A mother was shocked when her daughter’s Primark hot water bottle spilled and burnt her skin, causing it to “melt” off.
Michelle Wescott wasn’t expecting to see her teenage daughter in anguish with her flesh “bubbling” away when she heard a “blood-curdling” scream emanating from the kitchen.
Sydney, 15, made a hot water bottle for herself in an effort to ease the discomfort of her severe menstrual symptoms. But when she sat down to eat her dinner, her thighs, and stomach were covered in scalding water.
Sydney now has hyperpigmentation and blisters covering more than 10% of her skin. Michelle, a mother, wants to spread the word about the risks associated with utilizing hot water bottles that are directly from the kettle.
Michelle told NTK, “My little girl’s skin bubbled before my eyes and my mind went numb from the sheer horror.” “At first, I held myself responsible since I believed the lid wasn’t secured correctly, and I questioned how I could have let something like this happen at my daughter’s cost.
“I entered survival mode, and so did my daughter Paige and my husband Richard. We all banded together to make sure she was okay since I am aware that time is crucial when it comes to burns. “Whatever I did at that precise moment would decide the result.
I couldn’t help but feel horrified as her skin began to boil and melt off as my husband constantly sprayed cold water on her. After calling 999, a Bristol secondary school attendance manager named Michelle waited 20 minutes for an ambulance to come.
In November 2022, her daughter received painkillers and had her burns bandaged in cling film before being transported to the hospital by blue light. Sydney was given additional painkillers while she was there, and then medical professionals removed the cling film to look at the damage.
The top layer of the injured skin is scraped off during emergency debridement surgery, which was done by the burns team. The family worked together over the next three weeks to guarantee a quick recovery, using yoga blocks to raise Paige’s leg so she could sit and frequent trips to the hospital to have the bandages changed.
Michelle, who made an effort to maintain her composure, described the situation as “heartbreaking” and said she was “horrified” by the state of her daughter’s leg. She claimed: “Her thigh became a deep purple and the tissue was so thin that I could see her blood vessels because her skin couldn’t scab since there was no air getting to the incision.
“Over the last several months, it has changed to various colors, including red, blue, and pink. Since then, she has been warned to treat the wound carefully, but on a few occasions, she has torn the skin with a nail while working out to regain her muscular strength, which isn’t ideal.
According to Michelle, the Primark water bottle had a slit in it that allowed boiling water to flood out and completely remove the protective covering.
She asserts that she bought it from the company a year before and that the product includes a warning sign stating that it has to be changed every two years due to quality degradation from the inside. Primark said that the label also warns against using hot water.
The family allegedly got $250 from the business as a token of goodwill, but they now want to spread awareness to prevent this from occurring to anybody else.
“I’m so shocked, as I’ve always filled up hot water bottles directly from the kettle,” the mother of two said. We now use TENS equipment or microwaveable wheat bags to relieve period discomfort. Sydney will always have scars, but she persisted through rigorous therapy, and her skin is improving.
Since she will have to deal with this trauma for the rest of her life, it hasn’t been as simple as throwing away the hot water bottle and calling it a day. I was concerned about how this would affect her emotionally, but she has done an amazing job, and I am very proud of how bravely she has handled this.
“Please don’t use boiling water if you do use a hot water bottle; the risk isn’t worth it.” Sydney said, “At least something good came out of what happened to me if I can help anybody and prevent just one person from filling up a hot water bottle right from the kettle.
“I can’t change what happened, but I can try to change things for someone else,” the speaker said. “We were very sorry to learn of this customer’s experience,” a Primark representative stated. All of our hot water bottles have been tested and passed the UK and European requirements for safety, quality, and labeling.
We take the safety and the quality of our goods very seriously. In addition to a warning not to use boiling water, all of our hot water bottles come with user instructions on the product label and the bottle itself. Photos Here
