Latest news with #antibiotic
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Woman who almost DIED shares stark warning after being left permanently disabled following UTI
A woman has revealed that she was left fighting for her life and is now permanently disabled after developing a UTI. Talia Smith, 45, from Norwood, Massachusetts, described herself as 'a very healthy person' up until April 2021, when a urinary tract infection completely derailed her life. Talia was prescribed what she believed was a common and perfectly safe antibiotic often used to treat the infection. But she later learned that the FDA had released a severe warning about the medicine in 2016 due to a rare adverse reaction that could cause debilitation symptoms - something she claimed her doctor failed to tell her about. She said the medicine left her in excruciating pain for months, describing it as feeling like 'electrical shocks' were running through her body and 'bugs were crawling' all over her. It also affected her vision and hearing, resulted in her having severe stomach issues, and ultimately left her unable to walk. Within five months, her condition had become so bad she could hardly eat, and she lost over 50 percent of her body weight, weighing a mere 60 pounds before she was put on hospice care. It got so bad that she believed she was going to die after doctors warned that her organs would start failing soon. Talia was prescribed what she believed was a perfectly safe antibiotic often used to treat the infection, but she later learned that the FDA had released a severe warning about the medicine While she has thankfully improved since then, she still requires 24/7 care and is bed-bound - and she doesn't think she'll ever get her old life back. She shared her harrowing story exclusively with the Daily Mail. Talia, who worked in IT for a large healthcare corporation, explained, 'I was a very healthy person [before my UTI]. 'I ate well, worked out often. I was a stepmom of two and the primary caretaker of my husband, who is a disabled Veteran of the Marine Corps. He became paralyzed after an injury in 2011.' In April 2021, she went to the doctor after she developed common UTI symptoms. Tests confirmed she had a UTI and her doctor prescribed her an antibiotic called Ciprofloxacin. 'Before I took the antibiotic, I asked if there was anything I needed to know or be aware of since I didn't take medications and antibiotics often,' Talia explained. 'The response was that there was nothing I needed to be aware of, it was "safe and effective" and that the medication was frequently prescribed at the practice to treat UTIs. 'I trusted my doctor of 10 years so I started my course of treatment.' Talia explained that after her third dose she began to develop 'pain in her entire body, especially her legs.' 'It felt like I had the flu, when you're whole body hurts, except I wasn't actually sick,' she added. 'As the day went on, it continued to worsen and I started having tingling and numbness in my extremities. I had zapping pains in my head and face. It was like electrical shocks.' It got so bad that she couldn't walk - 'It was like a bomb went off in my body' - so she decided to go to the emergency room. After describing her symptoms, the first thing the ER doctor asked her was, 'Are you taking Ciprofloxacin?' The ER doctor then explained that the drug she was on had something known as a black box warning from the FDA - the strongest warning the FDA could give, usually for a 'serious or potentially fatal' side effect. Back in 2016, according to the FDA website, the organization 'advised that the serious side effects associated with fluoroquinolone antibacterial drugs [like Ciprofloxacin] generally outweigh the benefits for patients.' 'An FDA safety review has shown that fluoroquinolones when used systemically are associated with disabling and potentially permanent serious side effects that can occur together,' its website reads. 'These side effects can involve the tendons, muscles, joints, nerves, and central nervous system.' The reaction to the medicine has become known as fluoroquinolone toxicity - according to GoodRx, symptoms include 'muscle or joint pain and tendonitis/tendon rupture, nerve damage and twitching, anxiety, depression, hallucinations and memory problems, eye pain, vision loss, ringing in your ears, hearing loss, and loss of smell, and chest pain or skipping heartbeats, known as palpitations.' In response to the fluoroquinolone toxicity, Talia then developed something called mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), which is 'an inappropriate activation of the immune system where the body rejects everything, as a form of protection.' And in the months that followed, she said her condition only 'worsened.' 'I was having electrical shocks 24/7, it felt like I had bugs crawling all over my body, horrendous bone and joint pain, debilitating neuropathy, vision and hearing changes, stomach problems, my body was stiffening up, and I was unable to bend in order to sit down,' she shared. 'It felt like my body was in shut down mode.' The biggest problem she faced was difficulty swallowing, which made it extremely hard for her to eat. At one point, she was told by doctors that she would go into organ failure soon because of lack of food. 'Within five months, I lost over 50 percent of my body weight and went on Hospice, weighing 60 pounds in September 2021,' she recalled. Flash forward to now, four years after the ordeal first started, and Talia is still living with the effects of the condition Before and after: 'I still require 24/7 care for my survival, as I am bed-bound and mainly get up only to go to doctor's appointments in a wheelchair,' she said She started to believe she was going to die, and even had a priest come to her house and read her her last rites. 'I truly believed that was the end for me and made peace with it after five months of horrendous suffering,' she said, as she broke down in tears. 