An urgent safety warning has been issued to Brits trying to stay warm with hot water bottles amid the cost of living crisis.
Users of hot water bottles have been urged to be aware of the potential dangers that they pose, as some people have been rushed to hospital with burns, reports MyLondon.
And with many people now turning to alternative ways to keep warm due to heating costs and the cost of living crisis, an expert has warned people of the risk of the heat that comes from the bottles.
On Monday's This Morning show, consumer expert Alice Beer said she had been contacted on Instagram by a parent whose child had suffered from third degree burns after her hot water bottle split.
Alice went on to explain that this is sadly a fairly common issue, explaining that Chelsea and Westminster hospital see people suffering burns from hot water bottles at least once a week.
She went on to add: "Half of hot water bottle injuries need skin grafts and surgeries. These are not surface burns, these go really deep."
The expert has warned against using a hot water bottle for many years.
Alice has also advised parents and users to check the usage dates on the product, explaining that a hot water bottle with normal usage tends to last up to three years - and after that time people should look to replace it.
Demonstrating how people can find out the date on the hot water bottle, she explained: "You don't know about it because this is a brand new hot water bottle in a fluffy cover. Why would you ever take it off unless it got dirty. I'm sorry, but I think this is the worst system for printing a date because it's so confusing.
"Inside you have got a daisy wheel date. It's got 12 segments and in the middle of this one you have got a 22. This one was made in 2022. Then you have 12 segments around the outside and those are the months.
"You can tell the month it was manufactured from when the dots end. It's got dots in eight segments so it was made in August."
The number of dots in the segments indicate the week it was made.
Alice's hot water bottle had three dots in the segment so it was made in the third week of August 2022, reports the Liverpool Echo.
