Woman fears legs and privates are scarred for life after not realising hot water bottle was out of date
A recruitment consultant has claimed her 'skin fell off' after an out of date hot water bottle burst over her legs and privates.
Yazmin Hardy, 27, told how her legs were left 'burning for a week' when her hot water bottle burst while laying on the sofa in July.
She revealed she had been suffering with menstrual cramps, prompting her to use the hot water bottle to help soothe the pain. Having filled the bottle up to the top with boiling water from the kettle, she placed it back into its cover and lay down.
The 27 year old, who hails from Norfolk but resides in Manchester, said: "I struggle with really bad period pains. The hot water bottle for me is one of the only things that helps relieve the pain.
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"On the first day of my period, I will always fill my hot water bottle up as it helps to soothe the pain a little bit."
However, just moments later, Yazmin says the hot water bottle split open, causing boiling water to pour onto her legs, lower stomach and hands.
She immediately stripped and jumped into a cold shower for 30 minutes in a bid to relieve the pain.
"I boiled the kettle and then filled it to the top like I normally do," Yazmin explained. "I put the rubber bottle in a cover and then sat on the sofa for two minutes before the whole thing poured over me."
Despite her efforts to help the pain, her leg continued to burn. Yazmin travelled to Wythenshawe hospital where she had her dead skin removed and wounds wrapped.
She then returned to the hospital every day for a fortnight to have her legs rebandaged and says she may be left scarred for life.
Shocking photos show Yazmin's skin red raw and blistered as she lay on a hospital bed awaiting treatment.
Following the terrifying ordeal, Yazmin has insisted she will never used a hot water bottle again and is now trying to raise awareness about the expiry dates inside them.
She said: "At first I thought it was my fault because I hadn't screwed the lid on properly but when I got home from the hospital, I had another look and there was a tiny split in the seam of the rubber bottle.
"I took all my clothes off and jumped straight in a cold shower for 30 minutes. The pain was eased by the shower pretty quickly but it was a really sharp, boiling burning pain.
Yazmin described how her 'skin came off' while in the shower, adding: "The burns were mainly on my thigh and the top of my vagina and then on my other inner thigh.
"The pressure from the shower was causing the skin to just fall off my leg and when I got out of the shower I had no skin there and it was bright red and more skin came off.
"For days on end my leg kept burning. A week later it was still burning hot."
Yazmin says she was given the hot water bottle as a Christmas present a few years ago but following the accident she was shocked to discover the product's expiry date was 2022.
It has now been two months since she was burned and although her skin is healing well, doctors say she may be left scarred for life.
She is now speaking out about the incident to urge other hot water bottle users to check the expiry date inside theirs.
"My hot water bottle was out of date but at the time I didn't know about the dates in them. [Since my accident], I've found out loads of rules about hot water bottles.
"You're not actually meant to fill it up all from the kettle. You're meant to do half boiling hot water and the rest cold water."
Danni King