After her seven-year-old hot water bottle exploded, leaving her with third-degree burns, a lady has advised people to "never use" such bottles.
When her hot water bottle exploded on her lap in march 2024, 52-year-old Karen O'Brien, a store employee in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, together with her husband Daniel, 64, and their two kids, sustained serious burns.
Her skin blistered and peeled away from the wounds, producing "holes in the skin" that became worse every hour.
To avoid infection, medical professionals at Leicester Royal Hospital removed layers of injured skin. She suffered lasting skin discoloration and a huge scar on her thigh as a result of the burn.
O'Brien is now cautioning people against utilizing hot water bottles to determine their age.
Experts recommend replacing hot water bottles every two to three years since they deteriorate over time.
The year the bottle was created is indicated by the number in the middle, and if you can't recall when you purchased it, it will have a flower on or close to the neck.
The petals stand for months, and the dots for weeks. For instance, if the first petal has three dots, it was created in late january of that year.
"I've never known pain like it, it was horrendous," she said.
"When I first could see the skin, I had blisters coming up straight away, and then you could see where the skin just melted away.
"I pulled my trousers down, and as I did that, I could see the skin coming away with my trousers.
"There were holes in the skin but every hour it was looking worse and worse and worse.
"At first I thought, 'OK, I know I've done some damage here' but it didn't look that bad.
When her hot water bottle exploded on her lap in march 2024, 52-year-old Karen O'Brien, a store employee in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, together with her husband Daniel, 64, and their two kids, sustained serious burns.
Her skin blistered and peeled away from the wounds, producing "holes in the skin" that became worse every hour.
To avoid infection, medical professionals at Leicester Royal Hospital removed layers of injured skin. She suffered lasting skin discoloration and a huge scar on her thigh as a result of the burn.O'Brien is now cautioning people against utilizing hot water bottles to determine their age.
Experts recommend replacing hot water bottles every two to three years since they deteriorate over time.
The year the bottle was created is indicated by the number in the middle, and if you can't recall when you purchased it, it will have a flower on or close to the neck.
The petals stand for months, and the dots for weeks. For instance, if the first petal has three dots, it was created in late january of that year.
"I've never known pain like it, it was horrendous," she said."When I first could see the skin, I had blisters coming up straight away, and then you could see where the skin just melted away.
"I pulled my trousers down, and as I did that, I could see the skin coming away with my trousers.
"There were holes in the skin but every hour it was looking worse and worse and worse.
"At first I thought, 'OK, I know I've done some damage here' but it didn't look that bad.
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