A potentially crippling medical condition, often dismissed by healthcare providers, can no longer be ignored. “Floxing”—a term for the adverse effects of fluoroquinolone antibiotics—has been officially recognized by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a change driven in part by the advocacy of a local woman.
The CDC has launched a series of new ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision) codes specifically for Fluoroquinolone Poisoning. The codes are crucial for how healthcare systems document and track diseases, affecting everything from research to processing health insurance claims.
For Norwood resident Talia Smith, who has experienced life-altering symptoms after becoming sick the change is monumental.
“It’s changing history,” Smith said, expressing her immense relief after patiently waiting for months to see the codes go live on the CDC website.
Fluoroquinolones are a class of widely prescribed antibiotics that include brand-name medications like Cipro and Levaquin. Smith says her own health rapidly deteriorated after taking just three Cipro pills in April 2021, for a routine urinary tract infection. She described as going “from healthy to hospice.”
Though she continues to struggle with her health, battling symptoms like intense pain and neuropathy, the official recognition is a huge boost to her morale.
Smith was part of a larger movement that urged the CDC to create the new diagnostic codes. She explains that the codes serve two critical functions: “They recognize and legitimize our illness,” and “they are going to be able to count how many people this actually affects.”
The new codes are designed to improve patient care, data collection, billing, and research into the condition.
“I guarantee you we are going see it’s not as rare as people think,” Smith said.
Smith works closely with the Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Study Foundation and credits a group of dedicated advocates, including patient advocate Audrey Reynolds and Dr. Stefan Pieper from Germany, as well as the entire “floxed community” for achieving this goal.
She remains cautiously optimistic, urging fellow patients to maintain hope, stating, “This is just beginning. Don’t lose hope.”
The Fluoroquinolone Toxicity Foundation has published advice for patients on how to discuss the new codes with their medical providers. A link to this information can be found here:
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