Woman hospitalised with 'bulging' eyes after using cult bargain beauty product
Neasa McGrattan, from Newcastle upon Tyne, claimed she had been using the Salicylic Acid two per cent Solution serum by budget beauty brand The Ordinary for years before she purchased a new bottle in March.
But a week later the 27-year-old said she noticed a new rash on her forehead and found her eye lids became itchy.
She initially dismissed the symptoms as a sign of stress, but grew concerned after spotting extreme swelling around her eye area, and visited her GP for help.
The doctor prescribed hay fever tablets and told her to stop using any skincare products.
A break from using her much-loved £6 product saw her skin clear up—until she re-applied it.
The following day, she woke up 'terrified', with her face feeling like it was 'on fire' and her eyes having 'doubled' in size, she claimed.
Ms McGrattan said she was rushed to hospital where doctors suggested the serum could be the cause of the reaction.
She has now warned others to patch test every new bottle of cosmetics they buy because 'it's not worth the allergic reaction'.
Recalling her initial symptoms, she said: 'After one week [of using the new bottle] I had quite a small rash in the centre of my forehead, which was similar to a mild sunburn.
'I started getting an itchy eye and eyelids and I got a dry patch to the right of my lower lip. It was similar to psoriasis or eczema, which I'm not prone to.'
The next wave of symptoms that appeared the morning after using the serum were even worse.
'I felt terrified when I woke up because my face was so hot it was on fire and it was burning. I wasn't getting any relief even from ice cubes,' she said.
'My eyes doubled in size and they were puffy. It looked worse than if I'd been beaten up, I could only open my eyes to a slit.'
Hospital doctors told her she was having an allergic reaction and prescribed her antihistamines and eye drops.
Once the swelling went down she claimed she was left with 'aged, red, blotchy and dry skin'.
'It just looked like I had psoriasis on my eyelids, which was terrible.'
She added that doctors told her to 'bin' her bottle of Salicylic Acid as soon as she got home.
As for why she hadn't experienced such an extreme reaction to the product previously, eye specialists suggested a change of formula may have taken place.
'Eye doctors told me that products can get contaminated by other things or maybe it was not sealed correctly,' she added.
The Ordinary website suggests applying the product to a small area first, stating: 'If you develop severe irritation, hives, swelling of eyes and mouth, blistering, or difficulty breathing, rinse off, cease use and consult a physician right away'.
Ms McGrattan advised: 'You should patch test every new bottle that you buy even if you've used that skincare product for a decade.
'I think now every time I buy a new bottle of everything, even if I've used it a million times before, I'm going to patch test every time because it's not worth the reaction I got.'
The Ordinary was approached for a comment.
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