Man woke up blue and was rushed to hospital before doctors ‘laughed’ at him
A man who woke up feeling tired with blue-coloured skin, was in shock before finding out what had happened to him.
Tommy Lynch, a construction worker from Castle Gresley, Derbyshire, slept in his new bedsheets for two nights before waking up looking a bit worse-for-wear.
Waking up looking like 'an Avatar', the 42-year-old remembered feeling tired, before his mate, who is a carer, recommended that he go to the hospital.
He was taken to the doctors' and given a bed within minutes, with worried staff putting him on on oxygen.
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The Brit took to Facebook after the incident, explaining that he needed to 'post it for awareness', as a warning to others who may experience the same thing.
'Staring at me like they'd seen a ghost'
The panicked construction worker remembered 'sorting his hair out' before heading to the hospital, as his carer thought he may be ill and oxygen deprived due to his blue colour.
Recalling the experience, he said that everyone in A&E reception 'was staring at me like they'd seen a ghost', though when he went to the desk, he had no idea what to say, except that he woke up blue.
Tommy, who sleeps nude, made the trip to Queen's Hospital in Burton back on 15 November, remembering that he 'had about 10 doctors all around him at one point'.
"The doctors said they'd never seen someone that colour before and still been alive," he admitted, adding: "As soon as they wiped my arm and it came off blue, it clicked."
The diagnosis?
Unwashed bedsheets. Yep.
When a doctor rubbed his arm with an alcohol wipe, Tommy realised that the cause of his blue-ness was his new, unwashed bed sheets.
"I was mortified but they said I'd given them a good laugh. They don't usually have funny stories in A&E."
He was admittedly mortified at wasting their time and told them, 'Oh my god, I'm so sorry'.
Apparently, the king-size bedsheets were a £40 gift from his friend, to help keep him warm. However, he wasn't aware of the fact he should probably wash them before first use to stop the colour dye from getting on his skin.
Tommy admitted that he appeared 'light blue' the day before, but put it down to him feeling cold.
"I sent my mum a picture and she was panicking about my blood circulation while I was pretty confused as I'd just woke up from a deep sleep," Tommy explained.
Waking up 'bright blue' the next day though, was likely caused by him 'overheating' in his sleep as he remembered feeling 'lovely and cosy'.
"The first thing I did when I got home was wash my sheets. I haven't gone blue since."
Tommy, who has vitiligo, told his mum that he had somehow dyed himself, though she thought someone told her that he had died, thanks to a spotty reception.
After confirming that he was alive and kicking, he spent the next week trying to wash the blue off with multiple baths, remembering: "People were still looking at me weirdly as I had bath after bath but it took a week. The water was blue.
He advised everyone to wash their sheets before sleeping with them, unless they fancy an A&E trip themselves.
Joshua Nair