Woman ends up in a coma for 17 days after taking ibuprofen for her period cramps

Period cramps are some of the most painful things women have to deal with every month. While some struggle until the very last moment to take some painkillers, others take ibuprofen as soon as the pain arrives. Such was the case for Jaqueline Gmack, a 31-year-old Brazilian woman, whose life has since turned into a nightmare. Here is what you should know.

Jaqueline Gmack took ibuprofen tablets

As her period cramps got more painful, Jaqueline Gmack decided to take an ibuprofen tablet. Two days later, she started having some mild itch in her eye. The next day, she woke up with blisters all over the inside of her mouth. The 31-year-old then decided to go to the hospital, where her condition worsened even more. Rapidly, her whole face was covered with blisters, and she couldn't see anymore. Jaqueline then fell into a coma for the next 17 days.

In The Sun, Jaqueline explained how she felt when she woke up from her coma:

It was like I'd been burned from the inside out. I didn't know what had happened to me. I noticed my entire body was bandaged, my vision was completely blurred, and I had a tube down my throat, but I wasn't in any pain.

Only then did the penny start to drop and I realised that I was very weak, and that something very serious had happened to me.

She was left 'burning from the inside out'

The young woman soon discovered the tablets had caused her to come down with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, which is an incredibly rare condition. Her body reacted to the ibuprofen, but people who suffer from this syndrome can experience the same symptoms from other drugs such as epilepsy pills, antibiotics and painkillers. Jaqueline's body attacked her own skin from the inside out, causing incredibly painful blisters and peeling skin. If not treated, the syndrome can be lethal.

Jaqueline's condition left her with permanent scarring and severely damaged eyes. She needs to see an ophthalmologist every two weeks for the rest of her life, and she had eye surgery in 2011. Since then, she has had over 24 medical procedures, including cornea transplant and stem cell transplants, among others. However harrowing this experience has been, Jaqueline continues to be a fighter:

The most difficult obstacle to overcome is knowing I can never have the vision that I once had. I wish I could find a cure to see again. But I feel like a warrior.

Read more:

⋙ She thought she was just having period pains but it turned out to be something much worse

⋙ Woman goes to hospital for painful periods, doctors discover a foetus growing in her liver

⋙ It's been proven: getting your period is as painful as a heart attack

Source used:

The Sun: FIGHT FOR LIFE Woman left ‘burning from the inside out’ in 17-day coma after taking ibuprofen for period pains