Woman warns Brits 'throw away' common household item as she's left in 'absolute agony'
Woman warns Brits 'throw away' common household item as she's left in 'absolute agony'
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A woman was left in “absolute agony” with second-degree burns after a common household item exploded only a year after it was bought. Lorraine, from Cornwall, was settling in on the sofa with a hot water bottle after taking her dogs for a walk on a chilly evening. Moments later without warning, the bottle exploded, drenching her legs and feet in scalding liquid.
She said: “I'd come back in, made my hot water bottle and absent-mindedly flung it on to the sofa, which was covered in blankets. I realised my phone charger had fallen down the back of the sofa, so I knelt on the sofa to reach behind it and accidentally knelt on the water bottle. A second later I was screaming in pain.”.
She continued: “It was like nothing I've ever experienced before. It was immediate and intense. I went straight from being fine, to being in absolute agony. There was no pop sound, or warning. The whole bottom had split like a packet of crisps. I knew instantly what had happened. I took off my pyjama bottoms as quickly as I could and ran upstairs to the shower.”.
Initially Lorraine, who asked to withhold her surname, tried to treat her burns at home. But it very quickly became clear that she needed medical attention. She said: “After about 20 minutes under a cold shower we could see my legs starting to bubble and blister; that's when we called 999. My neighbour, who is a retired paramedic, wrapped my legs in cling film and covered them with cold, wet towels, and we drove to the hospital.”.
To the medics, the cause of her injuries was no surprise. She said: “I had second-degree burns on both my legs, from the knees down to my toes. The doctors and nurses at the hospital were not at all surprised when I told them how it happened. One even said it was her life mission to have them banned before she retires. Another nurse said they're seeing more and more hot water bottle incidents, as people are holding off turning the heating on.”.
