A woman left temporarily unable to walk after suffering burns from a hot water bottle has urged others to take care as winter approaches.
Sharon Portingale would often fill a hot water bottle with boiling water from the kettle and take it to bed with her.
But in December 2022, the 50-year-old from Aberdare woke to discover water on her bed, as well as on the floor.
Due to nerve damage in her right leg, initially Sharon didn’t realise what had happened.
But she soon discovered a large blister had developed during the night due to the heat of the hot water bottle – and then had burst.
Pictured: Hannah Evans, clinical lead for burns outpatients and theatres, Janine Evans, advanced practitioner occupational therapist, Mr Nicholas Wilson-Jones, consultant plastic surgeon and Liz Brown, clinical nurse specialist.
“I always used to take a hot water bottle to bed with me and that night I had taken it to bed and put it on my feet,” she said.
“During the night, it rose up the bed and was up against my right leg, where I have got nerve damage, so I didn’t feel it.
“It must have been in the same position near my leg for hours.
“I woke up in the morning and there was water on the bed, and I could see what had happened.
“The water was from an enormous blister on my leg that had developed through the night because of the boiling water inside the bottle and then burst.
“The hot water bottle had a cover but it still managed to cause damage to my leg, even though it didn’t leak water.”
