Gloria Ramirez: The Toxic Lady

YouTubeGloria Ramirez.

Unusual deaths of this nature are reminiscent of something out of The X-Files. They called Gloria Ramirez the “Toxic Lady” as nearly every person who operated on her in the final moments of her life become uncontrollably ill – and to this day, nobody knows why.

On Feb. 19, 1994, Ramirez’s family rushed her to the hospital. Doctors discovered that her heartbeat was way too fast. Her blood pressure had also dropped dangerously low and she was unable to answer questions coherently.

Gloria Ramirez was only 31-years-old, but the doctors had expected her. She had cervical cancer, and though these weren’t the usual symptoms, they were willing to attribute whatever illnesses she came down with to her disease. So doctors focused on simply keeping her alive.

Defibrillation of her heart was the next step. Doctors removed her shirt and discovered that her skin was covered in an oily sheen. A strange fruity, garlicky smell emanated from her mouth.

One of the nurses in the room complained of a burning sensation on her face, then fainted. Another developed breathing problems and apnea. Soon after, yet another nurse passed out. When she came to, she couldn’t move her arms or legs. All in all, 23 out of 37 staff members caring for Ramirez experienced at least one symptom.

The hospital was ordered to evacuate, but a few doctors remained behind to try and save Ramirez. They didn’t succeed. Ramirez died at 8:50 p.m. that night, and her body was placed in isolation.

The bizarre story of Gloria Ramirez’s death.

Three autopsies were performed on Gloria Ramirez, but not a single one could explain what had happened.

The first report, released by the California Department of Health and Human Services, wrote the emergency room workers’ symptoms off as a case of mass hysteria triggered by a smell. Everything that had happened, they said, was nothing more than the psychosomatic symptoms of stress.

The second autopsy blamed that smell on an anti-nausea medication found in Ramirez’s system. She also had larger than normal amounts of dimethyl sulfone, a naturally occurring compound, still in her body weeks after her death.

But one of the hospital staffers refused to accept that what she’d gone through was nothing more than hysteria. They urged the coroner’s office to take another look. That’s when the coroners discovered that Ramirez had likely used a DMSO or dimethyl sulfoxide cream for her cancer pain. The cream was used as a pain treatment back in the 1960s and 70s. It fell out of favor due to negative side effects.

As it turns out, when DMSO is exposed to oxygen — like from a hospital oxygen mask — it converts to dimethyl sulfate. This can have extremely negative effects like convulsions and delirium; similar to the symptoms of the hospital workers.

The DMSO theory would explain everything — except that Ramirez’s family denies she used the cream. To this day, nobody knows for sure what happened. Ramirez’s death and the hospital workers’ strange symptoms remain a mystery.

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