Mum sheds her skin like a snake due to rare drug allergy

Close to death ... Mary was warned to say goodbye to her family after horrific side effects

A BRAVE mum has told how drugs prescribed to help combat her rare medical condition made her shed her whole skin - like a human SNAKE.

Mary Holder, 46, lost 98 PER CENT of her skin and almost died when her body burst into blisters and burns after she took drugs prescribed to treat lupus.
The medication, called Quinoric, was recommended to the mother-of-two even though medics knew it could cause painful skin condition Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS).
But even doctors were stunned by Mary’s violent reaction, which even made her eyeballs peel, and all of her hair fall out.
She was rushed to hospital with third degree burns, which were so severe medics could only describe her as a “walking open wound”.
And at its worst, Mary was placed in isolation and warned by doctors to say her final goodbyes to her family.
When she miraculously pulled through, her body had been so badly damaged she had to learn to walk again.

Blisters ... Mary lost 98 per cent of her skin as side effect

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Determined to stop anyone else suffering such agony, Mary wants warnings added to all Quinoric packaging.
Now drugs chiefs have asked the pharmaceutical firm which makes Quinoric to add warnings to their packaging about the dangers of the excruciating snake skin illness, SJS.
Mary described how even in her darkest moments she refused to give in, even though all the liquid in her body dried up - leaving her no tears to cry.
She said: “It is the worst pain of my life, your body wants to die.
“But when you are told to get your family around you because this could be it, you find strength from somewhere.
“It is hard to explain but I wasn’t going to die and I wasn’t going to let it beat me.
“I nearly went blind, my hair fell out by the handful and was covered in three degree burns, I thought I would never feel well again. I felt like I had been scorched and set fire to.”
Mary, of Chichester, Sussex, was prescribed Quinoric by medics to help treat her lupus in January 2011, but after taking just four tablets her lips became swollen and she suffered shortness of breath.

So painful ... Mary was left in agony after allergic reaction

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Mary scanned the medical advice leaflet and stopped taking the medication when a painful rash began to develop on her body.
She made constant visits to her GP, who prescribed steroids, and applied dressings to the blisters and sent her home.
But by the time a doctor finally diagnosed her with Stevens-Johnson syndrome Mary was in constant agony and could barely walk.
Her husband of 27 years, forest manager Michael, 48, rushed her to St Richards hospital, Chichester, where she was placed in isolation room to help combat the infection.
By February 1, 2011, she had shed all but two per cent of her skin and she was advised to say her final goodbyes to her children Leanne, 18, and Christopher, 23.
Incredibly, after a week in intensive care Mary pulled through, but is still battling to recover from the lasting effects of the illness.

Road to recovery ... Mary is slowly getting better after ordeal

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Following the illness, Mary launched a 15-month battle for warnings about the dangers of SJS to be included on the drug’s packing and in the accompanying user information.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MRHA) has now asked Quinoric manufacturer, Bristol Laboratories, to create a new leaflet highlighting the risk of side effects with their drug.
Mary added: “I look at my body and it does get me down, the scarring on my legs is horrific. I am lucky to be alive but my body will never been the same again.
Bristol Laboratories said it had included all the information on the medication leaflet as required by law.
The company added it would not comment on an individual’s case.