Warning as woman, 27, suffers horrifying reaction to one of UK’s most taken pain medications – skin ‘fell off in sheets’

A mother-of-three has told of her horrifying ordeal after she was put in a 21-day coma after suffering a rare reaction to ibuprofen that caused her skin to ‘fall off in sheets.’ 

Aleshia Rogers, 27, from Nebraska, took two of the over-the-counter tablets a day in August 2020 following the birth of her son Jaxon via c-section. 

The young mother had been taking ibuprofen, which she described as her ‘go-to med’, for years to help relieve her period cramps.

However, after three weeks of taking the painkiller, she started suffering flu-like symptoms including a fever and a burning sensation when she swallowed. 

She also noticed a rash on her chest and her eyes beginning to swell. 

‘They were bloodshot and burning so I went to the ER where they told me I had pink eye and sent me home,’ the child and education technician recalled.   

But the next day whole face was swollen, making it difficult to breathe. 

‘The next day both my eyes were swollen shut so I went back to the ER. They told me I had scarlet fever and to go home.’ 

She said she was also advised to carry on taking the painkiller to alleviate her pain and reduce the swelling. 

Within hours, her symptoms rapidly escalated and she developed burning blisters across her face, eyes and chest causing her skin to peel off.

She rushed to the hospital once again where she was eventually diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and later toxic epidermal necrolysis—which doctors suspected was triggered by the ibuprofen. 

As her condition rapidly deteriorated and she developed sepsis and multiple organ failure, doctors put her in a coma—which she wouldn’t wake up from for three weeks. 

At this point, the mother-of-three had lost around 95 per cent of her skin, causing her to into organ failure. 

Her family were told she had just a 10 per cent chance of surviving the ordeal.  

The rare skin condition causes the immune system to overreact to a trigger, in this case ibuprofen, and attack healthy skin, the eyelids and genitals. 

Five years on, Ms Rogers is still recovering from long-term complications associated with SJS. 

Recalling the moment she woke up from the coma she said: ‘The doctors told me my skin had died and detached.

‘They called it sloughing. It fell off in sheets. But I had absolutely no idea what had happened to me,’ she added. 

‘I even forgot that I had given birth. I lost a lot of memories. 

‘My family told me it really was touch and go as to whether I’d make it through. I’ve been told so many times I’m a miracle so I try and live my life like tomorrow isn’t promised and try not to live in fear.’ 

Now, the young mother is determined to raise better awareness for the life-threatening condition and remind people that all drugs come with a risk.

‘We believe it was all triggered by taking ibuprofen,’ she explained. 

‘There’s no prevention [for the condition] and once it starts, there’s nothing you can do to stop it. There’s also a chance I can get it again at any time.  

‘I don’t want people to be afraid of medicines, but I want people to be aware and mindful of what can happen.’ 

Ms Rogers is not believed to have suffered an adverse reaction to ibuprofen before with doctors unable to say for sure why the reaction occurred. 

SJS often begins with flu-like symptoms, including a high temperature, sore throat and joint pain, followed by a red or purple rash that usually starts on the upper body before spreading to the face, arms, legs and other areas of the body. 

Blister will then appear on the skin, which burst to leave painful sores.

The same happens inside the body, primarily affecting the mucous membranes—the soft layers of tissue which line the digestive system, inside of the nose and mouth and the genitals. 

Without treatment, the condition can be life-threatening with studies suggesting around one in 10 cases are fatal.  

Hospital treatment, which is usually carried out in an intensive care unit, usually involves fluids to prevent dehydration, creams and dressings to moisturise the skin, and strong painkillers to ease discomfort and control inflammation. 

Some patients will also be placed into a medically induced coma to minimise damage and further stress on the body. 

In cases where symptoms were triggered by a reaction to a medicine, patients will have to avoid the treatment for the rest of their life. 

In the last year, nine people have been rushed to hospital in Singapore after taking ‘energy boosting’ pills which triggered the agonising skin conditions. 

The seven men and two women had all taken modafinil or armodafinil—prescription only drugs designed to treat narcolepsy, a condition that impairs a person’s ability to sleep or stay awake.  

Only modafinil is licensed for clinical use in the UK, where all patients have to be monitored regularly due to the risk side effects. 

Despite this, the drug has gained popularity among recreational users—including students who use it to help them stay awake while cramming for exams. 

Six of the patients developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), a life-threatening skin reaction characterised by blistering and severe peeling of the skin.  

The other three suffered toxic epidermal necrolysis, a more severe form of SJS.