Burns patient urges others to use hot water bottles safely this winter

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.”

After attempting to clean her leg at home, Sharon then went to her local Minor Injury Unit where they cleaned and bandaged her burns.

But shortly after, the injury became infected and she was transferred to the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery in Morriston Hospital.

Sharon added: “It got quite bad. The infection was so severe that it spread to my ankle and knee, and it meant I couldn’t walk for a while.

“I couldn’t go to work as a result.

“It really frightened me.

“You would never think an infection could travel as it did for me.”

Pictured: Sharon’s injury.

An increase in the number of hot water bottle burns has been recognised in recent years, with the main advice to prevent them being not to use freshly boiled water.

Janine Evans, an advanced practitioner occupational therapist at the Morriston centre, said: “We have seen an increase in the number of hot water bottle burns over the last few years, particularly since the cost-of-living crisis and the rise in fuel prices.

“Ultimately, our main advice is not to use freshly boiled water to fill your hot water bottle.

“You should use boiled water, instead of water out of a tap, because the impurities in tap water can cause the rubber to perish.

“But it is important you allow that water to cool for at least five minutes before you fill the hot water bottle.

“It then needs to be filled over a sink, so if it is dropped for any reason, the water goes into the sink rather than over yourself.

“It is also important to make sure the hot water bottle is in good condition before you even try to fill it.

“Make sure there are no holes, splits or tears or anything like that.”

Despite suffering her injuries almost two years ago, Sharon’s burns have only recently fully healed, and she has been left with a scar on her leg.

“Now it has healed I feel much better about it,” Sharon said.

“It has been a long process.

“I even had to wear a shower bag over my leg for a long time as I couldn’t let it get wet.

“Janine has been marvellous and helped me get prescription make-up to cover the scar, which is also waterproof.”

Sharon (pictured) has echoed Janine’s guidance to others thinking of reaching for a hot water bottle during the winter.

“I always boiled the kettle to fill my water bottle,” she added.

“My advice would be to make sure you let the water cool first.

“The time where I couldn’t walk was terrible and you would never think that would happen as a result of it.”

Janine added: “It is a big problem because of the significance of the injuries sustained as they tend to be quite big injuries.

“People are more likely to use hot water bottles around their lower abdomen or lower back and if it does split or leak, the location of the burn can make it complex to manage.

“If you do happen to sustain an injury from a hot water bottle, you should apply cool, running water for 20 minutes as soon as you can which will be helpful in reducing the impact of the injury.”