Warning this story contains graphic images
A Hamilton woman has described the "horrific pain" she felt when a hot water bottle burst, leaving her with second-degree burns.
Erin Majurey told Newshub she'd normally fill a hot water bottle up for herself and her 11-year-old daughter and they would cuddle in bed together.
But two weeks ago, her daughter was in charge of filling them up because Majurey had period cramps.
With the hot water bottle on her stomach, Majurey went to stand up, when she felt it burst.
"I had it on my stomach, then went to get up, so pushed it down the bed between my legs, and that’s when it burst," she said.
"I screamed and threw the blankets off and rolled onto the floor ripping my pants off. I could feel the blisters already."
The quick thinking and teamwork of Majurey and her daughter immediately after the incident may have minimised the injuries.
"My daughter turned the shower on, and I got straight in while she called the ambulance," Majurey explained.
"I was in there for 20 mins before going to the hospital. They [paramedics] said that the fast action and 20-minute shower minimised the damage."
But she still suffered second-degree burns on her lower back, left buttock and leg, and on parts of her right thigh.
The paramedics wrapped her burns in plastic and took her to hospital, where she had to have her wounds cleaned and the dead skin removed.
Majurey described the pain as the "most horrific" thing she's ever felt.
"It was the most horrific pain and for hours it felt like embers were on my skin just constantly burning," she said.
"The pain for the following week was awful too - on regular pain medication to try and control it."
With the burns starting to heal, Majurey said they've become incredibly itchy and she "just wants to rip my skin off!"
Photos provided to Newshub show the extent of the second-degree burns and what it did to her skin.
Doctors believe she is still a few weeks off recovering but is happy with the progress she's making and won't require any skin grafts.
But not surprisingly, the incident has put Majurey off buying hot water bottles in the future.
"I will no longer buy hot water bottles - they aren’t regulated and hospitals have banned them due to the danger of this happening," she told Newshub.
"I have switched to wheat bags which aren’t as easy to find and more expensive, but a better alternative."
The Government's Product Safety website urges people to take care when filling hot water bottles, use a cover over the bottle, and check them regularly for splits of perishing.
It also says users should never lie or sit on the hot water bottle, overfull it and never use boiling water to fill it as this can cause the bottle to split or leak. Very hot water is fine to use.