'This was so traumatic for me, listening to my family and friends crying and thinking that would be the last time I ever saw them.' But Talia's husband wasn't ready to give up, and he 'made it his mission' to get her medication for her MCAS. The hospitals had previously denied her request but he kept pushing, and eventually, they gave her mast cell stabilizers, which changed everything for her. It gave her the ability to eat again, and by May 2022, she was able to leave Hospice and switch to palliative care. Flash forward to now, four years after the ordeal first started, and Talia is still living with the effects of the condition. 'I am still on palliative care to this day and require 24/7 care for my survival, as I am bed-bound and mainly get up only to go to doctor's appointments in a wheelchair,' she said. 'I can't do anything by myself. I don't have the strength.' She said she's still in 'constant pain' and she doesn't think she will ever get back to the way she was before. 'This has destroyed [me]. I lost my career, my independence, my quality of life,' she confessed. 'I can only eat five foods because of MCAS, I can't go out and live a "normal" life like everyone else. 'I miss working, I miss being able to eat whatever I want, I miss being able to workout, I miss driving, I miss my social life and the life I had with my husband. And there is nothing I can do to get my old life back.' Talia said she later confronted her doctor about prescribing her the dangerous medication, but claimed was brushed off - and looking back, she feels like the medical system failed her. 'When I confronted [my doctor] about the black box warning, the permanent and disabling side effects and how fluoroquinolones should be used as last resort, she told me she was going to continue to prescribe Cipro because she always had and no one else had had a reaction like me,' she shared. She has launched a petition for the FDA 'to issue informed consent for all fluoroquinolone antibiotic prescriptions,' which has over 3,000 signatures 'Not only did she have a duty to warn me about this dangerous class of antibiotics, but when I asked if there was anything I needed to know, I was told no. 'Additionally, the way she reacted afterwards, by telling me she was going to prescribe Cipro for a UTIs, despite the FDA warnings that I printed and brought to her office, was extremely unprofessional and shows her lack of caring about what happened. I felt very betrayed and abandoned by the medical system.' Talia is currently raising money on her GoFundMe page to help cover her medical costs. She is now on a mission to share her story in the hopes that it can stop others from making the same mistake. She has also launched a petition for the FDA 'to issue informed consent for all fluoroquinolone antibiotic prescriptions,' which has over 3,000 signatures. She concluded, 'If you are prescribed a fluoroquinolone antibiotic as first line, ask for an alternative, if there is one. Don't end up like me! 'Most people see the word "rare" and then disregard the warning, as they don't think that it would ever apply to them. I would never think something like this could ever happen to me, but here I am. 'Living life with fluoroquinolone toxicity is a dark and lonely place. None of us asked for this or deserve this or caused it in anyway.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Patients with penicillin allergy may benefit from further tests, study suggests
The majority of patients recorded as having a penicillin allergy may not be truly allergic to the antibiotic, a first-of-its-kind trial suggests. Those with the marker on their medical records could benefit from tests to confirm or rule out an allergy, according to researchers. Removing incorrect labels could help improve care for patients while tackling antibiotic resistance and saving money for the NHS, they said. For the Alabama trial, published in the Lancet Primary Care and led by the University of Leeds, researchers recruited 823 patients from 51 GP practices in England. Those taking part had no history of severe reactions to penicillin. Some patients were tested for a penicillin allergy, with either an oral dose of the antibiotic or a small injection under the skin. If there was no immediate reaction, patients were given a three-day course of penicillin to take at home, where they were monitored by the research team. Of the 365 people tested for an allergy, some 234 had an oral test, with 13 testing positive, while 131 had a skin test, three of which were positive. Elsewhere, 128 patients had an oral test after a skin test, with 14 testing positive for an allergy. Overall, the study found 30 patients tested positive for a penicillin allergy, while 335 – or 92% – tested negative. After three months, 276 patients had the allergy removed from their medical records. And after 12 months, allergies were removed from the records of 321 patients, or 88% of the group that was tested. Dr Jonathan Sandoe, lead author and associate clinical professor in microbiology at the University of Leeds School of Medicine and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'Antibiotics have been life-saving drugs since the late 1930s, but we are now in an era where microbes are evolving to resist the effects of current antibiotics. 'The global challenge of antibiotic resistance is causing people to die of common infections, so it is vital to find ways to improve how antibiotics are used. 'Assessing people with penicillin allergy labels is one way we can achieve this.' Patients who had the allergy check also had fewer antibiotics overall, the study suggests. As part of the study, researchers analysed the cost-effectiveness of allergy testing based on the NHS model. They said that although results may vary in different countries, the study observed 'tendency towards reducing consultations, days in hospital, and emergency admissions' which 'suggest that the penicillin allergy assessment pathway is cost-effective in the short run and increasingly likely to be so over longer follow-up periods'. Researchers now suggest that 'access to penicillin allergy assessment for patients should be widened'. Dr Sandoe added: 'This research shows that removing incorrect penicillin allergy labels has the potential to improve patient experiences, reduce health costs and tackle bacterial resistance. 