl's own bone marrow stem cells.

First, a nine centimetre segment of groin vein was taken from a deceased donor and stripped of cellular tissue, leaving a tubular protein "scaffold".

Maturing stem cells were "seeded" into the scaffold, which two weeks later was implanted into the girl's body.

Normal blood flow was restored, but after a year the graft had to be lengthened with another piece of vein made from stem cells.

The patient had a blocked hepatic vein, which drains blood from the gut and spleen to the liver

The girl has remained well since and even managed to take part in gymnastics, the Swedish team reported in the latest online edition of The Lancet medical journal.

The researchers, led by Professor Suchitra Sumitran-Holdgersson, from the University of Gothenburg, wrote: 'The new stem cells-derived graft resulted not only in good blood flow rates and normal laboratory test values but also in strikingly improved quality of life for the patient.'

Because the graft was built from the girl's own cells, it was accepted by her immune system.

Two British experts commenting in The Lancet said the technique looked promising but was yet to be properly tested in clinical trials.

Professor Martin Birchall and Professor George Hamilton, both from University College London, wrote: 'The young girl in this report was spared the trauma of having veins harvested from the deep neck or leg, with the associated risk of lower limb disorders, and avoided the need for a liver or multivisceral transplantation.'

However they pointed out that the high cost of such procedures might be an obstacle to making them more widely available.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2159272/Girl-10-vein-transplant-using-blood-vessel-grown-stem-cells.html#ixzz1xt1Mo8g6