A pregnant mum nearly lost her unborn baby and her life when she suffered an extreme allergic reaction to period pain medication.
Soraia Bonuar Gomes, 30, was left with blisters all over her body after taking naproxen and cyclizine after being pregnant for eight weeks. She was rushed to intensive care with a potentially life-threatening skin condition.
She was warned that the reaction could result in her losing her unborn baby as doctors administered high doses of pain relief while attempting to save her life. After a long and difficult month in hospital, Soraia was eventually discharged.
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Against all odds, she welcomed her daughter Reyven-Vallenty seven months later. Cleaner Soraia, from Manchester, said: "As soon as I was in hospital, I didn't know if my baby would survive. They said I would lose my baby, but I didn't.
"I lost my vision, I couldn't walk, I was just stuck in the bed for two months being fed through a drip. It was so scary. All of my skin was burning all over my body.
"When I started reacting to the medicine, all of these bubbles appeared on my skin, like they were filled with water. It was very painful.
"As soon as I was in hospital, I didn't know if my baby would survive. They said I would lose my baby, but I didn't.
"The doctors had to burst the bubbles so the fluid would come out. They had to put me to sleep, and they gave me lots of pain relief so I couldn't feel what they were doing.
"Every time that I woke up, the first thing that I would ask is how is my baby. The doctors said I shouldn't think about the baby as I could lose it and just worry about myself but I always worried about my baby. It was so scary."
Soraia suffered from extreme period pains following the birth of her first child, Denzel, eight, and was given a prescription for naproxen and cyclizine by her GP in June 2019. Naproxen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug commonly used to treat pain while cyclizine is intended to help with nausea.
Doctors can provide both drugs to a pregnant woman if they believe the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. A month after receiving the medication, Soraia fell pregnant.
Soraia's skin began showing small red marks and she sought help at hospital in September 2019.
Initially, doctors believed it was chicken pox, and Soraia was discharged from hospital after four days. Later that night, her legs became so weak she couldn't walk and she called an ambulance which rushed her to St Mary's Hospital in Manchester.
She had developed blisters all over her body and her face began to swell up while her skin started to peel, leaving her in intense agony. She was soon transferred to Salford Royal Hospital where doctors treated her for a severe allergic reaction to her medication.
Doctors were unsure of what medication caused the reaction but she was ordered to stop both immediately. She spent a further two weeks in the ICU of Salford Royal Hospital before being moved to another ward for two more weeks.
Soraia added: "Hearing that my baby was going to survive, I felt like my world was going to be found. I was very scared for the rest of my pregnancy that I could lose my baby still."
She continued: "I'm so happy now."
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