Perez Hilton Warns Fans After Near-Fatal Flu Recovery Complication
Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton says a bad case of the flu turned into something far more serious after he took his medication the wrong way. The result was a 21-day hospital stay that he says nearly cost him everything.
In a YouTube video posted March 23, Hilton said he developed an ulcer, then a perforation, then sepsis after taking medicine on an empty stomach.
E! Online reported that he described the ordeal as both the worst and best thing that has happened to him.
Page Six added that the pain became so severe he could not walk and had to be taken to the hospital by ambulance, where he underwent repeated tests and later procedures to find and treat the perforation and infection.
According to FOX5 Vegas, Hilton thanked doctors and nurses at Southern Hills Hospital in Las Vegas after being treated for complications that followed his flu recovery.
Perez Hilton has been one of the faces of the celebrity-blog era, part of an internet fame machine that turned gossip into a daily sport. Hilton, whose real name is Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., now 48, step away from the usual showmanship and talk plainly about fear, pain, and regret should have an impact on the care people have when taking medication.
The importance of taking medication as prescribed
By Hilton’s own account, the medical emergency built slowly, then hit all at once. He said he had the flu for about a week, took medication to get better, but did not take it with food.
This turned into an ulcer and a perforation. Finally, the infection escalated into sepsis, which is the body’s extreme response to an infection and a medical emergency, according to the CDC.
All of this because he failed to take medication as prescribed.
Johns Hopkins Medicine states that patients need to follow the exact dose and timing of their medication, including whether it should be taken with food or on an empty stomach.
The FDA also states prescription labels and bottle stickers often tell patients how to take a drug and what side effects to watch for.
Warning signs to look out for
MedlinePlus adds that some medications, including drugs like ibuprofen and amoxicillin, may be taken with food to help prevent stomach upset. That does not mean every medicine should be taken that way, because directions vary by drug.
Luckily there are warning signs to tell if medicine is irritating your system:
- Worsening stomach pain
- Nausea or vomiting
- New digestive discomfort
- Black or tarry stools
- Vomiting blood
- Dizziness, or feeling faint.
These are not symptoms to brush off.
The Mayo Clinic says black stools, vomiting blood, dizziness, and fainting can point to a bleeding ulcer, while the Cleveland Clinic states that sudden severe abdominal pain that does not go away can be a sign of a serious ulcer complication, including a perforation.
Sadly, lots of people try to tough out stomach pain, especially after a week of feeling sick already. Sometimes that is exactly the wrong move.
Hilton said he hopes people learn from what happened to him. That is probably the most useful way to look at this story. A hard reminder that even familiar medicine can turn dangerous when the instructions are ignored, and that stomach pain that feels strange, sharp, or suddenly overwhelming deserves medical attention.
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