Heparin Injury - Not a Mystery Anymore
Heparin injury can happen to people who take medication to deal with blood clotting. This may sound ironic, but one of the widely used drugs that are categorized as anticoagulants can actually cause more harm than good. Heparin is now being blamed for numerous cases of infections, allergic reactions, and even death in patients.
Until recently, people in the U.S. did not really know about heparin or its adverse effects. However, the issue about heparin overdose was put into the limelight when the newborn twins of Kimberly Buffington and actor Dennis Quaid were injected with heparin doses that were 1,000 times more than required. And this overdose case actually occurred in one of the best hospitals in LA, the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. It was a good thing that the twins survived the fiasco.
Not all heparin injury victims have been as lucky as the Quaid twins, though. Many people have already lost their lives primarily because of misuse and mislabeling of the product. Since the introduction of the drug in the 1930s, labeling problems have been a cause of heparin misuse. Unfortunately, the number of cases with regard to contamination of this drug also IS steadily increasing.
As we all know, allergic reactions to drugs can be fatal. That is why many people are taking cases of medicine contamination seriously. This year, one case involved the use of A syringe tainted with Serratia marcescens, a deadly bacterium. Another case, which is believed to be responsible for some 80 fatalities in the United States, was caused by a Chinese manufacturers decision to replace one of the important heparin components with a cheaper ingredient.
Through the years, heparin has been a very effective drug that prevents blood clots. And it can be a huge lifesaver. But many patients have also suffered from heparin injury. True, many of the bad things that are being said about heparin are not about the drug itself, but rather about its misuse and contamination. Nevertheless, such carelessness had cost the health, or even the lives, of countless people.
If you or someone from your family has suffered from heparin injury, now is the time to speak up and find ways to be compensated financially. You cant just suffer in silence. You have to fight for your rights.
Filed under: Disease & Illness