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Man Hospitalised After Using Hair Removal Cream On Groin Before Date

Man Hospitalised After Using Hair Removal Cream On Groin Before Date

He not only used the wrong type of cream, but also left it on for twice the recommended time

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

WARNING: CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT AND DISTRESSING IMAGES

A man has been hospitalised after using hair removal cream in, erm, a delicate area, and giving himself chemical burns.

William Bishop, 26, was getting himself ready for a first date with a woman he'd met on a night out, and, in a bid to tidy things up downstairs, he decided to use hair removal cream.

However, William admits he not only used a Veet product designed for body and legs rather than the groin area, he also left the cream on for double the recommended time

Two days later he was left with large, blistering open wounds, prompting William to ship himself off to A&E for treatment.

The property developer from Cheltenham, Gloucester, was then admitted to the burns unit - where doctors had to repeatedly burst the blisters.

He has now been in hospital for a fortnight, but faces another three weeks being treated there.

William's treatment will take another three weeks.
SWNS

He said: "I was getting ready for a date that night, so I decided to get prepared - just in case anything good happened.

"This wasn't the first time I was going to use Veet, though. I'd used the product around six months earlier, and that went absolutely fine.

"So I applied the hair removal cream to my lower half. I left it on for around 10 minutes, and it felt rather sore when I took it off.

"Potentially I left it on for longer than I should have, as I was applying it to a larger area.

"I didn't think much of the stinging to start, but it got increasingly worse - and it wasn't until two days later that I saw it had burned a hole in my crotch.

"For two weeks now, I've been in the hospital burns unit. It's been extremely painful because of where it is. I can barely walk, sleep or sit.

I'd scroll past this, if I were you.
SWNS

"Hospital staff have been treating the wound, and [have] done everything they can to minimise infection - though it's still pretty bad.

"They have been daily cleaning and dressing it, and have applied a cooling cream.

"Cleaning is the worst part, though, as they like the blisters to burst.

"I can't really do anything here. I'm really hoping to be released soon."

William used Veet's Body and Legs Hair Removal Cream - rather than Veet Men Hair Removal Cream or the sensitive variety for 'bikini lines' as he should have done - on 27 July.

He explained that he had coated the area with a spatula before leaving the product there for around 10 minutes, which was way more than the recommended three-to-six minutes.

He was supposed to have removed a small test area of cream after just three minutes, before removing the rest of the hair if that had come away successfully.

However, William instead left the cream on his groin for a while, then removed it and rinsed the area with lukewarm water.

Two days later, William found himself in blistering pain, as it turned out the cream had burned an open wound into the left side of his groin.

Yep, and this one.
SWNS

He was then admitted to the burns unit in Southmead Hospital, where his infected wound has to be treated for five weeks.

Along with being barely able to walk, sit or sleep, William has also been in complete agony as hospital staff have had to burst the blisters to help treat the wound.

Veet's website advises: "Any kind of reaction is extremely rare, but we always recommend testing on a small area of your skin 24 hours ahead of intended use."

But William confessed: "I didn't know there was a men's bottle.

"It was a little stupid of me, I know, and laughable I guess. Initially I found the whole thing funny, until I realised how bad it is.

"The pain and discomfort it has caused is far from funny.

"I guess I've formed a kind of anger towards Veet.

"But I'm also shocked that such bad injury can occur from a product readily available.

"If you deviated slightly from the instructions, you can cause serious damage."

A spokesperson for Reckitt Benckiser, the company which makes Veet, said: "We are sorry to hear of the reaction a customer has had to a Veet hair removal cream product and we wish the gentleman a speedy recovery as soon as possible.

"As the health and safety of our consumers is a top priority for us, we ensure all Veet products meet stringent safety standards.

"We strongly recommend that customers read and follow all the instructions on the packaging and product labels for safe use.

"Although it's rare, if customers experience a reaction to the product we advise they seek advice from a healthcare professional."

As for William's date? It's okay, he didn't stand them up - he just told them he'd had an accident, and that they'd have to postpone their get-together for at least three more weeks.

Let's hope his love interest doesn't read the news, eh?

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: uk news, News