Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world
Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email
Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email
A woman has urged others to “never use” hot water bottles after her seven-year-old bottle exploded leaving her with third-degree burns.
Karen O’Brien, a 52-year-old retail worker who lives in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, with her husband Daniel, 64, and their two children, suffered severe burns when her hot water bottle burst on her lap in March 2024.
The injury caused her skin to blister and peel away leaving “holes in the skin” that worsened by the hour.
At Leicester Royal Infirmary Hospital, doctors removed layers of damaged skin to prevent infection. The burn left her with a large scar on her thigh and permanent skin discolouration.
O’Brien is now warning others to avoid hot water bottles, and if they are using them to check the age.
Hot water bottles perish over time so experts advise to change bottles every two to three years.
If you cannot remember when you bought your bottle, it will have a flower on or near the neck – the number in the middle is the year the bottle was made.
The petals represent months and the dots weeks, for example if there are three dots in the first petal it was made toward the end of 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.
“After this, I found out you are supposed to replace (hot water bottles) after around a year, and a lot of them have the date they were manufactured on them… mine might have burst because it was so old.”
O’Brien now has a “big scar” and skin discolouration on the area and if she is cold, the area often goes “bright red”.
She said she is now “so wary” of dealing with anything hot, whether it be making herself a hot drink or cooking.
To people who use hot water bottles, she said: “Never, ever use them, especially don’t give them to children, they are too dangerous.
“My husband’s bought me a battery-powered fleece that keeps me warm so I don’t need to use a hot water bottle.”
+ There are no comments
Add yours