'Now, we need to work together with policymakers and patients to help the NHS to address this issue.' Professor Sue Pavitt from the University of Leeds, who jointly led the study, said her mother Rosie Woollard had a penicillin allergy added to her medical records in the 1950s. She had been prescribed the antibiotic for mastitis – a common infection usually linked with breastfeeding – and developed a rash. Prof Pavitt said: 'My mum was vigilant and avoided taking penicillin from that day, but her allergy was never checked. 'It may have been a simple reaction to the other substances used in manufacturing the tablet or her rash was just a consequence of the infection. 'When my mum got older and had more underlying health problems, we noticed that when she had an infection, she often needed two or three courses of different antibiotics before the infection would clear. 'Each round of antibiotics took a toll on her wellbeing, appetite and ability to bounce back until the infection was under control.' Ms Woollard developed repeated urinary tract infections later in life and died at the age of 91. Her cause of death was recorded as an antimicrobial infection. Prof Pavitt said: 'Antibiotic allergy and resistant bugs are complex concepts to understand – she was our barometer to see if we were explaining things clearly. 'She was also instrumental in making the Alabama trial open to older people with multiple long-term conditions, a group that is often excluded from research but important to reach. 'This research is in part her legacy and shows the value of preserving antibiotics, so that we can keep fighting infections with these important medicines.' Christopher Butler, a professor of primary care in the Nuffield department of primary care health sciences at the University of Oxford, said: 'It's this kind of research question that has a huge impact on improving care for individuals, improving cost-effectiveness of what we do as clinicians, and helps us preserve the precious shared resource of of antibiotics to all of us and to future generations.'
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Millions of people with a common allergy may not actually be allergic at all, first-of-its-kind trial suggests
Millions of people mistakenly believe they are allergic to penicillin, experts warned today. Around three million Britons are listed on their medical records as having suffered a reaction to penicillin, making it unsafe for them to take it to treat infections, ranging from a dental abscess to a throat infection or meningitis. Yet, British researchers who tested almost 1,000 patients with the allergy, found almost 90 per cent could actually safely use the antibiotic. Instead, many were labelled as allergic after developing borderline allergy-like symptoms—such as vomiting or a rash—when given the drug as a child. Scientists hope the findings could both pave the way for millions more people to benefit from the medication, regarded as one of the most effective antibiotics available, and tackle the threat of antibiotic resistance. Patients who cannot currently take penicillin for infections are instead treated with a different class of medication—broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as doxycycline. As broad-spectrum antibiotics target a wider range of organisms, they increase the risk of antibiotic resistance, and are linked with higher rates of potentially deadly hospital-acquired infection, such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile. Dr Jonathan Sandoe, study lead author and expert in microbiology at the University of Leeds, said: 'Antibiotics have been life-saving drugs since the late 1930s, but we are now in an era where microbes are evolving to resist the effects of current antibiotics. 'The global challenge of antibiotic resistance is causing people to die of common infections, so it is vital to find ways to improve how antibiotics are used. 'Assessing people with penicillin allergy labels is one way we can achieve this.' He added: 'This research shows that removing incorrect penicillin allergy labels has the potential to improve patient experiences, reduce health costs and tackle bacterial resistance. 'Now, we need to work together with policymakers and patients to help the NHS to address this issue.' In the trial, researchers tracked more than 300 patients from 51 GP practices in England, all of whom had no history of severe reactions to penicillin. They were tested for a penicillin allergy, with either an oral dose of the antibiotic or a small injection under the skin. If there was no immediate reaction, they were given a three-day course of penicillin to take at home, where they were monitored by the research team. They found 30 patients tested positive for a penicillin allergy, while 335—92 per cent—tested negative. After three months, 276 patients had the allergy removed from their medical records. And after 12 months, allergies were removed from the records of 321 patients—88 per cent of the group that was tested. Writing in the journal Lancet Primary Care, the scientists said 'access to penicillin allergy assessment for patients should be widened'. As part of the study, researchers also analysed the cost-effectiveness of allergy testing based on the NHS model. They said that although results may vary in different countries, the study observed 'tendency towards reducing consultations, days in hospital, and emergency admissions' which 'suggest that the penicillin allergy assessment pathway is cost-effective in the short run and increasingly likely to be so over longer follow-up periods'. Christopher Butler, a professor of primary care at the University of Oxford, said: 'It's this kind of research question that has a huge impact on improving care for individuals, improving cost-effectiveness of what we do as clinicians, and helps us preserve the precious shared resource of of antibiotics to all of us and to future generations.' Penicillin allergy is often self-diagnosed by people who've had symptoms, such as diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, headache or bloating, while being treated with the medication. According to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, being labelled as allergic to penicillin is associated with a higher mortality rate of an extra six deaths per 1,000 patients in the year following treatment for infection. This is because the drug saves lives that other medications can't.
