A woman calls herself a ‘real-life vampire’ after a rare reaction to medication left her unable to be in the sunlight for more than seconds.
Emily Richardson has a rare condition called Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), which was triggered by various medications, including a common antibiotic, and “destroyed” her immune system.
The result? She has become incredibly sensitive to the sun, and says being in direct exposure for even one minute would likely kill her, while just 30 seconds would land her in hospital.
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The 36-year-old’s life has changed dramatically since the reaction became more severe and specific to sun exposure following a bout of Covid five years ago.
Since, she has been forced to largely remain indoors, and leaving the home at nighttime involves a huge amount of planning.
“SJS attacks the mucosal membranes, specifically the areas that have been affected before, and it also spread,” Emily, who is from Nashville, Tennessee, told Need To Know.
“It causes the top layer of skin to die and fall off.
“The longer the exposure, the worse the reaction.
“30 seconds of sun exposure will put me in the hospital – a minute would probably kill me.
“UV protection is the only way I can survive.”
Stevens-Johnson Syndrome is a rare, severe reaction, usually to medication or infection, causing flu-like symptoms followed by a painful, blistering rash that peels the top layer of skin and damages mucous membranes.
Emily originally reacted to amoxicillin, a common penicillin antibiotic, prescribed to treat an ear infection.
She reacted again to antibiotics for suspected bronchitis, triggering SJS again.
But it wasn’t until 2021 that things took a drastic turn for the worse, with Covid triggering the same response – but much worse, this time.
The lasting effects have made Emily super sensitive to UV rays.
She said: “Every [bout of] Stevens-Johnson Syndrome reaction broke my immune system down more to allow more reactions to occur.
“The doctors think Covid destroyed whatever was left of my immune system.
“I mostly try to stay home because leaving the house is just too difficult.
“It’s not just the sun – I’ll react to the UV rays from lightbulbs too.
“Even at night, I have to stay covered in public.”
To get by, Emily has to be carefully covered up at all times, often opting to wear black clothing to keep her skin concealed.
In a recent video, the content creator shared information about the difference between wearing white or black fabric, and what it means for UV protection.
She said: “The reason that black fabric absorbs more heat in the sunlight is because white fabric allows UV rays to go through the fabric and reach your skin.
“Whereas the black?
“Black fabric is actually absorbing the UV rays and preventing them from reaching your skin.
“A lot of people ask me why I wear black clothing, because it’s common knowledge that black fabric gets hotter in the sun, but with my extreme sun allergy, I learned very quickly that while black fabric does retain more heat, it actually keeps you safer in the sun.”
