For 9 months, a Memphis, Tennessee teen was too sick to go to school and unable to chew or swallow food.
15-year-old Kennedy Odom, began experiencing these problems after she was given braces. Kennedy would have lesions around and inside her mouth, and she was in constant pain, making numerous trips to the doctor. Sadly, doctors did not know what was wrong with Kennedy, despite checking for strep throat, Stevens Johnson Syndrome, and everything they could think of.
Kennedy’s mom, Cicely Odom-Rose was sad to see her daughter in so much pain. She told WMC action news 5,
“Kennedy is my only child and just watching her suffer, you can’t do anything to help your child and the people who are knowledgeable don’t know how to help you.”
Kennedy was unable to chew or swallow food, and Cicley says, “Here in Memphis everything is centered around food, so she would avoid eating and, of course, I would not want to eat around her.”
So, Cecily and her mother decided to do some research on their own and turned to the internet. It was then that her family realized that the problem was Kennedy’s braces. When doctors zeroed in on the braces, they discovered Kennedy has a nickel allergy.
“Where the nickel was touching her mouth, her mouth had the outbreak of these lesions,” said Dr. Godat. “In her case, she has a hyper-immune system for lots of things.”
According to the Asthma Allergy Clinic, this is only the second documented case in Shelby County that they know of where a child has a nickel allergy brought on by braces. Looking back, Kennedy’s mom wishes she knew the symptoms of a nickel allergy sooner. “To me, it’s important to let parents know to be aware and to be diligent and be proactive when it comes to your child’s health, because no one knows your child better than you,” she said.
Kennedy had her braces removed last month.
Dr. Godat says that talking to your dentist about allergies can be the difference between life and death.
Are you surprised to find out braces had such a terrible impact on this teen?
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[Featured Image Credit: Kennedy Odom]
Teen Had A Severe Allergy To Her Braces That Almost Took Her Life is an article from: LifeDaily