The Independent
06-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Churchill documents reveal D-Day landings boosted by import of ‘wonder drug' from America
Newly unearthed documents have revealed that the D-Day landings received a boost from the import of a "wonder drug" from America. Despite its discovery in London in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming, large-scale production of the antibiotic penicillin had struggled to take hold in Britain. Attempts to produce substantial quantities of medicine from the bacteria-killing mould had not been achieved by the start of the Second World War. Then prime minister Sir Winston Churchill became increasingly frustrated that Britain had not been able to produce enough penicillin in the preparations for the Normandy landings in 1944. Official papers released by the National Archive – containing handwritten notes by Sir Winston – highlight efforts to boost quantities of the antibiotic, with Britain eventually forced to import it from America. The documents were released ahead of the 81st anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. In one report on February 19, after the issue had been raised in the House of Commons, Sir Winston scrawled in red ink on a Ministry of Supply report noting the Americans were producing greater quantities: 'I am sorry we can't produce more.' On another paper, he complained: 'Your report on penicillin showing that we are only to get about one tenth of the expected output this year, is very disappointing.' Elsewhere in the same file he instructs: 'Let me have proposals for a more abundant supply from Great Britain.' With preparations for D-Day ramped up, efforts to deliver enough American-made penicillin for frontline military personnel soon became a matter of urgency. Decisions needed to be made on the quantities of antibiotic imported, how much to administer to individual patients, and how to get medical staff trained in time. Most British doctors did not know how to issue penicillin – until this point, doctors had nothing available to treat infections like pneumonia and many people died of blood poisoning after minor injuries because no drug existed that could cure them. Early in January 1944, Prof FR Fraser, the Ministry of Health's adviser on the organisation of wartime hospitals, wrote that 50,000-100,000 wounded could be expected from the Second Front. He proposed the Emergency Medical Services might need as many as five billion units of penicillin per month for this. Further documents show discussions on whether the antibiotic should be supplied as calcium or sodium salts, or in tablet form. Ultimately, it was agreed powdered calcium salts would be issued for superficial wounds and sodium salts for use in deep wounds. On May 24 1944, less than a fortnight before D-Day, Prof Fraser reported: 'Sufficient supplies of penicillin are now available for the treatment of battle casualties in EMS hospitals, but not for ordinary civilian patients.' Plans were made for casualties from the frontline in France to be brought back to coastal hospitals in Britain for treatment. A week before D-Day, on May 30 1944, hospitals were instructed to treat battlefield patients en route: 'In an endeavour to prevent the development of gas gangrene and sepsis in wounds the War Office have arranged for the treatment of selected cases by penicillin to be commenced as soon after injury as possible.' Injections of penicillin were to be given to them at intervals of not more than five hours and patients would be wearing a yellow label with the letters 'PEN'. The time and size of penicillin doses should be written on it, they were told. Dr Jessamy Carlson, modern records specialist at the National Archives, said: 'File MH 76/184 gives a glimpse into the extraordinary levels of preparation undertaken in advance of the D-Day landings. 'Only six weeks before, penicillin is just reaching our shores in quantities which will allow it to play a major role in improving the outcomes for service personnel wounded in action.' As Allied forces made inroads into Europe, restrictions on the use of penicillin for civilians began to relax, but only in special cases. In July 1944, Ronald Christie, professor of medicine, wrote to Prof Fraser to tell him: 'The War Office approves of American penicillin being used for medical conditions in service patients and for air raid casualties among civilians.' On the home front, demand for the new 'wonder' drug began to increase, according the National Archives. It was decided that penicillin for civilians should only be supplied to larger hospitals where the staff had been properly trained to administer it. Only in 1946 did it become fully available for the general public.
The Independent
06-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Penicillin gave D-Day landings an unlikely boost, Churchill papers show
Newly released documents reveal that the D-Day landings were aided by the import of penicillin from America, as Britain struggled to produce sufficient quantities of the antibiotic. Prime Minister Winston Churchill expressed frustration in handwritten notes over Britain's inability to produce enough penicillin for the Normandy landings in 1944, leading to increased reliance on American supplies. Preparations for D-Day included decisions on the quantities of penicillin to import, dosage for patients, and training medical staff, as most British doctors were unfamiliar with its use. By May 24, 1944, sufficient penicillin was available for treating battle casualties in Emergency Medical Services hospitals, but not for ordinary civilian patients. Hospitals were instructed to administer penicillin to battlefield patients en route, with injections given at intervals of no more than five hours, marking treated patients with a yellow 'PEN' label; penicillin became fully available to the general public in 1946.
