An 18-year-old was left in agony after burning her stomach with a hot water bottle.
If you've ever suffered from stomach cramps, a heat pad may just be the only thing that provides a sense of relief. But, have you ever wondered what it's really doing to your belly?
One woman now claims that she 'literally cooked' her own tummy when using a hot bottle to soothe her 'unbearable' irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) cramps. Tanya Jade Woolley landed these dire consequences from wearing the boiling pad 24/7 - even while venturing out to the shops.
Taking to TikTok, the teaching assistant (@tanyaxjade) shared brutal imagery of her blistering burn, which was quick to turn brown, covering her entire upper abdomen. She captioned it: "I'm just a girl who has burn marks from using her hot water bottle too much."
Heat is a common remedy to soothe pain in the stomach, as it helps to relax the muscles associated with cramping. But doctors warn there are several risks of using too much of this - including scalds and hot water bottle explosions.
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Janine Evans, an advanced practitioner at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, previously explained: "Ultimately, people are filling them with boiling water, which they shouldn't be doing. We get patients who sustain a boiling water scald to their hand, as when filling it they miss the bottle and pour the hot water over their hand.
"Also, people are not checking whether the rubber is perished before filling it. And then the hot water either leaks out slowly, or in some cases it explodes."
Staff nurse, John Davies, also added: "Even superficial burns, such as scalds, are very, very painful because the nerve endings are still exposed. The deeper the burn the less the pain, but the more likely you will need skin grafting and be left with a permanent scar."
While Tanya's experience is probably enough to scare many off water bottles for life, the 18-year-old is still using hers as the burn marks are 'less painful' than her cramps. "I can't stop because the pain would just be so bad. It's really harsh stomach cramps. The pain was unbearable. I couldn't move," she said.
"I never put it directly onto my skin. I always put a top between it or a cloth. My cover is fluffy too, it's not a rubber one... I had to put aloe vera gel on it because it literally was burning. I think that's why it scarred so bad. Now whenever I put heat on it, it flares up."
Tanya Jade Woolley uses a hot water bottle to cope with IBS (Kennedy News and Media)Unsurprisingly, her post has gobsmacked the internet, with many TikTok users suggesting that her brownish stomach discolouration may be a symptom of 'toasted skin syndrome'. This rash results from chronic exposure to heat and while it can fade over time, the change is permanent in more severe cases.
One person wrote: "I can't lie, I would rather this than those horrid cramp pains," as another added: "Girl that looks more serious than a slight burn from a hot water bottle."
Others also chimed in: "It looks like a snowflake," and "Toasted skin syndrome," while someone else said: "New fear unlocked."
Have a story to tell? Get in touch, at lauren.haughey@reachplc.com
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