Losing your face over a med

A young woman in Sweden is recovering after suffering from one of the ultimate bad drug reactions: the skin on her face fell off.

This was a rare side effect–but from one of the most common drugs.

Eva Uhlin was just 15 years old when she popped some acetaminophen to help fight a fever. Like so many people, she had taken this med many times before with no problems.

Her luck was about to change.

Even the most common meds found behind any bathroom mirror can turn something as simple as a fever into a waking nightmare. The next day, Eva woke up covered in blisters and her skin began sliding right off her body even as doctors examined her.

She was diagnosed with epidermal necrolysis, a potentially deadly condition where the top layer of the skin separates from the layer beneath.

For several years, she watched her skin fall off–even her fingernails. She lost much of her face, and at one point her lips grew together. She also lost parts of her stomach, chest, arms and back.

Four years later–after years of treatment–she has her face back. Now 19, she still has some lingering problems: she’s sensitive to sunlight and needs to take eye drops twice a day, according to Britain’s Telegraph newspaper.

In many ways, she’s lucky: The condition kills 40 percent of the people who get it.

The lesson here is to think twice before you take any med–no matter how common or “safe” it’s supposed to be. Even pills you’ve taken many times before have the potential to harm you the next time you pop them.

Her case may be a rare one–but many other side effects are not. If you play the odds with your pills long enough, eventually your luck will run out.