Woman’s face burned by oil diffuser

WARNING: Graphic content

A WOMAN has revealed horrific pictures of facial burns she suffered after being sprayed with vapour from an essential oil diffuser.

Emily Smith, 24, suffered chemical burns to her face and eyes after she was accidentally sprayed in the face on November 4.

Posting to Facebook, she told how she was sitting at home with a “popular” electric diffuser and an open fire roaring, having decided to not go outside.

“I walked over to the diffuser and held the button down for a number of seconds (as this is the way to shut it off),” Ms Smith said.

“In the process of turning the appliance off, some of the vapour from the diffuser must have sprayed onto my face.

“But I didn’t think anything of this. [While] I was somewhat aware of the danger of getting essential oils directly on my skin, I was unaware that the vaporised ‘diluted’ oil from my diffuser could also be dangerous.”

The Londoner told how later in the night, she got up to put a log on the fire when she suddenly felt a stinging sensation on her face.

The pain continued to grow, but after following medical advice from the UK’s National Health Service’s non-emergency helpline 111, she soaked her face in cold water before heading to bed and taking painkillers during the night.

But the next morning, she woke up with a burning sensation on her face after symptoms worsened overnight, and she was quickly rushed to the emergency room.

Ms Smith posted on Facebook: “I looked into the mirror and didn’t recognise myself.

“My face had swollen, my eyes were blurred and continually watering and my skin looked pus-y.

“I’m extremely fortunate to have my sight at all, and lucky that the burn wasn’t worse.”

Ms Smith was hit by patchouli oil to her face when she leaned in to turn off the device on Nov. 5.

Now she is warning about the dangers of burning essential oils after her face continued to burn after dousing herself with water.

She said she could have avoided her devastating injuries if she had known to seek medical attention immediately.

Ms Smith, who has since become engaged, added: “Oil does not just ‘wash’ off. When I soaked my face in a bowl of water, I was not really relieving my burn. I was marinating my face in the cause of my troubles.

“I have suffered permanent eye damage and am potentially facially scarred for life.

“It was a life-changing incident, that was preventable.”