A 21-year-old man has been left scarred for life after a can of Lynx deodorant exploded in his face and cut open his nose, leaving him needing six stitches. Josh Ditchfield was left bleeding had to wash out his eyes after the incident and says doctors told him he could have gone blind.
Josh spent hours in hospital waiting for stitches and had to go to a specialist unit. He now says he is embarrassed to go out in public after the incident left him disfigured, reports BirminghamLive.
Josh said he had been decorating his bedroom and did not place the aerosol on a hot or cold surface when it 'exploded randomly'. He said: "There was no bang. The lid was still closed. The whole thing just exploded. The bottom bit of the can went into my nose.
"I ran to the bath because my eyes were burning. I went to the hospital and they said if I didn't splash my eyes with water I would have gone blind."
Josh was rushed to Heartlands A&E and later went to Queen Elizabeth Hospital - here he is in hospital with pain relief (Image: Josh Ditchfield)
Josh was rushed to hospital and was told he had suffered a "clean, deep cut".
"It stands out like a sore thumb," Josh added. "I want people to know the risks. It shouldn't be happening. I just want to make people aware of it."
"I'm not comfortable with the way I look anymore," Josh said. "I split my nose open and had to have six stitches.
"I've had the stitches removed but it's left a nasty scar. I'm wearing a mask now because I don't want people to be staring at me."
Josh said the company had asked him to send the can back so they can get to the bottom of what happened.
A Unilever spokesperson said: "We are extremely sorry to hear about what must have been a very distressing experience for Josh. The safety of our products is our priority.
"We have rigorous safety checks in place for all our products and every aerosol can is tested before it leaves the factory. We’re supporting Josh to understand what may have happened in this instance and a thorough investigation by our safety and quality teams is underway."
