By Kay Lazar Globe Staff

The severe allergic reaction a Plymouth girl suffered a decade ago after taking Children’s Motrin is an incredibly rare phenomenon, according to a Boston Children’s Hospital specialist who said parents should not be scared off from giving their youngsters such ibuprofen-based medications.

A Plymouth Superior Court jury on Wednesday awarded Samantha T. Reckis’ family $63 million for the debilitating injuries she suffered after taking the medication for a fever and developing toxic epidermal necrolysis, a rare disease that causes widespread blistering and peeling of a patient’s skin, including in the mucus membranes such as the mouth and eyes.

Dr. Robert Sundel, director of rheumatology at Children’s Hospital, said toxic epidermal necrolysis, known as TENS, is the most severe form of a disease called Stevens Johnson Syndrome, which can be caused by other medications, as well as viruses, vaccines, and other factors.

“Stevens Johnson can be just a rash and some mild inflammation of the mucus membranes all the way to the severe end of the spectrum, which unfortunately this little girl had,” said Sundel, who was not involved in the Reckis case and did not treat the girl.

However Sundel, who specializes in diseases of the immune system, has often consulted on the care of patients with Stevens Johnson.

He said the disease is so rare that there are estimated to be only about 300 cases per year in the United States, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as ibuprofen and aspirin are believed to cause Stevens Johnson Syndrome in fewer than 1 in 1 million patients who take these drugs. Risk of death from this disease is rarer still: An estimated 1 in 10 million people who develop the syndrome die, he said.